This tip sheet from the NCTE focuses on writers who are interested in sharing a piece of their writing for National Gallery of Writing as part of the NCTE-sponsored National Day of Writing. This thoughtful effort is great idea for encouraging aspiring writers to produce a composition for an online archive.
But the reference, "Selecting Writing to Share with Others," is helpful for all kinds of writers: those who need to get out a proposal or report in a short time frame at work; those who want to publish an op-ed in the newspaper; or those who hope to create a poem, story, or essay for a periodical. It makes three memorable points that I use when urging writing students to keep at it:
- Writing ideas are everywhere: in your complaint letter to the credit card company, in your email explaining an unusual experience to a friend, in your conversation with a coworker about your last vacation, and in even your walk to the office.
- If you think it's a good enough piece of writing for you to save, then it's good enough for you to perfect and to share with the world.
- Sharing your writing with others gives deep insights not only into the quality of your writing but into the kind of person you want others to see in you.
