Revising My Approach

Earlier this week, I had my first taste of writer's block in months.  An application called for a writing sample in which I explain why I'm a well-qualified teacher, but after going through the usual steps of my writing process, I kept coming up empty when it came to turning my thoughts into coherent sentences.  I couldn't think of how to best showcase myself while showcasing my writing.  I tried all of my tricks: writing on lined paper, brainstorming to make an outline, creating possible topic sentences for each paragraph, reading aloud, crossing out weak words, adding in synonym possibilities, arrows galore, etc.  

After three or four false starts, I decided to give myself a break until I could write something I liked.  It felt unsettling to go to bed without having it done, the deadline boring a proverbial hole into my confidence as a writer and a teacher.

I did the only thing I could do.

I went to the mall bright and early the next morning.

And, as I was finally free of my desk and the unwritten writing sample, my mind finally cleared, and I wrote the whole thing on that quiet bus ride to the mall: sub-headings, full sentences, illustrative examples, alles.

Lessons relearned?  Writing is difficult.  It's a process.  It involves starting and stopping.  It involves thinking and rethinking.  It takes time.  Even English teachers don't have poetry spouting from their pens or fingertips.  Writers will produce something they like as long as they don't give up and are willing to put in the work.  (Sometimes you just need to go to the mall?)

Because all blog posts need some sort of visual, here are some glimpses into life lately.

 
My first taste of Spargelcremesuppe (asparagus creme soup - so delicious), Ben amidst the flower beds at Mirabell, and a look up from our lunch table, respectively.  We can't forget that our time here is limited and that we have to make the most of it!

Also, here's what thirteen famous writers have said about writer's block.                     

On Devising Something of Your Own

So, I'm sensing a trend here on the blog.

When I sat down to write yesterday's post, I didn't intend for it to be another post about the dark history here.  It was going to be about our walk down Steingasse and then our walk around Kapuzinerberg.   Then, I started writing and that's what I came up with.

As an English major in college, the number of essays I had to write was seemingly endless, and although I tried my best to plan out what I wanted to prove to the reader, sometimes I would get stuck.  Like in this essay prompt for my pre-17th century British literature class:

5. How is our understanding of Ferdinand’s murderousness and madness with regard to his sister colored by our understanding that they were born twins? In what ways are they metaphoric twins? How does thinking about this issue color your overall understanding of the psychological issues that shape the tragedy?   

As you can see,  this was the fifth prompt.  I could choose it or I could let some of my classmates tackle it instead.  

But, the most beautiful choice came in the directions before the list of essay topics:

"Choose one of the following topics or devise one of your own." 

Sadly, I didn't devise my own topic for this particular assignment and I wrote about the difference between praise and flattery in Ben Jonson's poetry. 

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My thoughts exactly.

Then, student teaching happened and I gave students choices in what they could write about, and knowing that I had the power to free students from topics they weren't inspired by inspired me to devise my own topics when I returned to college for my last semester before graduation.  And, academically, it was my best semester.

We write better when we like what we're writing about.  

We write better when we don't force it.  

We write better when we start writing and then try to mold what we have into coherent, grammatically correct, and organized ideas.  

Despite your good intentions, what you really want to say will come out in the end.   

So let it.