Calling all new Slice of Life writers!
We are nearly at the end of the 11th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. As a new member of this community, we hope you have found your writing groove. We hope you are living like a writer and finding the stories that exist in your day-to-day life.
This community needs two things: writers and readers. Both are equally important to this community. This challenge aims to recognize both. We are asking Slicers who are new to our community: Who has encouraged you this month? Who has left a comment on your blog that moved you? Who has inspired you to keep writing? Who has lifted you up as a writer?
First-time Slicers, please nominate a fellow Slicer to be your co-winner in this final challenge. Leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 25 at 11:59 p.m. Tell us which Slicer has inspired you the most through the comments s/he has left on your blog. Both you and the person you nominate will win a copy of Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan’s new book, It’s All About the Books and an individual Skype session or one together, depending on your preference.
Official Rules:
This March must be your first time ever participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge.You may only mention one participant who has inspired you as a writer.The person who you mention by leaving a comment on this post must also be a Slice of Life Story Challenge participant (i.e., they must be slicing daily and have registered using the participant information form).While the other co-authors and I certainly hope we have inspired you and made you feel welcome, we never enter ourselves into prize drawings. Therefore, please do not mention any of us (i.e., myself, Beth, Betsy, Kathleen, Lanny, Deb, or Stacey) when you leave a comment on this post.Please do not leave the link to your Slice of Life Story as a comment on this post.Again, you must leave your comment by 11:59 p.m. EDT on March 25 to be entered into this giveaway.The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. The name of the winning pair will be announced by Tuesday, March 27 at the bottom of this post.
Thank you to Clare and Tammy, authors of It’s All About the Books, for the generous prize!
The winners of this prize are Tamara Jaimes and Carol Wilcox. Tamara gave a special thanks to Elisabeth Ellington, Girlgriot, and Melanie Meehan for their encouragement. However, her official nomination went to Carol “who has inspired me with her writing for many years. What an unexpected surprise to have her kind and insightful responses to my posts during my first year!”
Congratulations the two of them, and a huge thank you to Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan for donating their book and their time!
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
Fran Haley has been an inspiration to me throughout the challenge! She comments on my posts daily, and I love her feedback. I also love to read her writing, and often experience many emotions as a result. Thank you, Fran!
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What a great month it has been! I’ve thought about participating for several years, but it made me nervous to share my writing with so many strangers. Once I began, that feeling didn’t last. Everyone has been kind and generous since day one. It has been a safe environment to start my public blogging journey. I’m grateful for the community Two Writing Teachers has created and to have been directly supported by so many these past few weeks. Special thanks to Elisabeth Ellington, Girlgriot, and Melanie Meehan for their encouragement. For the official First Time Slicer Challenge, I would like to nominate Carol at https://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/, who has inspired me with her writing for many years. What an unexpected surprise to have her kind and insightful responses to my posts during my first year!
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Many grateful thanks to all who have taken the time to read my blog / slices this month.This has been such a huge challenge for me, but knowing that at least a few people would read my writing every single day has kept me going along the way. I want to nominate Karen Szymusiak as my inspiration extraordinaire! She has responded to every single one of my slices and always has something personal and positive to say about my writing. Knowing that Karen is going to read my post, has kept me motivated to write every day, even on the craziest of days.This has been a terrific experience for me and I am so glad that I’ve taken the challenge. Almost there!!! Many thanks to all the folks at TwoWritingTeachers for putting this all together.
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I would like to nominate vanessasaw2007. As I don’t know anything about anyone here, I’m not sure if she is part of those who are not to be nominated, but I always enjoy her brief and to the point comments. Writing from the other side of the world and with indifferent internet access, it’s hard for me to pick a ‘right time’ to post a slice, but she has commented on most of my writing which has been wonderful.
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I am so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to read my posts and respond to them. Jess Carey is the slicer who helped me gather the courage to join the SOLC. For the month leading up to the challenge, after I’d share something that had happened recently, she would whisper, “You can write that!” or, “You have so many posts already!” When I finally sat down to write my first post, I just had to go back in my mind to all of the times Jess helped me notice the writable moments in my life…and I began typing! Thank you, Jess!
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I’m okay with my nomination not being considered for any ‘prize’ because I have already won so much. Melanie, I shout your name from the top of the highest mountain! Thank you for encouraging me to participate in the Slice of Life. It has been an awesome experience. Even more, thank you for your daily support and feedback. I am becoming just a little more confident each day, all because of you!
