Keeping the Flow of Writing Going

I go to great lengths to protect the time and space I set aside for writing, to keep it free from distractions, in an atmosphere where everyone is working at the same tasks. If I’m working with a single learner or a pair of learners, I write too, inviting them to interrupt me when they need help with something. In a larger group I am too busy to write myself, but I know that people are more productive when everyone around them is writing.

The best way I found to eliminate distractions was to have a “writing marathon.” I chose Tuesday morning, 10:15–12:00. We took 20–30 minutes for the prompt (video or reading and discussion, or discussion of something going on in the program, the community, or the world). Then people started writing. The goal was to finish the piece, proofread it with me, and hand it in before lunch.

After learners finished their writing and proofread it with me, they had to leave the room (or the building when I worked in a storefront literacy centre). I didn’t want the people who were still writing to be distracted by someone who had finished writing. If that someone started to do math homework, for example, leaning over to ask someone what the assignment was, opening their binder rings, perhaps dropping a pencil, it could disrupt a writer’s train of thought. I didn’t want the bustle, and I didn’t want the temptation that might lead a writer to think, “Oh, it would be easier to do math right now. I’ll finish this writing tonight.”

As learners write, I remember the rules about feedback: I never point out a mistake; I never suggest an improvement. We don’t stop to correct errors; we want to get a first draft done. The rest will come later.

Beginners should always write when there is someone available to spell words, if requested, and to answer questions as they arise. When someone asks for the spelling of a word, I silently write it where they can see it. If I’m working one-to-one, I write it on a piece of paper beside them. If there is a group, I write it on the board so everyone can see. (If they are all writing on the same subject, likely other people will want the spelling of that word, or they will see it and get inspired when they are gazing around wondering what to say next.) I give them the spelling they need as unobtrusively as possible, so as not to interrupt the flow of writing for them or anyone around them.

Similarly when someone asks a question, I try to answer simply: “Yes,” or “No.”

“Do I need a capital C on ‘chief’?”

I glance at the sentence, “Our reserve has a good chief.”

I say, “No,” and go on my way. I don’t take the opportunity to explain why “chief” sometimes takes a capital and sometimes doesn’t, or to give examples like “Chief Dan George” and “a chief engineer.” This is not a teaching moment. This is a “get-something-down-on-paper moment,” and I refuse to be distracted.

I circulate as they write and make very brief comments on things I like in their writing: “Oh, you’ve got a great first sentence—it makes me curious about what happens next”; or “That’s a good description of your dog; I can almost see those floppy ears.” When they are in the flow of writing, I don’t interrupt, but if someone is stuck, I’ll ask a question about what happened next, or ask what feelings the incident brings up.

I try to be around when a writer is coming to the end of the draft, to help them get a real ending, instead of just stopping when they run out of things to say. I might ask a summing up question, such as, “How do you feel about that now?” or “What do you want the reader to think about when they finish reading your piece?” I invite them to write the answer to the question as the last line of their piece.