Nerdlution! COMMITTMENT - ACCOUNTABILITY - ACCOMPLISHMENT

My Lost Writing Life

I have fallen away from writing.  That's very sad to me, because it used to be such a huge part of my life.  There were days when I wrote in a journal for pleasure ... recording memories, creating poetry and saving thoughtful meanderings.  Something shifted in my life, and I began to write on demand rather than for myself.  It was just life - my job as an elementary principal, coauthoring three books with Franki Sibberson, articles for Choice Literacy.  I loved the professional writing that I was doing, but I neglected my writing roots.  It is something I regret and hope to change.

While I still enjoy writing for a purpose, I find that it requires a more focused approach to writing.  Who is my audience?  What am I trying to say?  Will readers understand what I am thinking?  Is my writing worth reading?  Is my writing as crafted as it could be?  There is a sort of tension in the act of this kind of writing.  I will continue to write professionally, but I need to reach back into my writing life.

I miss the days when I captured thoughts in my journal - just because I loved doing it.  No one was going to read my writing unless I decided to share it.  The focus was on discovering my thoughts and letting them spill out on the page.  Sometimes, I crafted a memory I didn't want to lose.  Sometimes, I didn't discover my topic until I started scribing the words on the page - a journey of discovery.  Sometimes, I would play with words or write down a quote that captured my thinking.  Sometimes, I pasted items into my journal - a fortune from a fortune cookie, an article from the newspaper, a snapshot, or a sketch.  And there was something about writing with a pencil in my notebook rather than word processing on the computer.  It's difficult to explain but my pencil scratching the page cannot be replaced by a keyboard. Thinking about the beginnings of my writing journey brings me comfort.  I need that sense of writing back in my life.

So when I heard about #nerdlution and the public commitments folks were making on Twitter, I decided that writing in my notebook each day might be a great goal to bring me back to the joy of writing. (See the post from Franki Sibberson on Year of Reading to find out more about #nerdlution.)

Getting Healthy

I recently retired from my dream job as an elementary principal.  I used to say that I never had time to eat right and exercise.  Well, now I have no excuse.  Enough said.  

My Nerdlutions

So here are my goals for the 50-day Nerdlution:

Goal #1 - write in my notebook for pleasure each day
Goal #2 - eat right and exercise each day 

I will join others posting on Twitter (#nerdlution) to keep myself accountable.  Wish me luck.