Fostering The Growth of Writing Stamina Among Student Writers

I vividly recall Georgia, a young writer, making a gem of a comment during a writing workshop session some time back. A comment that made my heart sing.

I had asked students for feedback concerning the writing they had just concluded, and Georgia offered the comment, ‘The more I wrote, the more I remembered.’ Not wishing to conceal my joy, I rushed to the whiteboard and wrote these special words in large letters; identifying Georgia as the person being quoted. Georgia’s words were a powerful reminder that given the right conditions the developing writer’s ideas take flight!

Our little writing community had been focusing on developing greater writing stamina, going deeper into our writing if you like. In consultation with the teacher we had identified a lack of stamina in student writing and discussed the need for them to generate a greater volume of text and to do this we had to improve their ‘writing muscles, in the same way we had developed their reading muscles and stamina. It was important to eliminate any potential roadblocks to getting the writing done. We spent quite some time ‘getting ready to write’ with a range of pre-writing strategies. Students talked, made decisions about the most appropriate writing from for their ideas, made drawings, lists, and developed flowcharts. They identified characters, settings, time and plot as part of their planning. The aim as always was to set the writing up to be successful.

I shared with them the revelation that sometimes I write in quiet places like my study and at other times I write in busy places like cafes.  I told them, ‘ Today I’m going to play some music while we write. I want you to continue writing until the music stops. Let’s see what happens when we devote all our efforts to trapping our wonderful thoughts and ideas on the pages of our notebook. Let’s empty our minds of all other thoughts and distractions and see what happens to our pieces of writing as a result.’ The music was used merely to act as a reminder to continue focus on writing and not be distracted or become a distraction. I explained that writer's don't always require music playing. on this occasion it was just to help them be aware of the objective in this workshop.

And so, for the next ten minutes they just wrote. Boy did they write! Words spread across their open notebooks, gradually covering the blinding whiteness of the pages. They wrote, paused, and wrote again; their energy for the task, palpable. They wrote in silence. They danced with their pens. Words poured and oozed onto pages. They came in fits and starts. They kept coming...

When the music stopped, there were audible sighs of disappointment from a number of students. One student, Christina remarked, ‘I forgot where I was. I was lost in the writing.’ This was another wow moment!

 I invited the class to share their thoughts about what they had noticed about their own writing processes. Many of the students were pleasantly surprised by the amount of writing they had produced in the workshop. Their teacher also wrote and was amazed by how much she personally wrote as well as many of her students. They were proud of what they had achieved. ’It was easy to concentrate because there weren’t any distractions,’ a student explained. They now understand how talk had previously cut across their writing intentions. They now had tangible proof. 

A number of students wrote more in that workshop session than they normally write across a week. I know, because they told me. Then came another magical moment when someone requested, – ‘Can we keep writing? Can you play some more music?

-And away we went for another ten minutes of quality writing time. I left these enthused writers with the challenge of trying this at home, not just in school. 

*The idea of going for ten minutes of intensive writing on a topic came from reading Natalie Goldberg’s book, ‘Old Friend From Far Away’ in which the author regularly challenges the reader to write on given topics for ten minutes.

* The music I chose was Ribonare composed by Ludovico Einaudi from the album, ‘This is England.’ Students thought it sounded like the kind of music you hear at funerals, but they also thought it very calming. I agree about the calming effect.

If we want kids to write 'longer' and develop writing muscles then we must remove impediments preventing their very best words from reaching the page. 
Writing stamina must be fostered and supported in tangible ways. It is so important to discuss with them, the role of meaningful talk within the writing process. All young writers  need to reach an understanding about how vital talk is before and after we write. They must further understand how it can inhibit the flow of words if it interferes with the composing stage of the workshop. I want student writers to understand what I mean when I tell them to 'Keep writing until you reach your best words.' I want them to respect the writers around them. 

Discussion is also needed to unpack strategies for dealing with unfamiliar words, when they emerge in the course of writing. Help the inexperienced writer understood the folly of stopping for one word when hundreds of words are scrambling to get out and onto the page. Spelling is important, but ideas must be considered first. A smart writer knows where spelling fits and it is not before ideas. Have a go at spelling the word, underline it for later but try to keep your pen or pencil moving. Make your writing hand strong. Make it resist the doubt and reticence the mind may try to deliver. 

For stamina to develop,  tangible support and lots of quality conversation within the writing community of the classroom are required. You can't demand it. It must be nurtured and practiced.