Just Writing

It’s 8:12 on a Thursday morning as 13 college students gather to write, 11 on laptops and two with pen and paper. Whether the students use a computer or choose to bring the words with an old-school approach, they write. Anyone wandering by the classroom can see and hear their writing work, not that there is much wandering that occurs on a college campus at 8:12 a.m. My students are there, nonetheless, just writing.

Today, I sit in the back of the room and glance up every now and then to watch these writers at work. Some students stare intently at their laptops, faces awash in an eerie, blue-white hue as they place and erase words on and from the screens. Others, like me, write, look up, write, and repeat. Still others look out the window at the courtyard as if waiting for an idea or phrase to make its way into the room, into their heads, and onto the page. Predictably, a couple people are simply trying to wake up. Writing isn’t easy for anyone in this room, but we have established that it’s a lot easier with open eyes and uninterrupted respiration.

Most of us did not volunteer for this early-morning experience. We were encouraged, invited, requested, required to attend. Participation in the course is still voluntary…like paying taxes is a choice. I am here because the prof originally assigned to teach the course could not. My situation is perhaps a bit easier than the students because I actually agreed to the assignment and have enjoyed the work and the group. While I have not asked each person in the class why she or he is here, I believe that for most it is the first time they have felt the effects of an administrative decision. I suspect many of them were “strongly encouraged” to attend because their writing needed some work.

I do not know yet what that work is exactly, but I am beginning to figure it out. I should say that we are gradually figuring it out because just by writing and being around others who are writing we are wrestling with ideas and talking about how to communicate those ideas in concise and well-organized prose. We read our own words and the words of others and learn. Garrison Keillor has shown us how to include necessary details in long sentences, and Judy Blume has reminded us how important it is to write about something that matters, something we believe in. When we actually write and examine our writing, we are learning about our strengths and needs as writers. This knowledge encourages us to say, “That part makes sense,” or “What’s this piece about?” or “Changes should be made in the use of the passive voice,” and “What are you working on as a writer?”

As I teach this course, I read, respond, prepare, and work on my own writing: I know that everything I write for an audience needs an identifiable main point. I know that my pieces will be more interesting and clear when I include a turning point, a place where I use my understanding and insight to really drive home the big idea. I know that I need to learn a lot more about writing in order to teach writing effectively and efficiently. And I know that the best way to learn it is by just writing.