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I love that this quote shows the perseverance that is needed to accomplish anything in life, not just writing. I also love her insistence at writing. Thank you for the reminder to be persistent!

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I absolutely love Maya Angelou. She always knew exactly how to say things. I love her persistence and reminder that no matter what we have to try and keep trying! My dad always said "Nothing beats a failure but a try" and I have seen that time and time again. The only way we can get better is through practice and by making mistakes and taking chances. :)

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This is a great quote for writing! I can relate to this, this year, as I am trying to write more. It might not be the best but at least I am writing again, and trying. I often tell my students that as long as they are trying to write, that is what counts, not that it is perfect.  This quote relates to that.

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I like this quote! I can definitely relate. Writing is tedious at times. I can spend countless hours working on a writing assignment not knowing where to start. This is true for my students as well, especially when they have such little time to write.

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What a cool quote! Even when she's writing about cats and mats, she does it well. I wish I had the discipline to sit there and try even when the muse is asleep. When my muse is asleep, I usually join her. Still, it's wonderful for me, and probably for my students as well, to see that even a great poet has dry days. Thanks for sharing!

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This is such a great quote! I love that it focuses on the process of writing, instead of the product on writing. Maya Angelou focuses on how hard writing can be for anyone. This is important to tell kids because they can see that even famous writers and adults struggle with writing. They also can see that even though writing might be hard right now, it becomes easier. I would like my students to try their best in writing. Even if they do not know how to put it into words or write the words down, they need to try

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It is so hard to tell yourself to keep going when experiencing writer's block but we all eventually get where we need to. This is a great quote to share with my students because I know that the same problem that I face, they face as well!

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We have to keep trying! And so do the kids. We need to reassure them, especially at the moments they have when they lack the feeling of excitement or connection with their writing, to keep trying! The same applies to me when I am working. Sometimes I just have to power through it, not give up, and revisit it later. This is a strategy I can share with my beginning writers too.

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I love this mentality. What a growth mindset. I might not have it yet, but I will get there. I think this is a great philosophy for everyone to have, especially for people who do not believe they are a good writer or that people will want to hear what they have to say. The first step to writing is putting pencil to paper - even if it's not your best work - it may inspire you later or could lead to greater things.

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The cat sat on the mat...made me think of our phonics program. It is very systematic and you would think that students would not like writing through the program, but what surprises me is that they do. I think that it may be confidence in knowing that they "can" write. That writing is with little risk involved.

I want to take that confidence into narrative or expository writing.

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Just try. I want effort

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Oooo, I like this quote! This is true not just for my students, but I can relate as well. I am happy when my students are putting forth true effort, regardless of the outcome. The important thing is that they try. Their brains may just not be ready to write super-quality stuff right now, but the time will come and they will be ready. I also find this true for me. Sometimes I feel like I can write forever and am inspired by many things, but other times I'm in a rut. Again, the point is that I don't give up but try anyway. Great quote!

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I actually may share this with my students! I think it's important for all writers, young and old, to know that even the most prominent and practiced writers find it hard sometimes. It's not something that always comes naturally, and that is okay!

We have something in our district called "On Demand Writing" that is required for benchmark testing. After we as teachers have instructed students on a writing piece and complete one over a few weeks as a class, the students are given 40 minutes to plan, write, and revise a piece of writing to show what they've learned. I'm starting to see how messed up this is! We are literally demanding students to sit and write in a given time frame. We are telling students "If you can't do this in this time frame, you are failing." I hate that things like this are required!

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I agree that writing is often viewed as work at times. There are days where I sit and stare at the screen or at my pencil and paper wondering where to start and what to writer. Once I get the idea though, it pours out of me and it is often difficult to stop. I think that this is a hard concept for our students to learn. They struggle so often, especially in the younger grades, to find something to share in writing. They need to be taught that this is a process that EVERYONE goes through, not just them.

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Like Prof. Rose shared, I too find my experiences with writing to be intermixed... Sometimes I feel inspired to write - maybe because of my mood, the weather, or the very nature of the writing assignment - while other times I face a writer's block (perhaps because of one of those same 3 reasons). When I get stuck, I find it helpful to keep on writing, just as Maya Angelou did. Even if I know it's terrible, or maybe even completely off-topic, I know that it is something I can return to (usually) and change until I am satisfied. Although the luxury of time is almost non-existent in our classrooms, I think it is important for students to understand we all face this struggle sometimes, even more experienced writers. While we cannot always make exceptions to give students more time, we could "get creative" in the ways we find and make time for students to go back and revisit writing when inspiration hits.

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Maya Angelou is such an inspiration! I love that this quote talks more about the mundane aspect of writing. Writing is work. It takes time. Some days I feel inspired and creative, and some days I feel as if I have nothing at all to say, or at least nothing worthwhile. I think a lot of students feel this way too. This makes it especially hard to demand writing in a certain time frame, but in today's educational climate, it's necessary.