Just Write by Julie Cox

One of the enduring stereotypes about English teachers is that they all have unfinished novels in their desks. It sounds believable, because what teacher has time to write? Grading, conferencing, and planning are incredibly important and meaningful, but they also swallow time in great gulps. For many of us, the jolt of restarting a structured routine at the end of summer bumps any meaningful writing time right out the door.

Journaling is one of the ways I hold on to my writing when the pace of life outruns me. One year I bought a planner with space for reflection, and journaling became my Friday-afternoon tradition at my desk as I planned the next week. When I didn’t have paper handy, I jotted thoughts on index cards, sorting through my day to reframe my mind. For years, I wrote in the same kinds of composition books that my students used, sometimes as soon as they left the classroom.

Journaling isn’t about perfect writing; my goal is to capture slices of life. Making sense of them comes later when days don’t feel so rushed.

Now I write in thin Moleskine notebooks that slide easily into my bag next to whatever book I’m reading. I write in the morning before anyone else is up or at night after everyone is asleep, and I try not to be bothered that I don’t write as much as I do in the summer, or that at the start of the school year, most of what I scribble is not great or even interesting.

I just write. I keep my writing muscles in shape for the days when life calms. I watch for the treasures to reveal themselves, in my life and on the page.


Julie Cox is a high school English teacher in Kentucky, where she has taught for 17 years. When she is not teaching and writing, she loves reading and traveling with her husband and two children. You can find her online at tryingtomakeitreal.wordpress.com, where she blogs sporadically, or on Twitter: CoxJulieC.