Posts Tagged writing

Reluctant Reader Meet Reluctant Writer

By on April 17, 2025   /   Articles, Writing  

Young girl sitting at her desk with her head down in a book.

As educators, parents, and creatives, we are very familiar with the notion of the reluctant reader: young—and old—readers who dread picking up a book, yet alone finishing it! Educators struggle with recommending interesting stories to unmotivated readers. Parents struggle with unfinished library books that their children just HAD to have. Writers struggle with creating unique and binge-worthy tales for their audiences. While the concept of a reluctant reader is well known, its counterpart—the reluctant writer—may not be as popular. 

Some students may be labeled as reluctant writers because they have a deadly aversion to writing. Be it a short-answer response on their exams, or a creative story for an assignment, reluctant writers have zero desire to put their thoughts down on paper for whatever reason. This scenario happens to the best of us and I would proudly declare that I consider myself to be a reluctant writer. Even if I know I have amazing stories to tell, when it comes time to sit down and put pen to paper, my brain shuts down!

For many of us, the start of a new project is always exhilarating. It’s thrilling to sit up and think about new characters, new worlds, and new loves. The entire process is always exciting at the beginning. When you open up a fresh, blank document and start typing your first words, all of your ideas flow easily onto the page. The story starts off strong and your characters come to life while you document their trials and tribulations. Your plot thickens as you hit a groove and steadily add to your word count day after day after day. But then suddenly, it happens without warning ~ writer’s block. 

Clip art of a boy at his desk with his hand on this chin, staring into space.

Your ideas become stale, your writing stalls. Your blank pages stare back at you, judging your ineptitude. Your characters whisper behind your back and mock your inability to continue the story. Your world fades the longer you miss your streak and fail to add new words. Eventually, you stop opening the document and move on to a different project. Another manuscript sits in your folder, hoping to see the light of day again, but you both know that story is done. This vicious cycle of new stories, vigorous writing, stalled plotlines, and incomplete manuscripts lives at the heart of today’s truth. 

Writing is numbing. 

It’s extremely difficult to maintain a strict writing schedule when you have life coming at you from all sides. Plus, brilliance rarely strikes every day, so I believe it’s bad practice to force yourself to write every day. Burnout is real and so is the pain of being unable to complete your beloved manuscript. This pain becomes so numbing, you’re unable to do anything else. 

Yet knowing that inspiration comes when it wants, it’s very possible you’ll miss it if you don’t have a steady routine. I know this sounds very contradictory, but the writing process is not just about writing. There are so many other writing-related things you can do when you are caught in the middle of a creative drought. 

Learn to acknowledge the numbing feeling of writer’s block and look for ways to break free from it. Invention is the most difficult part of creation, regardless of the medium you work in. And it’s hard to find the right words to articulate the vision you have in your head. Oftentimes, the words don’t want to come or the scenes just don’t flow.

To trigger my creative side, I’ll take a break from forcing myself to write and wind down by reading or watching shows. Once inspiration hits, I’ll have a brainstorming session to help me get over my writer’s block. Nothing major or planned. Just a quick free write to jot possible ideas down on paper. Usually, this gives me a starting point for stalled manuscripts and I will feel ready to return to them.

Another helpful tip is having writer friends or accountability partners that understand what you’re going through and can pull you out of your self-inflicted misery. We all go through bouts of imposter syndrome, but it doesn’t mean you need to succumb to this malady. It’s important to acknowledge when we’re feeling this blockage and fight to find a way to step away from the numbing pain to seek another new beginning. 

Aerial shot of a group of writers sitting a table with their laptops, notepads, clipboard and drinks during a session.

The more you allow yourself to write without restraint, you’ll find the ideas flowing more freely. Eventually, you’ll find your creative groove and hopefully move away from being a reluctant writer to a productive one! Just know that we’ve all been there and if you ever need a positive push, my inbox is always open! Signing off from the trenches, I’m manifesting great writing sessions and envisioning everyone finding your voice and creating some amazing stories to inspire the next generation of reluctant readers and writers! 

