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Welcome to the official site of I Love To Write Day! Founded in 2002 by
Delaware author |
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Welcome to the official site of I Love To Write Day! Founded in 2002 by
Delaware author |
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When I was a senior in high school in Bay
City, Michigan, I had an honors English teacher named Neil Ringle who
opened books to me in a way no one had ever done before. Prior to that, I
had thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but after reading the classics and
modern literature with Mr. Ringle, I knew I wanted to be an author. He
took me under his wing, gave me a list of classic books I should read. He
edited my essays and other writings and encouraged me to get published in
the school's literary magazine.
I went to college in 1966 as an English major. However, what really helped me was working on my own by reading magazines and books about writing and by getting to know other writers and learning from them. I worked my way through college by teaching guitar lessons and working as a studio musician for small recording companies. That's how I broke into freelance writing. I went to Nashville and got interviews with Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Reed, the Statler Brothers, Loretta Lynn, and Emily Lou Harris and started selling them to Downbeat, Guitar Player, Grit, Billboard, Contemporary Keyboard, and Music City News. Once I had some significant bylines, I started branching out by doing general interviews with celebrities for other newspapers and magazines. I finished college in 1969, then spent a couple of years in the army. I came home, got married, and used the G.I. Bill to get a master's degree in English in eleven months from Central Michigan University. I then moved to Muncie, Indiana and spent four years finishing a doctor's degree in English while also working 20 hours per week as a reporter and columnist for The Muncie Star. I then worked for four years as a public relations writer for Manchester College in Indiana, and on my own time I was busy building credits as a freelance writer. In 1983 I wrote the book Positive Workaholism, which became a blockbuster. The book sold like crazy, then it became a book on tape, then a training film. My phone was ringing off the hook for speaking engagements, so I quit my job, moved to Fort Wayne to be near an airport, and became a full-time writer for the next 14 years. Why is writing important to everyone?
Peace, love, joy, progress, and wisdom are are
derived from excellent communication.
When a person puts his or her thoughts on paper in a unified, logical, poetic way so that
others can benefit from these shared insights,
both the writer and the reader become better
people. Writing requires a range of
disciplines, including the ability to be concise yet informative,
focused yet deep, interesting yet not
self-absorbed.
Additionally, writing as a career boost is universal. Politicians write speeches; salespeople
write ad copy; reporters write articles;
historians write legacies; teachers write textbooks;
humorists write comedies; engineers write
training manuals; public relations experts write
brochures and press releases; arson
investigators write reports; lawyers write briefs; musicians
write lyrics. Except for a few remaining
manual labor occupations, nearly everyone today
benefits from having strong writing skills.
The sooner this training begins, the better.
How do you see I Love to Write Day as a positive event? As a college professor of English who directs a professional writing program, I have discovered that the sooner students get actively involved in the total process of writing (creative thinking, mastering of rules of grammar and punctuation, disciplining themselves to complete a piece of writing), the better developed they are as writers in the long run. Many times I will ask an 18 year old freshman when he or she knew that writing would be a lifetime interest, and the student will respond, "Oh, when I was in grade school I had a teacher who told me I was a talented writer, and that motivated me to want to do more and more of it." Thus, early encouragement, mentoring, teaching, and prodding can have a powerful effect on the development of writers. That is why "I Love to Write Day" is important, in that it motivates young folks all across the country to make an effort to discover the gifts and talents they have related to writing. How can “everyday” people overcome their “fear” of writing?
My suggestion is to start with something
non-threatening. Write a letter to someone you
have not communicated with in a long time, and
bring that person up to date on your life. Just
write about family vacations, job promotions,
and alterations to your home. Consider keeping
a daily journal of things that interest you or
are worth remembering for future times. Prepare
a Christmas letter for friends, volunteer to
write small items for you church bulletin, help with your
garden club's newsletter, or write a family
history to leave to your grandkids.
After you get more comfortable with writing, consider joining a local writers' club, or take
an evening class in writing at a local
college, or sign up for a writers' conference. There are also
plenty of writing books you can check out of your local public library, and the writer's magazines
sold at newsstands provide listings of web
pages you can also access.
How can students become stronger writers?
