Suggested Activities for I Love To Write Day:
Authors and writers can contact local bookstores, libraries, senior centers, community centers, malls and schools and host I Love To Write Day programs. Talk to the audience about what it takes to become a published writer and author. Talk about the importance of writing, and how it is never too late to start writing. Encourage everyone to write something on I Love To Write Day: a poem, a love letter, a short story, an essay, start a novel…the possibilities are endless!
Teachers can encourage students to write something special on I Love To Write Day. No matter what age or grade level, students everywhere need an opportunity to be creative and to write something that is meaningful to them. Group students together who are interested in writing poetry, and have them create their own book of poems. Or have students each write a chapter of a novel, or create a short story with a theme. Invite local writers and authors to come in and talk to students about writing. Read a story about famous writers of the past, and ask students to imagine being a writer who lived years ago….and how they think they would react to using a computer and word processor to write, instead of a typewriter. Hold brainstorming sessions with your students and see what writing activities they would like to try. Invite newspaper reporters and editors to come into the classroom and talk about how newspaper stories are written.
Librarians can host special I Love To Write Day programs. Invite local authors and writers to lecture on how a book is written. Or hold special programs that show patrons how to research material for a newspaper or magazine article. Have dozens of writing related books on display and encourage patrons to browse through them and check out ones that they are interested in reading. Hold special I Love To Write Day contests, and see how many people you can get to sign up for a library card. Ask local businesses to donate a few prizes, and offer a small prize for the 100th person to sign up for a new library card on that day. Brainstorm with your library staff and come up with some creative ways that will work for your library, in your community.
Dozens of publishers are donating books to schools that come up with the most creative ways to celebrate I Love To Write Day! If you have a creative I Love To Write Day program scheduled for your school, e-mail John Riddle at ilovetowriteday@ilovetowriteday.org and tell us the details. An independent panel of authors will review the most creative ideas, and the free books will be shipped directly to your school. Get your students involved and let them brainstorm together to develop an I Love To Write Day program in your school.
If you have a creative idea or a suggestion for an I Love To Write Day activity, please e-mail us and we’ll post some of your ideas in the coming weeks.
