Archive for November 2023

“Observe. Make notes. Listen carefully. Listen to how people talk to one another. A good writer is always a people watcher.”—Judy Blume

Make a commitment to take time observing the interaction between a child and an adult that you know, between two children, or between children and adults. Listen for words spoken, and watch for body language. Take notes!

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“I tell my students one of the most important things they need to know is when they are their best, creatively. They need to ask themselves, what does the ideal room look like? Is there music? Is there silence? Is there chaos outside or is there serenity outside? What do I need in order to release my imagination?”—Maya Angelou from a 1993 interview in The Paris Review

Spend some time figuring out when, where, and what you need to do your best writing. Consciously set out to create that environment for yourself.

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“I spent a number of years trying to remember what it was like to be a kid.”
—Jeff Kinney

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid?

Set a timer for fifteen minutes and mine your memory for events and for feelings.

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“Revision is all there is.”
–David Remnick

Revision, according to vocabulary.com, is “the act of revision or altering (involving reconsideration and modification).”

What is it that you have revised recently? A perspective, a belief, an activity or something more concrete. How might a child reconsider and modify something—their behavior, an activity, a creation like a block structure? Write about that.

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