I have three specific recommendations. First,
read quality literature from a vast range of genres. When I was a boy, I
used to love stories about the Old West or about sports or about the
military. But one of my teachers convinced me to read some short stories
by Arthur Conan Doyle, and I became a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and Dr.
Watson. This led me to read other mysteries. This same teacher also gave
me adventure novels, like KING SOLOMON'S MINES by H. Rider Haggard and THE
BLACK ARROW by Robert Lewis Stevenson, so adventure novels soon became
another favorite type of reading of mine. As I expanded my range of
reading, my vocabulary improved, my depth of knowledge expanded, and my
exposure to new styles of writing was broadened.
Second, get feedback on what you write. Yes, pay attention to what you teachers write on your papers that you get handed back, but also find some writer friends and read to each other. Listen to what they have to say about what is strong or weak, and use that to make your next stories or essays even better. On our campus we have a student writing group called "The Derailed Trains of Thought." About 30 people get together on Monday nights to sip soft drinks, eat chips and pretzels, and listen to each other read stories or parts of novels they are writing. It's fun, and helpful. Each writer values the feedback he or she receives. Third, go beyond the classroom. Anyone wanting to excel at writing should put in some extra effort to master the craft. Check out books at the public or school libraries about writing, and read and study them. Join a writers' chat room online and spend time learning from more experienced writers. Attend a writers' workshop or conference and listen to editors, authors, and agents tell about the world of professional writing. Exert some effort to find out all you can about writing skills. What advice can you give for someone who wants a career in the writing/publishing field?
Get experience anywhere you can. Begin by
writing articles and columns for your school newspaper. Become a layout
editor for the school yearbook. Write short stories and poems for the
school literary magazine. At whatever age you are, grab any opportunity
to engage in the act of writing. When my daughter Jeanette was in fifth
grade, she entered an essay contest sponsored by the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and she won a cash prize for her history essay.
Later, in eighth grade, Jeanette entered the citywide short story contest
sponsored by the local newspaper, and she won a $50 savings bond and her
story was published in the paper. Opportunities for writing and editing
are available for students of all ages.
As you get older, consider trying your hand at freelance writing. Various market guides, such as Writer's Market (Writer's Digest Books) and Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide (Shaw Publishers) will provide the names, addresses, and needs of various magazines, web sites, and newspapers. Give some thought to shadowing a person who is involved in publishing. Ask to follow a newspaper editor or reporter around for a day or two, asking questions and observing what that person does. Biography
Dr. Dennis E. Hensley holds for college
degrees in communications, including a Ph.D. in English from Ball State
University, where he was named "Distinguished Doctoral Graduate in
English." He has been a guest professor or writer in residence at more
than 60 schools of higher education, including Oxford University and
Regent University. Currently, he is a full professor of English at Taylor
University Fort Wayne, where he serves as director of the professional
writing major. He and his wife Rose have been married for 35 years, and
they have two grown, married children, Nathan, 31, and Jeanette, 28. From
1970-71, Dr. Hensley served as a sergeant in the United States Army and
was awarded six medals for combat duty in Viet Nam.
"Doc" Hensley is a contributing editor and staff columnist for Writer's Journal and Advanced Christian Writer magazines. Under his real name and his pen name of Leslie Holden, he has written six novels. He has also written 45 nonfiction books on such topics as time management, financial investing, public relations, motivation, theology, futurism, and goal setting. He is the author of eight textbooks on professional writing, including Writing for Profit (Thomas Nelson Co.), The Freelance Writer's Handbook (Harper-Collins), Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours (Macmillan), and How to Write What You Love and Make a Living at It (Random House). His more than 3,000 freelance articles have appeared in such periodicals as Readers' Digest, The Writer, Essence, Christianity Today, Evangel, The War Cry, Writer's Digest, The Detroit Free-Press, The Indianapolis Star, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, among dozens of others. He has written more than 150 published short stories, as well as several songs that have been recorded by nationally known artists. He serves on the board of directors of The Christian Writers Guild and the Midwest Writers Workshop. He is the only person who serves each year as a judge for all three major Christian writers contests: The Christy Awards, the Christian Book Awards, and the Evangelical Press Association Awards. |
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