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STEM Tuesday– Naturalists– Writing Tips & Resources

By on April 15, 2025   /   Earth Day, STEM Tuesday  

Hello again, STEM Tuesday friends. Here in Utah the spring has been iffy, with bitter winds and snow as recently as two weeks ago. Now that the air is warm and filled with little white blossoms from the cherry trees, it seems like we’re finally close to summer.

With the warming weather, and our monthly theme of naturalists, my first impulse is to recommend a nature walk. When I was young, I loved looking at different leaf shapes, and feeling their various textures. I remember washing out an Altoids tin and keeping an assortment of dried flowers, twigs, and rocks. These sorts of outings are timeless.

It being poetry month, I have a wonderful resource for you: a book about writing nature poems, written for and featuring young poets called A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry From Nature by Lorraine Ferra.

a book cover

Indeed, the first chapter is about poetry field trips; getting into the great outdoors and experiencing the primary text of the world around us. Ferra writes,

Weather is an endless source of ideas for poems. You need only to step outside to feel the freshness of new-fallen snow, or a light rainfall. If circumstances limit your activities and keep you indoors, a poetry field trip can be as quick as a few steps to a window. From there, you can watch dark thunderclouds riding toward you like a herd of buffalo or catch sight of a rainbow before it disappears.”

While this book offers plenty of writing prompts, I’ll let you discover those yourselves (see page 21), instead opting to share some from my own arsenal.

Writing Prompt 1 | A Form Poem

Have your children try writing a seven-line diamante. It’s a little like a Mad Lib, in that they’ll need to know their parts of speech. Typically, diamante poems juxtapose two things—whether like or unlike—so the prompt is to choose two parts of nature and bookend the poem with those, like this:

seed

– –

– – –

– – – –

– – –

– –

pebble

From there, build the poem accordingly. The seven words following your first line should modify the beginning word. The seven words preceding the last line should modify the last word. Each hyphen represents a word. The double hyphen lines are filled with adjectives. The triple hyphen lines are filled with gerunds (verbs ending with -ing), and the middle line features nouns. A completed poem might look like this:

 

seed

patient, thirsty

uncurling, stretching, waving

stem, blossom, path, river

flying, twirling, sinking

kicked, settled

pebble

 

Writing Prompt 2 | Short Stories About Small Creatures

If going outside for a nature walk isn’t possible, the next best thing is bringing the outdoors in. If you feel adventurous, invite students to bring their own insects, bugs, or spiders to class (in a jar or other container). Otherwise, choose one or two to bring. Easy ones to capture might include pill bugs, common house flies, or pollinators like ladybugs. In a pinch, you can purchase some from pet stores, which usually carry live crickets (about $7 for 40), worms, and other small creatures. Several years ago, I caught a jumping spider similar to this guy in my back yard:

jumping spider

Encourage your students to write a short story from the perspective of one of these small creatures. What would the world look like? How could a normal object from school life, like a pencil or calculator, be experienced by a non-human? What kind of challenges might this kind of main character face? For example, what color of acrylic paint would a ladybug be most attracted to, or how many ants would it take to carry a cookie? This exercise may lead students to write silly stories, but it’s a fun prompt that encourages empathy.

Wherever you are, I hope you’re enjoying nature and the weather, helping your budding naturalists-in-the-making to observe and discover more about the world around them.

Best,

Stephanie

A nature-loving creative, Stephanie Jackson writes poems, articles, picture books, middle-grade novels, and more. Her nonfiction has been published in Cricket magazine and her poems have been published in The Dirigible Balloon and various literary journals including Touchstones, where she’s been a contributing poetry editor. Professional affiliations include the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and The Authors Guild. She’s graduating this month from Utah Valley University with her English degree, emphasis in creative writing. You can read more at StephanieWritesforKids.com.

