I was over on Molly’s blog the other day . . .
She was sharing about her uneasiness in signing up for #SOLC19. Her words resonated with me and I commented —
. . . I will be posting a lot of rough drafts. Perhaps I will “stamp” them “Rough Draft” the way my students would do their papers when they didn’t want to or didn’t have time to revise. I could just put ROUGH DRAFT in red on the first line of the post. Or I could designate all of them as “Morning Pages from A9 Journals.” I kinda like that one… Whoa… I think I’m writing a slice here instead of a comment. Haha!
Then I stopped by Beverley A. Baird’s . . . and wouldn’t you know it, she was writing about the same thing. So I commented —
I am so with you, Bev. I hesitated for a long time… and then finally committed. My mantra for March #SOLC19 is “Brief and Rough.” I think that will get me through the 31 days. … I will be looking for you!
Well, today, I spent my writing time fooling around with possible images.
Here’s my first idea. I like its simplicity.
Here’s another. I love the red pen and the coffee cup is just right. It goes with the steaming cup of coffee on the home page of my blog.
If I incorporate my mantra “Rough & Brief,” it could be …
What do you think?
Which one do you like?
Of course, I must still answer two critical questions. Will I actually be able to publicly share something that I know is a rough draft? And can I keep it brief?
Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
But I’m really must if I’m going to make it to March 31st.
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Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
I love the idea of allowing ourselves to post rough drafts. I SO OFTEN overthink and/or over edit my writing, which made me nervous about signing up for Slice of Life! Drafts are beautiful in their own way – they remind us and our students that writing is a process. Thanks for your post!
This is an encouraging post. Writing every day must allow opportunities for rough drafts. Thanks for stating this and giving others (me) the OK to do this, too.
Of course it is YOUR decision, but Option 4 is my choice.
I like option 4! And I completely agree! I know nothing about writing and am very scared of this challenge! But that is what makes it challenging I guess! I also struggle with needing to make something perfect before sharing it. Something I need to grow through. Here’s to 31 days of rough drafts! Good luck!
“Rough and Brief” I like that. I see nothing wrong with sharing drafts. They are works in progress and with drafts we are looking for constructive feedback. This is the perfect place for that.
Amazing idea. I love it. I’ve been sharing my blog on Twitter and Facebook & I’ve considered not doing that this month for the reasons you articulate so well…but I also think that being willing to share things that are “brief and rough” is important. Like Molly, I love the simple stamp. If you let me, I may – ahem – borrow that image.
Yes! By all means, feel free to use use the image.
I always think my blog posts are rough drafts–otherwise I don’t think I’d ever hit publish!
I like this idea a lot. I could (should) take your advice so that I don’t burn out on the first weekend. I like image #4 except that it’s almost too good, if you know what I mean. It’s a polished image. For that reason, I think I’d stick with #1…unless #4 will be a pleasant incentive to post so that you can use the image.
#4. I want to go design one for my blog.
I like the journal and cup. It seems more forgiving. My posts are my best first drafts, but I know there will always be room for improvement.
I think of blogging as first-draft writing. Generally I have a post planned in my head before writing, but I only write one draft and spend as little time as possible drafting. My goal is to keep posts this month under 300 words but to keep the writing tight.
I love the coffee cup image, but want to stamp all my posts w/ that big red square.
I like the one with a journal and a cup. It seems more accepting and gentle than the red stamp. The audience of your slices will be accepting and understanding too.
“Will I actually be able to publicly share something that I know is a rough draft? And can I keep it brief?”
Oh, you are not the only one having this struggle. I love the idea of blogging as drafting, but both those questions are challenging me on day two. Thank you for sharing your intentions!
Great mantra! All too often I get caught up in making sure my slice is perfect. It’s good to let go and just let it be what it is, a rough draft. I like the one with the coffee cup and pen. 🙂
Yes brief and rough it must be to keep the stamina going for 31 days! I like your images and idea to madd one of them to your post. Personally – I like the coffee cup images.
Good luck and thanks for sharing your mantra.
We’ll see, Alice… I like the red pen and coffee cup, it seems more you. But then the other one starkly makes the point this slice is different. I think it depends on what you decide about the two questions.
Alice! I love your mantra, “brief and rough”, and think the red “Rough Draft” stamp is perfect on its own. I should follow that mantra, as two days in, both of my posts have been lengthy. Not only do I not have the time to write so much, I suspect my readers would appreciate increased brevity as well! Day two under our belts. Woot!
Interesting musings. I like the last one, by the way…a brief slice in rough draft. Says it all. Good luck with it!
Alice I learn so much from your slices. I also read a couple of slices yesterday about sharing our drafts, it really motivated me as it could also imply making our first draft our best. I remember reading that somewhere. At least that slice would then be good enough to share.