Be a teacher who writes. Join the SOLSC!

The Slice of Life Story Challenge began on Two Writing Teachers in March 2008. The mission of this online challenge was to support teachers who wanted to write daily. The purpose was to create a community of teacher-writers who would be able to better support the students they serve in writing workshops daily.  Teachers were invited to write a slice of life story on their own blog and then share the link to their story on this blog’s call for slice of life stories. Then, each person who left a link to their blog visited at least three other people’s blogs to comment on their slice of life writing.

Not much has changed since 2008 when 12 educators participated. Through the years more teachers have joined the ranks of what we call “Slicers.”  Teachers invited colleagues.  Friends invited friends.  Daughters invited mothers and vice versa.

Some Slicers have hosted classroom challenges for their students. Last March, an online classroom challenge was added.  This year we’ll host the Classroom Challenge again. (Click here for more information on starting a classroom challenge with your students.)

Next month we’ll host the Seventh Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge.  In the weeks to come, we’ll provide you with information about the support team, prizes, and the second Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge. For now, I wanted to take time to share some basic information with you to help you get energized for our March writing challenge.

Click on the image to enlarge.

NEW TO SLICING? Read this: If you are tinkering with the idea of jumping-in to this writing challenge, but you’re unsure of whether or not it’s for you, then I hope you’ll join our writing community.  Whether you’re are nervous about going public with your writing or think you’re not that good of a writer, then I’m here to tell you the that you can be a Writer by taking on this Challenge.  If you tell yourself it will take time to get really comfortable putting words into a blog post, then you can be a Writer. If you tell yourself you will shut down the voices in your head that tell you you’re not talented enough, then you can be a Writer. If you tell yourself you can positively impact the lives of your students by writing regularly, then you can be a Writer. It takes time and practice, but everyone can become a great Writer.

In an effort to help you get started with Slicing, I created the infographic on the right.  (NOTE: I’m not a graphic designer!)  It contains basic information to help you get ready for the March Challenge.  If you have questions after you read it over, please contact one of our Challenge Concierges. These are people who’ve participated in two or more Slice of Life Story Challenges. They’re a wealth of information! If you still have questions, then please e-mail me at stacey [at] staceyshubitz [dot] com.

If your last name begins with A – M, contact LeAnn Carpenter (aka: Elsie): leannecarpenter[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

If your last name begins with N – Z, contact Amanda Villagomez (aka: Mrs. V.): amandavillagomez[at]gmail[dot]com

Please use a permalink (aka: unique URL) when you link your posts. To find this link, click on the title of your blog post. The permalink will appear in your browser. Copy that entire link so you can paste it into your comment when you leave a link to your slice of life story at TWT.

An example of a permalink:

A non-example of a permalink:

Leaving a new permalink daily provides readers with a perpetual link to each of your blog posts. In addition, if you write and link your slice daily in March, you’ll be in the running for a prize. Your permalink serves as proof to our Giveaway Guru, who is the person who writes daily, that you wrote daily.  Therefore, our Giveaway Guru needs to be able to click on each of your links when she cross-checks who wrote every day at the end of March.

RETURNING SLICER?  Read here: If you’ve already participated in one of the previous March challenges, I hope you’ll return this year.  Consider inviting a friend, family member, or colleague to participate.  Remember: the person doesn’t have to teach writing workshop to be part of this challenge.  [In 2013, my friend Rachel, who is a high school math teacher, participated in the Challenge.  (I’m hoping she does it again this year.  Hint, hint, Rachel!)] While the purpose of the Challenge is to foster a community of teachers who are Writers, we’re open to people from all subject areas, in all stages of life (e.g., working, retired), etc.

FOR EVERYONE: There’s a new logo for the Slice of Life Story Challenge. It was born out of the notion that a slice of life story is about a small segment of one’s day. The word segment made me think of an orange segment. I thought of a slice of fruit, but everything I came up with looked tacky. Betsy took that vision and created a beautiful new logo button. I hope you love it as much as Anna, Beth, Dana, Tara, and I do. We’d be honored if you display it on your slice of life blog posts. If you’d like to download the button, right-click on it and select “save as.”

Are you excited about next month’s Slice of Life Story Challenge or do you need some motivation to commit? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.