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As a first time slicer and blogger this year, I was incredibly unsure of myself throughout this process. I would like to nominate Noel Kaczmarczyk, who had visited my blog multiple times this month, always leaving positive and inspiring comments for me to read. Thank you Noel!
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Reading all of these comments about the people who have them as writers makes my heart swell with joy. We are fortunate to have so many “cheerleaders” as part of this writing community.
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This has been an amazing journey! For many years I have wanted to start a blog and kept putting it on the end of the to-do list. At the beginning of the year, I finally decided to get the blog up and running. I posted twice in two months, not a great start. So I decided to give SOL a try. It has given me the inspiration and support I needed to share my writing. It is very hard to give just one person recognition, as there were so many that inspired me along the way with their writing and their comments to our posts. I would like to nominate Karen Szymusiak as she revisited our blog multiple times with wonderful support and feedback. Thank you Karen!
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I am seeing that I can only nominate one person. I nominate Fran Haley. She has been so motivating and made me feel like the words I have are worth reading. She has been so positive.
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While I have wanted to participate in Slice of Life for the last two years, I didn’t make the commitment to it. This year, however, I made the decision to slice every day. A couple of days were challenging due to travel and internet difficulties. But I had made a promise to myself that I had to keep. Plus, I had people who were commenting and supporting me. I couldn’t let them down! One person who kept me going is Susan Kennedy aka Readingteachsu. She was so encouraging and I am grateful to have her help.
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A few years ago, I reached out to a new member in a Voxer group I was in. Little did I know that those early chats back and forth would blossom into a wonderful friendship. A friendship of sharing teaching practices, encouraging each other through the struggles of teaching, and simply walking through life together. I wasn’t half the writer, poet, or blogger that she was, but with gentle encouragement and just the right amount of nudging, I slowly dipped my toe into the world of blogging. She never failed to comment on every one of my posts, and whenever I asked, she was a willing & helpful editor for other writing projects. It gives me great pleasure to nominate Margaret Simon as the most outstanding writing mentor and friend. I can say with certainty that without her, I would not have had the courage to join the Slice of Life Challenge, nor would I have felt the joy I have experienced through this month of writing. Thank you, Margaret!
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I am grateful to the organizers, as well as all the many talented writers and encouraging readers participating in this event!
Among those who have provided direct encouragement, I would like to nominate Elisabeth Ellington, for taking the time and effort to thoughtfully comment on – if not all, practically all – of my posts. Much gratitude 🙂
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What a journey this has been! When I was invited to participate in this writing challenge I just never imagined what it could be. I never imagined developing such a sense of community with this fascinating group of people. I am so grateful for all of the writers. I am grateful for their honest slices and inspirational messages. I am grateful for the feedback. So grateful for the feedback.
I nominate Alice Nine, Shari Daniels, and Fran Haley. These women have walked with me on my journey. These women have encouraged me to persist, especially when the words are not there. These women have made my journey what is has been. I am so grateful.
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I honestly never thought that I would be able to keep up with blogging during this challenge and that I would have readers. I am incredibly grateful for Elisabeth Ellington and Glenda Funk. They both read and responded to every. single. post. They have both been incredibly encouraging to me throughout this journey as well. Honestly, I wish that I could nominate both of them. I would probably say Glenda Funk because she continues to encourage me as a writer – beyond blogging. I continue to be so humbled by it all
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I am so glad that you nominated Katy Collins because she is one of my top sources of motivation! I was having a hard time deciding which one person to choose.
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Those challenge has inspired me to closely consider my current feedback loop in my classroom. Experiencing how supportive and inspiring it was to receive comments on my writing makes me want to *consistently* give the same experience to my writers at school. The most consistent support that has emerged from this challenge? Katy Collins @MissCollins606 ❤️
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I really appreciate each comment that has been left, whether it’s from someone who randomly picked my link from the list of daily Slices or from a repeat reader. How can I pick just one? I should use a random name picker! But no, I’m going to give a shout-out to Kay Collins because she was the first person to leave me more than one comment. It was so nice to see a familiar name!
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This writing community has been such a blessing for me this month! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my thoughts, like them, and comment in such a meaningful way. I nominate romeolitcoach as she commented daily and really fueled me to write especially when life got so busy that I just wasn’t sure how to fit it in properly. Having a faithful mentor is so critical and comforting for the first experience. I know that I notice more of my surroundings, am constantly rehearsing “stories” or “slices” in my head, usually while walking our Golden, Leo, and am thankful for this platform to share bits of my life. Best wishes to all first time slicers and their nominees!
