My Writing Profile

I've spent the last five days working on a paper for a grad class.  It was difficult for me to get the draft completed, and now that it's ready for revision, I'm exhausted. I don't even want to look at it anymore. So I've decided to print a copy and take a fresh look at it in the morning. I'll make sure everything is there that should be, I'll decide if paragraphs need to be moved around, and I'll probably add several parts I haven't even thought of yet. Two or three sections of my paper should also be aware that they won't have a permanent home on my final submission!

How do I know that I'll be doing all of these things? How do I know that I will be laboriously, tediously, and painstakingly stressing over every sentence and wincing at every paragraph I thought was so clever the night before? Answer: I have written enough to know my writing habits.

I wonder if our students know THEIR writing habits. I think knowing them would be very helpful.  It's helpful for me. I know there's an end in sight. I know how I'll feel at certain stages of the process, and knowing this gives me the motivation to go on. It's similar to those profiles you fill out when you join an organization, and they want to know more about you. I've been "filling out" my profile long enough to know it.

Do we give our own students the time to learn about themselves as writers? That all depends on how often they write. Realizing this today is one of my big take-aways from a day of hard work. It's also a good reminder to me that when I open up our Writer's Workshop every day at the same time and give my students the opportunity to write for an extended period (with the schedule only being altered in the case of assemblies or field trips), I am doing the right thing. I am allowing my class of 4th grade writers to learn their own profile.

I'm not the first to make this observation, but this is my way of expressing it: the more we write, the more we know ourselves as writers. (A few more things I know about myself as a writer: I will need a mechanical pencil and Post-its: both of which must come in a fashion color also perfect for shoes. Plus, a good book must always be within reach.)