When I moved to Jackson, TN over two years ago I had a problem. I was desperately missing my cherished book club from my hometown in South Mississippi. So I went to the local library to see about joining one and the most applicable club on offer was a Writer’s Club.
I’m a writer, am I not? So, I joined.
Because I am in the ✨ mama of wild things era ✨ of my life, I don’t get to attend regularly, but I always learn so much when I do get to go. The group consists of authors of all levels, from those who have lost track of how many books they’ve published down to novices like me who just dabble in the writing world. People take turns giving tips, teaching lessons, or sharing their work for feedback. Sometimes there are snacks. It’s delightful.
Here are three things I’ve learned since joining this Writer’s Club:
1. Sharing writing requires vulnerability. Even though this is a supportive group of people gathered for the sole purpose of improving our writing, it can still be intimidating to read aloud our work and be open to comments. Writing represents our innermost thoughts and ideas, and having people judge your work can feel like you are opening yourself up for people to judge you.
If we feel this way, imagine how our students feel when we ask them to share aloud. Creating a positive classroom culture is key to helping students be comfortable sharing and evaluating each other’s writing. I tried to get every student to see themselves as a writer by writing daily, finding authentic ways to publish and share their work, and explicitly teaching peer feedback strategies. I also had a policy that after someone read aloud their work to the whole class, we would all clap enthusiastically at least five times.
2. People write because they have something to say. I’ve heard many members talk about how their stories come to them, how their characters are real to them, how these creative ideas persist in being thought until they are written down.
I worry that as teachers we get so focused on getting students to write to our topics and prompts that we sometimes forget that everyone has a story. Teaching academic writing is important, but kids come to our classroom with their own important things to say. Do we make time for them to express what’s already in their heads? How can we leverage what’s already in their linguistic data pool while teaching them the craft of writing?
3. It’s all about ideas. When real authors give each other feedback, they will point out which parts of the story were confusing or distracting. They will praise parts that are effective, evocative, or rich in imagery. Constructive criticism is about ideas, about the intent of their message.
While it can feel most efficient to take a red pen to students’ work and circle all the grammatical errors, research has shown that this doesn’t really help kids improve their writing. Feedback should first focus on the content of their piece, the ideas, and then how they are being expressed. Correct grammar and punctuation should be taught, modeled, and expected, but it only matters if the ideas are worth sharing in the first place.
As English teachers, I encourage you to see yourself as a writer. After all, we cannot teach a skill we do not possess ourselves. Students need to see you write in front of them, to see you model the mess that comes out of your head and what happens when you carefully craft it into a piece that matters.
Let go of the formulaic drudgery of writing instruction and embrace the powerful techniques of real authors. Look into joining a Writer’s Club. Because you are a writer, are you not?
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