Take a moment to envision life without writing. No text messages, emails, checks, or grocery lists. No birthday cards, legal documents or books to read. The National Day on Writing is celebrated every year on October 20th to reflect on the importance of writing in our daily lives. Reading competency has long been focused on as the most important aspect of literacy. The National Day on Writing used #whyiwrite online to start a national conversation about the importance of writing.
Below are a couple of examples of the reasons people write. Follow the hashtag or visit the National Day on Writing’s website to explore more.
What are some other ways we can celebrate writing today on the National Day on Writing!?
1)Write a round-robin story. One person begins the story and then after a specific amount of time, rotates their story clockwise to the next person in their group. The next writer must stay true to the original tone of the story, but they may take it any where they wish.
2) Write a “slam” poem. Slam poetry is poetry that is not just written, but is meant to be performed. Consider organizing a cross-campus slam poetry night at a local establishment sometime in the future.
3) Not dissimilar to the first idea, a post-it note plot diagram is a creative way to include several people in the creation of a single story. One person begins the plot with only as many words as comfortably fit on a post-it note (15-20). The plot is then continued by other writers and follows the traditional diagram (exposition, inciting event, rising action, climax, etc.).
4) Consider a story told from a different point of view. Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs fame, writes a blog post from the perspective of his dog, Freddie, every Friday. I enjoy most of them, but honestly I have not laughed out loud as hard as I did with this post in a long time. The pure curious innocence of Freddie + the dramatic irony invoked when the reader realizes what exactly is happening = pure comedic gold.
For further thoughts on writing, The National Day on Writing has sponsored a podcast called Why I Write. Episode 1 was released on October 20th and features New York Times Bestselling Author Brad Meltzer. Tune in to hear Meltzer and future guest’s thoughts on why they write.
