Why I/We Write: Last But Not Least

I’m a veritable caboose today, bringing up the rear: the last TeachingAuthor to close out our two weeks’ worth of Why We Write posts.
Learning where my fellow TeachingAuthors’ hearts lie didn’t surprise me.
At the end of each post, I found myself borrowing Leslie Helakoski’s delicious Big Chickens (Dutton, 2006) refrain, declaring,
“Me too!”
“Me three!”
“Me four!”

Like JoAnn, I think better with a pen.
Like Mary Ann, I write to figure out life.
Writing serves as my life preserver, as it does for Carmela.
April’s “What if’s?” and Jeanne Marie’s need to remember are staples stored in my writer’s cupboard.

I can’t imagine a day in which I don’t write something – a letter, a blog post, manuscript comments, a grocery list.

Years of writing across all formats, across all genres, enabled me to uncover and recover the first person singular pronoun “I.”
I found me….and the voice I’d closeted long-ago.
Now I speak loud and clear, on the page, often to the world.
My ordered words express a mind-set, a heart-set, a viewpoint – all mine.
Sometimes, I am the only one listening.
Other times, listeners come a-knockin’ at my door.

This past week, children’s book author Jacqueline Jules, the Coordinator of North Arlington, Virginia’s Nottingham Elementary School’s Exemplary Project, emailed to share her students’ S is for Story-based stories posted to the National Gallery of Writing on October 20.
The principal, Ms. Pelosky, with the help of Exemplary Project PTA funds, had purchased my book as a welcome back gift for every K-5 Nottingham student as a way to commemorate a new year of the Exemplary Writing project.

Could there be a better closing to end our Why We Write posts?

The Nottingham’s students’ National Gallery of Writing stories offer Show, Don’t Tell proof of why we six TeachingAuthors choose to write.

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.
Hurrah!  We have two (count 'em) Show, Don't Tell items of proof.  Sit A While blogger and TeachingAuthor reader Callie Feyen emailed to thank us for inspiring her Why I Write post and pass along the link.