A Red Letter Day

We took a break from all of the snow last week to duck into the bookstore to check out The Write Start. To say that having my kids pluck a book that I wrote off of a shelf at one of our most favorite hangouts was AWESOME is an overwhelming understatement. For me, it was a dream come true.

In honor of our joy and excitement, Jack and Gracie would each like to give away a signed (by me) copy of The Write Start. They will even enclose a custom short story (Jack) or a personalized scribble (Gracie) for the lucky winners!

For a chance to win, please add a comment to this post about one of your favorite early writing memories from your own childhood. Did you have a favorite place to write? A secret diary with a lock? A special person who encouraged or inspired you to write? A particularly pleasing poem that you will never forget? Please share!

This giveaway will be open until midnight Sunday, January 9th. Jack and Gracie will chose the winners at random, and I am so looking forward to shipping a couple of copies of The Write Start off to their new homes!

I can't thank all of you enough for your support and enthusiasm about this blog and this book. I wish everyone a happy, healthy 2011 filled with scribbles, stories, and smiles!

Comments

[laura]

I loved writing on the lined paper with little pictures on it when I was in elementary school. I'm now 30 and I still have blank pages that my teacher let me take home so I could make my own copies.

[eMily]

A true Red Letter day! One of my favorite writing activities was playing library with my siblings. That was back in the day with library cards that would be stamped individually for each book. We would spend hours playing this game.
Now I watch as our children play library and laugh to myself as they 'scan' each book. How things change!

[tiff holt]

i had the book on my wish list for christmas, but did not get it. i have always been a struggling writer since i can remember...however the last 6 years i have been blogging and find myself a little more confident each time. i will never be a formal writer, but enjoy the online journal-ing that has become part of my every day life.

thanks for having such an inspiring website...i love coming here for some great ideas for my kindergarten classroom!

[Lexi]

In first grade, my teacher felt me (and as I recall...) one other girl showed great potential for writing. She gave us special notebooks to write our poems and stories in. I loved it! My mom still has that notebook.

[Sarah]

Writing thank you notes with help from my mom was one of those experiences that I anticipated with dread, but look back on fondly. Particularly challenging were two aunts who lived next door to one another and always sent checks for $5. My mom told me I had to write something unique in each thank you note because the aunts would compare notes over the picket fence.

[Allyson]

I had a little chair/desk in my room. It had a drawer where I put my coloring books and crayons. I would color for hours in the early mornings before anyone else woke up.

[Shelley]

I've been a diary/journal writer my entire life. I always loved taking out my little lock and key diary from the drug store as a kid. As a mom I have been giving journals to my children every year, I hope they will write as much as I do. They are going to have quite a collection, you see, I keep buying them before they can fill them! Thanks for the chance to win.

[kathyw]

I remember the day when cursive handwriting was introduced...how grown up I felt:)
I'm a preschool teacher and mother of four, I can't wait to get my hands on this book.

[jenny]

I can remember folding huge stacks of paper into a "book" and calling my cousins and friends to see what character they wanted to be in my stories. So fun. :)

[Aly]

Congratulations on the book! I can't wait to get my hands on it.

I took Harriet the Spy to heart and hid in a boxwood bush to watch and record the comings and goings of people in our town square with my best friend. There wasn't much too see, so it was pretty innocuous, but having a tiny hiding place for writing in was a lot of fun.

[Pancakes For Recess]

My favourite place to write was under my bed. I'd lay down so my torso would stick out and my toes would be close to the heating vent. I'd prop myself up on my elbows and write, paint and draw for hours, all cozy and warm.
Congratulations:)

[Lise]

Congratulations! What a thrill. I'd love a chance to win.

When I was in third grade, my mother ran an after-school writing club in our school library. I loved writing to her various prompts, and sharing the love of writing with kids who wanted to be there.

[My Boys' Teacher]

Hi! I love your blog! I have been a daily reader for a couple of years now. Thank you for all you do and congratulations on the book.

