What Does It Mean To Be A Writer?
As my students polish their This I Believe essays and prepare to write reflections about their journey as writers, I challenged them as well as the Just Write virtual writing group to consider the question: What does it mean to be a writer?
Every week we begin our Jam Sessions with this initial writing prompt: I am a writer from… but this week I challenged my students to answer that question specifically with writing in mind. How did they feel about writing those words every week? I also invited them to consider these questions:
- What is a writer?
- Are you a writer?
- Why do you write?
- What is your story as a writer?
- How do you want to grow as a writer?
In addition, I offered some poetry to inspire their thinking, specifically two poems that I wrote with my students in mind:
As well as a writer’s oath written in conversation with my oath-writing process by Miguel Clark Mallet:
I pledge to walk the
writer’s slow, bewildered way:
drenched in words, seeking
patience, grace, humility,
gratitude, and ever joy.
I invite you to reflect on your own journey or story as a writer or perhaps to consider what oaths you would swear in your life and work.
Image by Steve Johnson from Pixabay
