Desi Miller
November 15th marked the thirteenth anniversary of I Love to Write Day, a day meant to celebrate writing in all forms. Founded in 2002, by author and ghostwriter John Riddle, I Love to Write Day encourages everyone to sit down for a moment to write something. It can be a thank you card, a letter to a friend, an essay, a poem, a short script, you could start a novel, or you could end a novel.
When I Love to Write Day was still in its infancy, Riddle traveled around the country teaching at writer’s conferences, meeting many who loved writing, but didn’t think that they had time to do so. From there the idea of holding what he calls “the worlds biggest party for writers” came about; from there I Love to Write Day slowly developed, as a day where everyone could write something.
“I want people to take the time to put their thoughts down on paper.” Riddle said, “People need to be challenged, and writing is but one of many creative ways to express yourself.”
Currently, the governors of nine states recognize I Love to Write Day: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and Texas. And since its creation, over 30,000 schools across the country have participated. There have also been events hosted by various libraries, community centers, churches and even a few malls have joined the excitement.
It’s fitting that I Love to Write Day is in the middle of November, as the month is known for being National Novel Writing Month, also known fondly as, NaNoWriMo, by it’s participants. As writing is a journey and sometimes once you start going, you don’t want to stop at just one piece, and sometimes a writer just needs a bit of encouragement to keep that spark for writing alive.
“For many people, that will be the beginning of their writing career,” said Riddle in regards to his goals for the event. ”I Love To Write Day has the potential to launch the career of the next John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King or Toni Morrison.”
Source: Ilovetowriteday.org