Three Strategies For When You Hear “I’m done”

The Context:

“Your room is already cleaned up?” This was a common question in my house of four daughters.

“Yep,” was a typical response, citing a made bed as evidence. “I’m done.”

In their minds, a neat bed sufficed for a cleaned-up room. Just as they needed some strategies and checklists for cleaning more, writers also sometimes need some strategies and checklists for writing more.

Here Are Some Strategies:

1. Twin Sentences: I really think twin sentences got me the word count I needed for my thesis paper, even though it’s a strategy that exists in our first-grade curriculum. Simply put, writers begin a sentence the way they’ve ended their previous sentence. Once you’re aware of twin sentences, you’re likely to start noticing them in a lot of texts, but here are a few examples:
   • This morning I have a lot of errands. The errands consist of…
   • I’ll be making some chocolate-chip cookies. Chocolate-chip cookies are my daughters’ favorite.
   • One of the main characters of my book is Grace. Grace lives in the upstairs room.
2. The Power of Three: Repetition is a powerful craft move, but it’s tricky. As is the case with twin sentences, if you’re on the lookout for the power of three, you might find it showing up in lots of places. Cynthia Rylant’s books are packed with examples! When I explicitly teach students to try three _______s in a row– whatever those ______s might be— it’s a nudge to get them to write a little more and frequently, the repetition leads to voice in their work. Here are a couple of places I’ve seen the power of three show up effectively:
   • Original: I was so nervous.
   • With the Power of Three– in this case, questions:
     • I was so nervous. Will people not want to be my friend? Am I going to be lonely for the rest of the school year? Will kids make fun of me everyday?
   • Original: It was raining outside.
   • With the power of three– in this case, three sensory details:
   • It was raining outside. The rain felt like pellets on my skin. The wind felt like a fan on full blast. The air felt like a cold rag on my cheeks.
3. Transition Phrases: I’ve written about transition phrases several times, and I use them ALL the time with writers, regardless of age and experience. The more writers are aware of the nuances between adding words and explaining words, the more intentional you’re likely to see writers become about using them. Here’s a chart you might want to start and refer to throughout the school year:

Adding Words One thing Another Additionally For example One time	Explaining Words Therefore As you can see This is different/similar This is important because

A Few Caveats: These ideas are strategies and not solutions. Sometimes, the quality of writing will not improve because a writer writes more. Sometimes the quality of writing will even get worse–think back to my daughters who could clean the floor by pushing everything under the bed. However, sometimes, it’s nice to have a few strategies on hand to combat the pervasive I’m done syndrome that shows up in writing classrooms.