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First, let me say how grateful I am to all the fellow Slicers who took the time to read my posts and then respond (49 distinct people–I counted!) many of them numerous times. My writing has always been a private passion that I was nervous to share, but this challenge has been life changing to me! I have chosen Kristi Lonheim. She has responded to every single post with kind, encouraging words. It is clear from her responses that she has given thought to what I’ve written. She has offered kindness, extended my ideas, and asked excellent questions. I look forward each day to her responses, as I would a good friend F2F.
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Writing this month has truly been transformative for me. It is my two Welcome Wagon volunteers that keep me from skipping a day (Molly Hogan and Brian Rozinsky). Their comments are so thoughtful. They have made me feel like a real writer; it has changed my identity. I couldn’t possible choose between the two of them so I’m going to use this opportunity to nominate another person….bbutler found my blog midway through the challenge and went back to read my older posts. This gesture meant so much to me. Her comments were motivating and encouraging. They were also specific enough to help me write better with each subsequent post. Not to mention that her own writing blows my mind everyday. It is a strange thing to feel connected to strangers. Much gratitude to all three of you for making this month meaningful for me.
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I have been blown away by the community and the comments this month. Choosing just one person seems so hard. Humbleswede makes me smile regularly; Elisabeth Ellington inspires me with her posts and her comments; Glenda Funk offers comments that make me think and slices that give me courage; Paula Borque, Jcareyreads… Deirdre at Notthewholestory feels like a long-lost sister…I know I’m forgetting people. It’s been amazing. But if I have to choose just one, I’ll nominate Alice Nine who has commented on pretty much all my posts in an incredibly thoughtful way, and whose posts have opened my mind and made me rethink how and why I write. Amazing. The whole thing has just been amazing.
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Girlgriot (not sure of her real name) has inspired me with her comments. She was one of the first to tell me she connected to some of my writing, which meant so much to me. And she pops back with comments whenever something I write hits home with her in some way. Thanks girlgriot!!
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Joanne Toft comments often, if not always, on my posts. I look forward to her feedback and enjoy her specific observations. Thank you Joanne!
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Dawn Sherriff invited me into her home to talk about writing over the summer and has inspired me to keep writing. She comments on my slices everyday…not just about the topic but about my writing too.
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Elsie at elsie tries writing https://lcinmo.wordpress.com/ has been an inspiration to me all month. She has commented on every post I have written during the challenge. Her comments have encouraged me as a writer, a teacher, a mom and a wife. I don’t know Elsie but I find myself looking forward to her comments and her posts every day. Thanks you Elsie!
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I have appreciated ALL of the comments and connections to my posts as a First-time Slicer. It really is validating AND inspirational. Since I can only choose one person, my nomination goes to Christine. 🙂
THANK YOU, Christine (iblessings), for sticking with me each and every day! 🙂
She always leaves an encouraging comment and often something specific about what my writing had to offer such as imagery, word choices, and descriptions. Those comments have helped me reflect upon the comments I write on student writing. I feel a little guilty for not being able to comment on more posts but aspire to do more as my experience evolves. I have greatly appreciated her uplifting comments and nudge to “keep writing”. Again, thank you!
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Elisabeth Ellington has commented on my of my slices this month and I truly appreciate her feedback and kindness for my posts.
I know I can’t nominate you (Melanie), but I am forever grateful to you for pushing me into doing this. I feel like my writing life is ‘real’ now. I appreciate all you and the team at two writing teachers do to inspire us all.
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I nominate John Re Reads & Writes. About a week into March, I wrote a poem about anticipating not receiving a birthday card from my grandmother. While I had felt like I’d mostly come to terms with her being so close to dying, this missing birthday card brought up a lot of sadness, and I spent a long time crafting the poem about it. John Re Reads & Writes wrote a poem in response that heard my feelings and answered them. His poem felt like such a gift and made me feel better about the birthday card that was not to come. On top of that, he mentioned my slice in his own slice, encouraging others to read it. It was the first time this month that I felt like I really had an audience, and this was such a personal poem for me that I’d worked so hard on that it felt especially good to have a wider audience.
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Jess Carey has responded to every slice of written. Knowing I can expect her feedback, and reading her feedback energizes me. She’s usually reading my slice during the pre-dawn hours and that’s pretty cool!
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