Getting to the Heart of Things

Mrs. Beam, Wilson Memorial High School

“Write about what you care about. Dump your heart on the page. That’s how you will do your best writing and how you’ll touch your reader.” ~ Jerry Spinelli

All the things that really matter to you, you hold in your heart. By creating a “Heart Map” you will be able to write about things you care about.

Your Heart Map will help you discover your inner vision and your own unique “voice” as a writer.

Your experiences and passions help to make you the person that you are and recording them on your Heart Map will provide you with a wealth of ideas for writing.

Your Heart Map is a work in progress and you will be constantly adding things that are important to you to it.

The next series of question should help you begin the process of building your Heart Map.

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”  ~William Wordsworth

Who are the people that are important to you?

Family ~ parents, grandparents, siblings

Friends

Others ~ coaches, teachers, ministers

Who are the people you admire?

Who are the people who make a difference in your life?

“You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.” ~Arthur Polotnik

What are some experiences that you will never forget?

What special moments stand out in your mind?

Life is made up of happy and sad moments. What are some of your happiest moment? What are some of your saddest moments?

What event or events have impacted your life the most?

“I don't think you get to good writing unless you expose yourself and your feelings. Deep songs don't come from the surface; they come from the deep down. The poetry and the songs that you are suppose to write, I believe are in your heart.” ~ Judy Collins

What small things or objects are important to you ~ a tree in your backyard, a trophy, a stuffed animal, an heirloom…

What places are important to you? Places you’ve lived? Places you’ve visited? Places you hope to visit?

Have there been pets in your life that have been important to you?

“The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.”  ~Norbet Platt

We all have favorites, books, foods, sports, songs….

Write about some of your favorites that you keep in your heart.

What do you do in your spare time?

What are your hobbies and interests?

What secrets do you hold in your heart?

“One ought only to write when one leaves a piece of one's own flesh in the inkpot, each time one dips one's pen.”  ~Leo Tolstoy

Life is made up of fears, scars, journeys, dreams, relationships, comforts and discomforts, curiosities, things we run to and things we run from…

Discuss your some of your fears, scars, journeys, dreams, relationships, comforts and discomforts, curiosities, things you run to and things you run from…

What colors your life? What colors are the emotions in your life?

What symbols might you include that represent things in your life?

“Writing is a voice that calls us from dreams, that peeks out of the corner of our eyes when we think no one is looking, the longing that breaks our hearts even when we think we should be happiest, and to which we cannot give a name.” ~ Judy Collins

What will stay in your heart forever?

What is at the center of your heart?

What is at the outside edges of your heart?

“Writing starts with living.” ~ L. L. Barkat

“To write is to stand at the edge of a bottomless well, unafraid of falling in.” ~ Steven Ramirez

“In order to write about life first you must live it.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

Now it is time to design your own Heart Map.

Works Cited

McClure, Ms.. "Writing Mini-Lessons: Heart Mapping." Ms. McClure's Class. N.p., 22 Aug 2012. Web. 22 Aug 2012.

"Quotations About Writing." The Quote Garden. N.p., 22 Aug 2012. Web. 22 Aug 2012.

"Quotes About Writing Life." Goodreads. N.p., 22 Aug 2012. Web. 22 Aug 2012.

"Writing/Writers Quotes." Wisdom Quotes. N.p., 22 Aug 2012. Web. 22 Aug 2012.