A fantastic practicum experience has ended and I want to commit to writing seriously. I am the type of person to tackle one cause at a time and focus solely on such cause, accomplishing it and then moving on. Hence the reason why my blog I am sure has had virtual tumbleweeds blowing past.
Seen as I am finding other causes to take up in order to tide me over and to fulfil my New Years Resolution of writing more, I want to take up the challenge of writing 1000 words a day.
Yes it will be a challenge for me, but I want to earn my badge of 1000 words a day for at least 6 days a week as the sabbath is the day of rest :)
I want to be able to reflect, create journal/diary entries and (fingers crossed) post my ramblings on this blog.
HOWEVER (yes I deliberately stress HOWEVER) as a pre-service Teacher I understand the value of using laptops in class BUT the quality of handwriting has seriously dropped from year 9 onwards. I thought my chicken scratches are bad as well, because I am greatly dependent on writing on the laptop. To add to the challenge I want to be able to improve my quality of writing by completing part of the cause on a notepad. Hopefully I will be able to rewrite/edit the handwritten pieces of the blog but we shall see – commitment to my blog has been hard with all the distractions but I am working on it!
My deplorable handwriting has left many people to wonder what I have written. It is a sore spot of mine and I often have people question what I have just written. A Teacher in primary school and intermediate school used to assign me extra homework in the school holidays because she couldn’t read my “chicken scratches.” It has been hard and I have modified how I write in so many ways but the true nature of my handwriting comes out when I need to write quickly (in lectures) or when I cannot be bothered. There has even been scenarios when I have wondered what I have just read :S
In order to improve literacy, I would like to implement 100 words etc challenges to my students. I would like my students to be able to write creatively and imaginatively if I become an English teacher which is a method in my masters. Perhaps class time, say 10 minutes or so, students can write as much as they can. In a unit I undertook in undergrad, that was how one Tutor suggested we unlock our ability to write. It really worked and it allowed me to be at ease writing. Instead of sitting tense, wondering what and how to write creative non-fiction this exercise helped. What we had to do was writing any thoughts we were thinking – don’t plan what to write and if your thoughts jump then start writing that down too. Do not worry about not finishing your sentences just get it down on paper. I liked it because in a sense it was writing spontaneously.
Example:
I like Michael Jackson’s voice in the Jackson 5, I wonder if I sang as well as a child in Maori. Breaking Dawn was great – headache much – Diana is awfully quiet, creeps me out – need to change the music on my itunes, I am over it. I like Iron Butterfly – I want a butterfly tattoo like a monarch butterfly wings on my ankles for some reason – trying to keep my eyes open – I hope Paris is on her best behaviour tomorrow – sunrise over Mount Manaia is beautiful as I wish I were in Whangarei to be able to witness the majestic beauty of this Mountain.
It doesn’t need to be quite like mine, but you get the gist of moving from what I am thinking about to the next thought. Perhaps this exercise will be beneficial in gaining a badge for this challenge.
While I have decided that improvement in my handwriting was one reason for this challenge, I also love writing for enjoyment. Why? Because most of my childhood was spent wishing I could write. Learning Maori and not being able to read or write fluently in English I yearned to be able to write. I like being confident in writing and appreciating the ability to do so. I don’t take being literate for granted and I enjoy getting pen to paper to bring to life the ideas swarming around in my head. Such as the “great novels” I am tossing around – visualising the characters - heroines and love interests; the orientation; the complications; the resolutions; the coda. I like organising the ideas in my head and pragmatically go about transferring the ideas into print. Because I am quite a thoughtful person – in decision making that is – I do not want to cheapen the ideas that have come to mind therefore it my duty to revise and rewrite these characters and scenarios despite my aversion for it. Yes, I had writing drafts. The reason being that the raw ideas I have thought of (in my way of thinking) are perfect. It was how I envisioned it and transferred it into a written format. BUT it is something we all have to do as Writers, because these raw ideas are like a slab of marble that need to be refined in order to produce a work of art. Michelangelo did not crack the chisel a few times to produce Pieta, rather it was a time consuming process but the end result meant that we today can still admire the beauty of. Writing is an art form therefore we should take it upon ourselves to critically revise the written work we produce, despite it being tedious in nature.
As this is one of the first rambling I have written in a while, I am counting this one towards the challenge. My integrity will allow me to earn the badge therefore if I cheat I am only cheating myself in the end.
Happy Writing!
- Mallory
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