When Lucy said “It is an illusion that writers live more significant lives than non-writers; the truth is writers are just more in the habit of finding the significance that there is in their lives”, I think she meant that writing is a very freeing experience. A person can discover and unearth so many things about themselves when they write. It’s like sifting through thoughts, emotions, experiences, and opinions in a way different from any other. I believe that notebooks may help non-writers note the significance because they jump start this process. Notebooks are an informal way to begin the writing process without feeling like everything has to be “#1 bestseller list” ready. It’s just a way for ideas to begin to flow, a way to organize thoughts, and a personal place to improve them.
Writing from lists could be a very effective strategy for engaging students because they make the lists based on their own experiences, likes/dislikes, etc. It’s much easier for a student who’s struggling to write about something they’re an expert on than to write about something they don’t fully understand. The topic should be something that allows their thoughts to flow quite easily.
The purpose for having students identify patterns in their own writing is for them to identify what they are unintentionally thinking about. By seeing these patterns they discover what it is they want to write about when working toward a finished product. These patterns would differ from notebook to notebook because every child’s life is different. Each student has a different home life, different interests, and different experiences altogether.
