Four Writers

Tonight, in my family, four writers are at work.

Jimmy is writing, pencil on paper, an essay for his application to get into an advanced technology class in 8^th grade. When asked to describe himself on the application, he mentions the sports he plays, his older brother and sister, and his dog. He says he loves music and that he plays the drums. I suggested he omit the part about how the zebra is his favorite animal, but that’s his call. He’s working at the kitchen table, next to his backpack, some lacrosse gear, and a few dirty dishes.

Maggie is upstairs in “The Apartment” (her bedroom), working on my Chromebook as she writes a response to an AP US History DBQ assignment on World War I. She is trying to document and explain how World War I caused the Great Depression and World War II. If she writes it up as well as she explained it to me earlier, then she’ll do a great job on the DBQ.

Nell is in the living room, on the couch, writing on her laptop. HGTV’s Property Brothers provides a perfect level of background noise. She’s a literacy coach at her elementary school and she’s finishing up her monthly newsletter to parents. The column she’s working on provides ways parents might motivate reluctant readers.

The fourth writer in the family is miles away, in his dorm room. Dan is working on a case study for a public relations class on the Navy’s responsible drinking campaign, Keep What You’ve Earned. He also just finished up a paper on the theme of power in playwright Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, How I Learned to Drive.

No…Make That Five

Now I can add my name to the list of family members writing. I’m at the desktop computer near the kitchen listening to Explosions in the Sky on the Soundtrack to Friday Night Lights. After struggling to find something to write about tonight, I zoom in on the four writers in my family. No…make that five.