Teachers Write! is an online virtual summer writing camp for teachers and librarians who understand how important it is for people teaching writing to walk the walk.
My plans for Teachers Write:
This summer, my friend Jennifer Fountain and I are working on writing a proposal for a education professional book about teaching struggling readers which is our passion. Our goal this summer is to finish the cover letter, the expanded outline, and a couple of sample chapters so that by the end of the summer we can present our proposal.
My summer writing recap so far:
So far so good! However, does anyone else find that the summer is going so quickly! This is also my first summer trying to have a reading and writing goal and it is so hard to keep up with both of them. Also, when your reading is research, it goes much slower than reading for pleasure or even for review or a committee. Also, launching a new blog really eats into both!
Writing a proposal is a lot more work than I even imagined. The biggest challenge for us has been putting onto paper what we already understand in our brains. When writing the proposal, you have to remember that the editor or publisher reading it may not know certain things about education and you have to explain it. You can’t just say book pass or other terms; you have to explain them.
I’ve also found out that I really like the idea of co-authoring. I am truly enjoying working with Jenn. It is so nice to have someone to talk to about decisions, have someone to read your work, and someone to bounce ideas off of. I also think that she keeps me on track which means I should be writing right now…
How is writing going for all of my Teachers Writes friends? Do you find it hard to keep up with writing and reading? How do you balance the two?
Happy writing!
Oh, balance. Such a hard and tricky thing to do. What I love about blogging, reading and writing is that I love to find time for them and having time for each of them does help me feel balanced, in a crazy way, but still balanced. I love having all of them as part of my life. What I’ve had to come to understand is that, while I can have all of them, I have to rethink me own expectations of what I can do. I have tried to be super realistic with myself and honest with myself about what I can and can’t do. While I wish I had time to crank out 1,000 words a day on my novel, it’s just not going to happen if I also want to hang out with my family, read, blog…and sleep! My best advice is to find a little time for it all and to not stress yourself out over wanting to do it all and not being able to do it all to the extent that you wish you could do it all the time. Basically enjoy it and love yourself along the way and make sure you are always having fun while finding the time to fit it all in. 🙂
Thanks for this post, Kellee – I’m doing the same thing (different topic), and I’m also co-authoring. Thank God for that because I think it would be so hard to do alone. Good luck in your endeavor. Can’t wait to see the finished product some day – I know you’ll do it! 🙂
So exciting Holly!!! What is your topic?
I cannot imagine doing it alone either 🙂 So glad someone understands!
Our topic is using reading contracts in the classroom. We mentioned it in our Nerdy Book Club post yesterday and got some interest. We think we have something teachers would be interested in. It’s very exciting, yet daunting at times. 😉