The Inspiration Superhighway

There are a lot of people who will profess to you that good writing is something that we learn, through school, over time. That it is a technical skill. There is a lot of truth in the idea that like any art, a proficiency in the rules and forms is definitely a must, but there is so much more to writing. More that we don’t talk to our students about. I’m not sure why. I suppose it doesn’t properly fit into a textbook, the way the other things do. Chapter 7, Split Infinitives. Chapter 8, Discover Your Voice. It doesn’t really lend itself to any sort of measurable lesson plan. I mean, how do you tell when a piece of writing makes the leap from proficient to alive? But you know. Deep inside a switch is made and the words become meaning and trudging becomes flying.

With that sort of dilemma working against it, I’m not surprised that there is not more emphasis on style and personality in most writing classes. I love it on the rare occasions that a student comes to me, hands me a paper and says “I felt really good about this one.” They are always smiling, they are often in motion. That connection with our voice is a vital one, and one that often gets neglected. It’s not an easy thing for anybody to learn how to do. A lot of it happens inside as you write. The more you write, the more familiar you become with your habits, the language you use, the way that you feel inside as the words make it to the page.

So then when it does finally happen it’s exciting. Times moves by quickly, there are more words there than you can safely get out at any possible pace, let alone the excruciatingly slow past of clacking keys on a keyboard. I cannot even fathom a time when it had to be scratched out in quill pen. Looking for that connection, when you first start to write is like looking for a path in an overgrown forest. You know it’s suppose to be around here somewhere. But where? You find it and follow it out into the clearing and suddenly you are able to travel with speed and clarity. Follow that path as far as you can before your momentum slows and the moment is over. The great thing about this, I mean, the really great thing, is that once you’ve found that highway, you’ll be able to find it faster and easier the next time. You’ll see landmarks and signs that will point you in the right direction. Soon, you will have worn a dirt path and after that, a stone trail.

The important thing to remember here is that crucial commitment. It only stays this way as long as you come back and tend it, widen it, improve it. When you walk away the grass grows in close and the roots upend the stones you put down. And you have to start over.

Students come to us so young, and there is so much about themselves and their lives that they are just learning. It is a little naive to encourage them to find their voice at the same time that we are teaching them to speak. I think it would be an even bigger shame though, to send someone out into the world who never even knew they had one.

Tags: english, higher education, language, Teaching, writing