Writing was the first thing I had in my life that helped me connect with my peers as a child and the first thing that made me feel like I was good at something. I was a terribly shy little girl and felt very "outside" in the classroom. I remember clearly in the second grade the teacher asked me to read a story I had written as an assignment out loud for the rest of the class. I didn't know "why" she wanted me to, but I did. I didn't know that I had a written a particularly good story. I don't remember what it was about, but I do remember everyone listened intently and laughed in all the right places. After that everyone "knew me" just well enough that it wasn't so hard to connect anymore. It helped me learn to use my words and sense of humor to open the door "knowing" other people as well.

[Jessica Engel]

One of the biggest supporters of my love of writing was my grandma. She passed away just a few days ago on New Year's Eve- here is the story of her and her love of reading as well http://lifeoncottagehill.blogspot.com/2011/01/pieces-of-grandma.html - thank you for always inspiring so many to write!

[Danielle]

I used to love Sunday afternoons when we were to write in our journals. Some of those entries I wish I could go back and erase, but they were true emotions of how I felt at the time.

[Mama Pickles]

I would love to win a copy of your book. I fondly remember my pink diary with a lock and key. I think I might have been in 2nd or 3rd grade. I would write and write and write and then carefully lock it and shove it under my mattress. I wonder if my mom still has it somewhere in my box of stuff in her attic.

[Gina]

I moved when I was in second grade and wrote 2 of my girlfriends for years! Those letters are still fun to read. I love all of your ideas- and I'm hoping I'll be lucky and win a book! Thanks!

[Amy]

I am so excited to read your book as I have loved following your blog. One memory that I am thinking of now that we have just celebrated Christmas, was writing a little Christmas play with my best friend and then performing it with our younger siblings for our parents. I made a beautiful cover for it and really had a lot of fun writing it.

[Steph at Modern Parents Messy Kids]

When I was in middle school I was selected for a program called "Young Authors". I got to skip school for an entire day to attend writing workshops put on at a local community college with their English professors. I felt so grown up and it really sparked a love for reading and writing.

[gisele]

I've always been a pretty visual person and paid attention to the look of handwriting. In grage 4 I was one of three winners in a handwriting contest in my class. I remember concentrating so hard on every single letter to make my sample beautiful. My sample was half the length of everybody else's but there sure was a lot of love poured into it. I am now the mother of a six year old who has similar sensibilities.

[Mel]

My Dad built a low shelf on each side of the closet in my sister's and my room. We called them our "sides" and spent countless hours during our childhoods writing and drawing on those shelves/desks. I hope we can do something similar for our kids someday.

[Erika]

Thank you for this wonderful giveaway! I didn't have very good experiences with writing when I was in elementary school. I was (and still am) a very slow writer who got lots of hand cramps :) Is this related to left-handedness? Anyway, the two positive memories that stand out both occured in the seventh grade. My reading teacher had us write a Christmas poem or song based on one that already had been written and I wrote "I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas." I don't know why since we hardly ever had snow at Christmas, but at the time I thought it was pretty clever. Also that year, my English teacher had us compile and copy down 25 poems. I told her all mine would be about horses (my first love), but she doubted I'd ever find that many poems about them. Well I did and she was immensely surprised!

[Monique]

I loved to write stories for fun when I was young. One year in elementary school I joined the"Young Authors Club" led by author Dorothy Gilman and was able to fine tune a story I had written over the previous summer. It was such a thrill and an honor. Now I get to watch my 7 year-old daughter enjoy writing just as much!
Thank you for all you have offered to encourage and support children writing!

[molly]

Congrats! We just got the book from Amazon and I am so excited to start reading. As for a favorite writing memory, my oldest friend moved away and we remained pen pals until she moved back in high school!

[Kiasa]

I come from a family of literary people and never felt my writing skills measured up. But I still remember my freshman English teacher (who I thought really didn't like me) giving me very positive feedback on my writing. I remember and love some of the poems I wrote for that class.