Writing is a tricky subject. It is the one place where questions and answers are within us, and all you can do is round them up and see what pours out onto the pages of a blog, a notebook, or a restaurant napkin. I am a passionate reader, so I can bear witness to many great writers' work. However, up until 8 years ago, I didn't think of myself as a particularly strong writing teacher. I mean, I knew the basics: grammar, spelling, vocabulary. All of these things came in handy when, as a new Florida teacher, they threw their "writing test" at me. It wasn't my first tussle with a standardized test, but it was the one I found most awkward. The administration's plan was simple--make the kids write a five-paragraph essay with a structured format, either expository or narrative. Make sure they use a graphic organizer and that they are done in under 45 minutes. With that, they said, you're good to go. WRONG!!! I Can't think of a more distasteful way to teach anything, never mind a talented skill that is connected to every subject, including math. I knew I had never specifically taught writing skills for testing, but one thing was certain--I would never do it this way. Fortunately, I started out with a team who did not stand for all this--they just quietly let me know that I could find my own way without compromising the standards (remember blessings and gratitude?) I began teaching and researching the subject with a passion, setting out to show that it is possible to entice kids to write about all sorts of things without throwing the words essay, prompt, narrative, or expository around. We had a blast. There were scary stories, poems, moving compositions, jokes, riddles, serious tales, goofy tales, and diaries. We had author's chair, and story chains. Some kids became experts on topics just so they could write something about them. Others found their voices were strong, and they could begin learning to share their point of view with others. Most of them had a pretty good grasp on arguing. The kids wrote, and wrote, and wrote. The results were awesome (and productive on tests--the school's first perfect score, ever) but in my mind the cool deal was that I did it without taking away their creativity and spontaneity. I didn't have to sell my soul for it, just work it. As I unpack my boxes of writing materials now and get ready to attend our fourth writing training (yeah, the district can't make up their mind which magic formula will get them where they want to be) I am looking forward to writing my way through one more year without gimmicks, chants, or snake oil. Instead, I will try to find inspiration in the hundreds of articles and blog entries that other finer teachers have researched and used to distill writing to an art. They also reinforce my belief that it should be fun, and that no matter how many curriculum changes, data analysis, and workshops are forced down our throats, we will always have the secret pleasure of writing just because we want to.