Building My Writing Habit by Alexis Teevens

Summer writing will be my anchor.

I am longing for the option to go for a walk when I feel like it, to sleep until my eyes blink open, to sip on an iced coffee that I bought in the middle of the day. I am craving the lack of structure that summer brings me. I’m at the age when my summer weekends are filled with weddings and bachelorettes, but my summer weekdays are blissfully free.

With that anticipated freedom, I have started every summer telling myself that this will be the season when I become a writer. This will be the season when I block out the time, sit down, and string words together until I have some sort of product.

It’s just never happened.

The hard work of sitting down when the ideas weren’t there has never seemed appealing when there were so many other, easier ways I could let the minutes tick by.

But this year, I am excited to be a part of a Teach Write Academy course. Not an ad, I promise - I haven’t taken the course yet. When I think of summer writing, though, I think of this investment I finally decided to make it a habit I want my future self to have.

I think, like many of us, I always thought I should just be able to be disciplined enough to get myself to write on a regular basis. I should have the discipline I try to teach my kids to try new strategies or write about small moments.

I’m finally ready to admit that I don’t independently have that discipline, that that’s okay. I need a community, and I need some assignments, and I need a little bit of a schedule. I teach my kids to ask for what they need to be successful, so it’s time I did the same.

This summer is the summer I actually write, and I will do it with the support of a writing community. I can’t wait to struggle the same way my students do, and I can’t wait to see what I get out of having at least one anchoring habit in a summer filled with a lot of much-anticipated free time.


Alexis Teevens is a 7th grade English and social studies teacher in East Boston, MA. She’s about to finish up her 5th year in the classroom, and she feels increasingly humbled and entertained by her kids. She just finished a Master’s in Special Education, so she’s looking forward to having more time next year to explore teaching interests outside of a graduate school program. Alexis is excited to start connecting with more teachers on Twitter (@lexteevens), and maybe after this experience, she’ll pull the trigger and start a blog. 

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