Yesterday morning, I met my fiction writing buddy in a Google hangout at 5:30 am.  We exchanged pleasantries, and then we did a fifteen-minute "sprint" of writing.

"Can I call it a 'jog'?" I typed to Susan.

"Yes!" she said. "But keep the 'j' silent like Ron Burgundy would."

After fifteen minutes we reported back our word counts and congratulated each other on our excellent focus and production.  #amazeballs, I said.  #butterchurn, she said.

Dan, of course, laughed at us.  "It's a weekday, which makes this extra nerdy," he said.  Who even cares, Dan, because I wrote 632 words!

Later I employed the same strategy with my sixth graders who really, really need to finish their informational writing books on e-waste, water scarcity, and global food systems.  "We're going to crank it out," I told them, and set my timer for fifteen minutes.

At the end of fifteen minutes, I made them brag to their writing partners about their massive accomplishments and went around high-fiving everyone.  When my friend Lynne walked in at the end of one class period, I told them to brag to her, as well.  She was promptly mobbed by  twelve year-olds shouting their word counts at her.  "637!" "451!" "730!" "397, but I was already almost done!"

So yeah, super nerdy, but also awesome.  #literacyforlyfe