Weekly Challenges

Some writers live a solitary life. Many write in isolation and put their work out into the world only when they feel it’s, well, perfect. As a reader of the Two Writing Teachers Blog, I have a feeling you are aware that Ruth and I have been trying to ensure that teachers of writing do not lead a solitary existence. We’ve sought to create a writing community that is safe and open to those who wish to create a portfolio of mentor texts to use with students, those who want to get feedback on the risks they’re taking as writers, or those who wish to simply express themselves in writing. Whatever the motivation, we welcome people, not just teachers, from all walks of life to participate in our weekly Memoir Mondays and Slice of Life Story Challenges.

While our blog has had record numbers of hits in the past three months, we have not had very few people participating in the weekly Memoir Mondays and Slice of Life Story Challenges. Since we don’t accept advertising on Two Writing Teachers, we have nothing to benefit from others’ participation in these Challenges, other than hoping to spread the joy of being a part of an active writing community with folks from around the country… like you.

Ruth recently wrote:

When we embarked on blogging together, little did we know how much we would grow as writers. The simple act of being in daily contact with another writer is enough to push and strengthen any writer. The growth clearly can be traced back to diligently writing daily, but also to the relationship we formed as one writer supporting another writer. It is these relationships that carry us through when we don’t feel like writing; when we lack the confidence to write well; when we’re stuck; when we’re frustrated; when we’re procrastinating. It is these relationships which make the end product a little sweeter, when we share good writing with someone who understands the labor it took to create. It is these relationships that the students in our classrooms need. As teachers, we can provide an atmosphere that enhances this natural tendency of writers to find a community of support.

In order to help ourselves create the kinds of writing communities we hope to have in our classrooms, it helps to be part of an adult writing community. To establish any writing community, ample time should be given to simply sharing the stories of our lives. Therefore, we hope you will carve out some time every Monday or Tuesday to participate in one or both of Challenges, which you can learn more about by going to https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/challenges. We look forward to having you as a regular part of our online writing community in the weeks to come.

Finally, we’ll soon unveil two new buttons Ruth has been creating for each of these Challenges. Feel free to use these buttons on your blog when you post a Memoir Monday or Slice of Life Story Submission.