Write What Matters For Yourself, For Others

by Tom Romano

Many want to write. But sometimes they lose heart. They are cowed in the face of so many fine writers of fiction, memoir, poetry, columns, and creative nonfiction. Their confidence wanes. If you want to write, but are hesitant, let Tom Romano lift your confidence. In Write What Matters you will find discussions of writing processes that make sense, demonstrations of effective strategies to try, advice about developing productive habits to get your writing done, and examples of illuminating writing from fearless writers, both professional and novice. Your voice, your vision, your way with words matter. They are tied to your identity. You know that you are more alive when you put words on paper. Accept that you not only want to write. You need to write. Write What Matters will help you learn to dwell in your written words and craft them into writing worth reading by others.

Genres: Teaching, Writing, Nonfiction, Professional Development

142 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2015

Reviews

[BookChampions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every summer I read a few teaching books to help re-energize and guide the work ahead of me. Reading a Tom Romano is an especially perfect treat since he has been the first writer of this kind to inspire me while I will still an undergraduate student teacher. I stumbled upon his book Write With Passion at the college library on my own one afternoon and read that book, mouth agape. It assuaged my fear that I wasn't going to be able to set aside my shyness and awkwardness and lead a classroom of students toward something I loved deeply.

Write What Matters appears to be a self-published book, which is a little strange since this is maybe his sixth or seventh book about teaching and writing. Regardless of that observation, I found this book to be a nice encapsulation of Romano wisdom from the very beginning. There are reminders here of so many Romano gems I've culled from his work for two centuries now. It also confirms that Romano is still the biggest influence on my teaching method, and that I still hold him in my mind as the kind of teacher I aspire to be.

As I enter my 22nd year of teaching and the most unprecedented one yet (will we be face-to-face? online? a mix of both? what kinds of feelings will we all have to contend with?), this book reminds me of what is most important. Not the latest educational obsessions. Not my own ego or a potential legacy. Certainly not test scores but not even breaking new ground.

But young people. Their ability to express themselves, to use language to shape society in positive ways and heal personal wounds. And memorable, contagious writing—writing that makes us what to try it again. This is what I am committing to for the 2020-2021 school year.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long-time teacher and writer Tom Romano's seventh book is just as inspiring as all of his others. This book has a somewhat different feel to it though. Write What Matters has more of an imperative tone than his previous books, but it's done in a kindly, inspiring way, not a condescending way like The Elements of Style is, for example. Romano comes across as the wise sage, ready to take on his young charge, not unlike say a Mr. Miyagi or an Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I love Romano's use of short chapters, making them easily transformed into mini-lessons. There are quite a few chapters I will be reading and sharing with my own students.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will sit alongside my other treasured writing references, including Bird by Bird by Anne LaMott and On Writing by Stephen King. Romano offers practical strategies for anyone looking to improve their professional writing skills. He also peppers the text with personal anecdotes that dovetail nicely with his lessons, combining learning with life. If you are looking for an excellent gift for the writer in your life, look no further than Tom Romano's Write What Matters.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this one by Tom Romano. He is a "distant teacher" of mine. Mentor text. I've read this one over and over since its release. I want to put it your reading radar. The shorter elements of the text with a focus on one element of writing makes the book very useful by way of pulling out sections to share with students. Lots of wisdom here like "trust the gush" and "writing is finding faith in the fragments."

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teacher who cares! Tom Romano brings the reader into the everyday writing life of someone passionate at what they do. He leads the reader into word connections he has made throughout his life, whether it be a friend's short phrase or a lengthy text; he uses these connections to drive writing. He asks the reader to do the same. Use writing to think about, to reflect on, and to develop the person you want to be.

As any good writer will tell you - just write - Romano guides the reader by naming writing struggles. He then shows through explanations and personal connections how writers can just let the "gush" of words flow forth. Let fear and inhibition sit on the sidelines. Once the writer's words have found their way to paper, now is the time for revision. He devotes a few chapters to the revising process, which he calls the "second genius."

Romano's structure and discussions seem to pull from my own students' struggles with writing. Though my students are young writers, his advice is ageless and will find its way into our writing (reading) conferences.

This book is a guide to setting up a common sense approach to daily writing with purpose. Worth my time to read, Romano has encouraged me to open my writer's notebook and just let the gush begin.

[Shana Karnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book I read almost back-to-back with Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook. Similar to Mary, who was a poet writing about how to read and write poems, Tom is a writer who is writing about how read and write whatever matters to you. His wordsmithing is evident in his descriptions, and I loved the many short anecdotes scattered throughout the book.

I found this book probably most valuable for the work Tom has done in providing examples of mentor texts and craft study activities that teachers of writing can use in their classrooms. When he advocates for the use of dialogue in writing, he provides examples of great writing with dialogue. His wide knowledge of great writing is evident. Loved this book!

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me a lot of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and of Georgia Heard's Writing Towards Home. It includes short vignettes about writing. It suggests writing exercises, and I tried many of them as I was reading this book. I enjoyed many of Romano's metaphors about writing, especially when he writes about revision. I am sure that I will refer back to this book many times as I continue to work on my own writing.

[Haylee Frohlich · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a lot more from this book. I love Tom Romano in person (I've been to a few workshops), and I used "Blending Genre, Altering Style" when I was teaching, but this book was a little lackluster. Perhaps this was because I wasn't looking at it through my teacher's lens, but the book wasn't really about teaching writing, anyway.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm feeling like a writer these days. This book spoke to me. Tom gets it. His stories, advice, and examples were spot on and exactly what I needed to hear.