My Daybook Reflection

"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, and what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." ~Joan Didion

Dear Students,

There are 48 hours in the weekend and I spent roughly 14 of them grading 65 Daybooks. Thank you for making each one different and unique, interesting and enjoyable to read. This took the “work” out of grading them! There were no two entries alike and I loved getting lost in the pages of your writing! I want you to know that as I read them, I was making notes about your thoughts, suggestions, concerns, and ideas you shared with me in the reflection letters. We’ll talk soon about the specifics as they apply to each class.

The Daybook is our space to connect literature and writing. I know that times, it is difficult to write about the literature and write about ways that it connects to our lives. But I can already see the progression in the entries from the first to the last. One goal I have for you is to consider and develop your style and voice as a writer and responder to the literature. Each of us has a voice inside…we just need to discover it. Discovery is the easy part because you know yourself better than anyone else! Your voice as a writer is in there, so let it come out in your own creative style-one like no other!

Developing is the hard part…but it’s the guts AND glory of your efforts. I wish I could tell you there is a magic formula for developing as a writer. I’d be lying if I did. Developing comes from writing, and writing, and writing. Revising, reworking, and sharing—these are important parts of the development process too. I do not expect entries to be perfect, but I do what to give you the opportunity to explore and practice. That is why it is necessary to write as often as we do. Just remember that as we live, we grow and develop every day. That’s one of the challenges of living, and the same is true with writing. Each experience we try to put into words, each piece we complete, helps us grow as a person and as a writer.

~Mrs. Rorrer