I sat in the rocking chair in our classroom library, twenty-eight second graders sitting on the floor in front of me. Perhaps some of them were looking at me, others interested in the pebbles stuck in the grooves of their shoes, or hooking a stray thread in the carpet with their pencils, or casually sliding melted contraband candy from their warm pockets to their mouths.
At my shoulder stood an easel, an enlarged copy of a page from Frog and Toad taped to the chart paper. We would look at the witty banter of these two classic friends, walking through the woods in their slacks and tweed jackets. Examine the use of punctuation marks, perhaps, or maybe the words Arnold Lobel used to show us that once again, Frog was irritated with his stubborn friend.
But first…
“Hello, Writers!” I would exclaim. And twenty-eight pairs of eyes (or at least most of them) would rise to meet mine as they responded “Hello, Writer!”
This was our signal that for the next forty-five minutes or so, we would be writers. That concerns of other subjects or anything else they had or would encounter that day could be set to the side as we opened our minds to our stories.
At this moment, we became Writers.
Of course, I told them, we are always writers. We are writers when we are eavesdropping on adult conversations. We are writers when we are reading, or absorbed in stories in a video game world. We are writers when we are walking the dog, or feeding the cat, or texting a friend, or crying alone in our rooms.
We are writers because there are stories all around us, all of the time.
But still, we engaged in this ritual every time we began a writing session, because it reminded us that now was the time to put those stories to paper. Now was the time to corral our imaginations and funnel it into something tangible. Now was the time to use our words to impact our readers.
Now is the time.
So, Hello Writers!
I call this publication Hello Writers because it’s a signal to focus, to put on the Writer Hat, to call yourself yourself a writer.
It’s an invitation. Come in. You are a writer. You are welcome here. Whether you’ve put one word on the page or millions of them, whether your words have reached readers or remain in a cloak of darkness, you are welcome here.
Stories are all around us. And your story is here, too. And it matters.
Who am I?
I’m just a writer, asking another writer to join a community of … well, writers.
I’m a human with a busy life and a noisy household and two day jobs and still, STILL, I must write. Even when it would be so much easier not to.
I take what I learn and I shape it into something easily digestible and I hand it to you. (I was going to say that I’m a teacher at heart, but this analogy made me sound like a Mama Bird. So maybe I’m a Mama Bird.) You are free to do with it what you like.
The thing I most want to do is connect you - to other writers, to your own stories, to brilliant examples, to your own heart. Let me be the Frog to your Toad. Or the other way around, if you prefer.
You can learn more about me here, including my experience and my stance on writing and stories, if you like. No pressure.
And, if you like, please join me.
🩷 Stephanie