I write.
Not just lesson plans, comments in the gradebook, or reports for school.
Not just the tweets that I add to chats with friends I have made on Twitter about every subject from kale chips to books that I can add to my TBR pile.
Not just the to-do and honey-do lists that dot our kitchen table. Or the note I leave for my small son when I leave before he wakes in the morning.
I have notebooks FULL of writing. Thoughts on the day, reflections on lessons, snippets of beautiful language from what I have read or overheard, ideas I have for what I want to do next. There used to be more experimental wanderings. Those forays into writing about a character who is just wanting to come to life. Or a poem that is coming together.
What I have been really less dedicated about is trying to make an online space to put parts of what has gone in the notebooks out online. I have been watching and commenting and then I went ahead in a burst of activity last January and made a blog. And have barely posted there. It resides at http://chartingbythestars.wordpress.com/ and I really want to get into the habit of posting more there than I have. (This should not be much of a challenge. I added a post yesterday from my phone yesterday and it was my third post. I have nowhere to go but up!)
It's not that I'm nervous about sharing there. But I don't really think about the blog when I get the idea. Or I get the idea and think about the blog and then don't think I have enough time to write it.
There is a save draft option, I'm realizing. No more excuses.
I do write with my students. I got the challenge from my seniors last week to write a 200 word essay on how I have influenced my students the most - .their version of a college application essay for me. I think I'll put my first draft up on the blog. I'm writing narrative essays with my freshmen so I might put one or two of my attempts up. I need to have a sense of putting myself out there to be able to relate to what they feel when they are asked to work with others, to share their writing. I'm more than comfortable sharing with them. I need to be sharing with my peers to get the experience.