Write to Find the Light --We did!

"I hate writing," Maya Angelou has reportedly said, "but I love having written."

Most people don't realize how hard even the most accomplished scribes find writing. It is hard. But it's also incredibly rewarding, no matter the reason for the composition. That's why I'm excited to learn about and pass on to you word that the National Council of Teachers Of English plans to launch its first National Day on Writing Oct. 20, 2011. Go here for the details and great tips on getting started.

For me, penning provides excitement, an opportunity to play and satisfy a curiosity, laughter, release, relief, clarity, consolation, a means of healing and meditation, and much more. Whether for a journal entry, letter to a friend, essay, or book, I always find light when I write. I find it also in teaching children the joys of writing.

A fourth-grader named Elizabeth found joy and a path to reading by writing. Elizabeth couldn't read when I first met her five years ago. But she had a terrific imagination, as do most children. So each week I would ask Elizabeth to tell me a story, or embellish a short one we'd just read. I'd write it down, and Elizabeth, who loved to draw, would illustrate it. The more stories Elizabeth and I collaborated on, the more her reading and writing improved, as well as her confidence, until Elizabeth became a capable reader. It all happened in a matter of months.

That's the power of writing. So what's your story? If you don't have one yet, participate in the National Day on Writing and share your results.