Newspaper reporters aren't the only people who write on a daily basis.

Food enthusiasts write when sharing a recipe with a friend. Parents write when leaving a Post-It note for family members. The written word includes novels and newspapers, plays and poems. It also includes e-mails, grocery lists and office memos.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution designating today as the first National Day on Writing. Schools and colleges around the country planned events to celebrate writing, such as "write-ins" and open mic readings of original works. The National Council of Teachers of English created a Web site where anyone can submit a sample of writing: http://galleryofwriting.org.

The site hosts galleries belonging to college literature classes, church groups and elementary schools. An English education course at the University of Wyoming has a gallery for its students. Dean Morgan Junior High School opened a gallery to students, parents, staff and alumni. Submissions will be used as examples in class discussions about writing, according to instructional facilitator Jim Cobb, who is the curator for the Dean Morgan gallery. They'll accept journal entries, to-do lists, poems, letters, stories and even text messages through mid-December.

"It's just another form of writing, and it's common in our world today," Cobb said. "The gallery is a way to look at and highlight different writing."

Students will also post writing that was assigned in class. One eighth-grade class studied the "This I Believe" project by NPR. Students reviewed and responded to essays posted on the project Web site. Now they write their own personal essays.

More than 900 galleries have been created, and people can submit one piece of writing per gallery, a restriction that could change in the next few months. Contributors can also submit photos, video and audio.

All submissions are reviewed by the person in charge of the gallery. Writers hold the copyrights to any work published on the site.

The national gallery will accept submissions until June 1, 2010. The plan is to keep the site available for research and anyone looking for something to read.

Reach education reporter Jackie Borchardt at (307) 266-0593 or at jackie.borchardt@trib.com. Read her education blog at tribtown.trib.com/reportcard.