 

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STEM Tuesday– Naturalists– In the Classroom

By on April 8, 2025   /   Earth Day, STEM Tuesday  

 

Instead of just reading about ecosystems or food chains in a textbook, naturalists are out in the world seeing it happen —watching ants build a colony, seeing mushrooms grow after rain, or noticing how birds behave at different times of day. These books explore naturalists, what they do, and how you can be a naturalist too. They make a great starting point for nature explorations, classroom discussions, and activities!

 

I Begin with Spring: The Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau 

by Julie Dunlap and Megan Elizabeth Baratta

Henry Thoreau collected leaves and arrowheads from a young age. He could tell when skunk cabbage was blooming by smelling the air. As an adult, he kept copious notes about nature, sending samples and observations to scientists. Observant readers will enjoy the timeline that runs along the bottom of the pages. Back matter dives into phenology (botanical signs of the seasons) and how Thoreau’s work has helped modern scientists understand climate change.

 

Classroom Activity – Nature Journaling

Try your hand at being a naturalist like Henry David Thoreau! Have students visit a local park, backyard, garden, or schoolyard. Each student should take a notebook, pencils, colored pencils, and a magnifying glass. Have each student explore the area for plants, insects, animals, weather, or sounds. What did they observe? Students should draw or describe what they observed in their nature journal. They can also take notes and write down any questions they might want to research later. Back in the classroom, students can share their observations with classmates.

 

Wildheart: the Daring Adventures of John Muir

by Julie Bertagna

Beginning with boyhood in Scotland and continuing with his adult life in the US, this book presents John Muir’s life in graphic novel format. Muir, more famous as the founder of the Sierra Club, was a careful observer of nature. His study of glaciers in Alaska informed his understanding of Yosemite.

 

Darwin’s Rival: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Search for Evolution

by Christiane Dorion

This is an adventure story – a tale of exploration, field research, shipwrecks, and a friendship between two naturalists that evolved over time. Both Wallace and Darwin wrote about natural selection and the evolution of new species. But instead of competing against each other for credit, both tried hard to treat each other fairly – to the benefit of all. Filled with maps and spreads showing diversity of beetles, butterflies, and birds.

 

Classroom Activity – Naturalist Spotlight

Naturalists such as John Muir, Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, and others have made significant contributions to our understanding of nature and the environment. Divide students into small groups and have each group pick a naturalist to research. What type of work did they do? What did they study? What contributions did they make to our understanding of nature? What qualities does their subject share with other naturalists? Have students prepare a poster, PowerPoint presentation, or short skit to present what they have learned to the class.

 Classroom Activity – Animal Tracking

Naturalists learn how to spot the signs of animal activity in nature. They find tracks, feathers, nests, and scat that reveal animal activity. Now it’s time for students to put on their nature detective hats and track animal activity. First, students should research and study images of animal tracks, scat, feathers, nests and other signs of local wildlife. Next, students can go on a walk to search for signs of animal activity. Have them take notes and sketch what they find in a nature journal. What evidence and signs of animal activity did they find? What information does it give them about the animals in their area? Have students share their findings with the class.

 

The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions

by Giselle Clarkson

This book presents four potential sites for conducting naturalist expeditions, along with the sorts of things one might observe while there. They are easily accessible to kids of all ages and include a damp corner (perfect site for discovering more about centipedes and fungi), pavement (great habitat for ants and worms) and weedy patches.

 

Classroom Activity – Build a Bug House

What type of habitats do insects prefer? In this activity, students can try their hand at building an insect habitat, a bug house! Have students collect natural items to use as building materials, such as sticks, bark, leaves, and pinecones. Students can use these building materials to design and build a small structure that provides shelter for insects. Place the structures outside and observe over several weeks. Students can write and sketch their observations in their nature journals. What insects does the bug house attract? Why are they important?

 

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Carla Mooney loves to explore the world around us and discover the details about how it works. An award-winning author of numerous nonfiction science books for kids and teens, she hopes to spark a healthy curiosity and love of science in today’s young people. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, three kids, and dog. Find her at http://www.carlamooney.com, on Facebook @carlamooneyauthor, or on X @carlawrites.

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