Living Life Twice

When we read our written words aloud and listen closely to them with focused intent,  we begin to appreciate their true impact on a reader's ears -someone more than likely reading those words for the very first  time.  We learn about our writing with unparalleled efficiency simply by feeling the shape and sound of our words and sentences as they tumble from our mouth and are received by our ears. If we are listening closely, we instantly discover what needs to be done in order to move our words onto the next stage of development. For this reason, I have long been an advocate for encouraging student writers to develop the practice of reading their words aloud before approaching a fellow writer and asking them to read what has been written.  This action of reading your words aloud before sharing is both informative (for the writer) and respectful (for the prospective reader). I was taught this valuable action many years ago by the late Australian author, Morris Lurie. ...

I must state from the beginning that I have long  held misgivings regarding what passes as publishing (of student writing) in many schools. Like fast food, publishing student writing has evolved into something pretty much standardized.  A one size fits all mentality often applies to the publishing phase of the writing process. Publishing should not be every student publishing their writing at the same time, in exactly the same way. Yes, publishing is time consuming, but it presents a powerful mechanism for motivating students to continue reading and writing. Publishing should allow students a strong sense of ownership over a host of decisions regarding the shape and form of the final product of their writing efforts. I think that for some teachers 'publishing' becomes a beast that needs to be controlled. This need to control is what ultimately stifles creativity, resulting in a pie factory outcome. We should hold fast to the idea that publishing means ‘to make the writing...