Just write it down

Exciting times in the Rollins house: my son had a writing project due this week! An essay no less, a full five pages on the ancient Egyptians and mummification. So much fun! As a English major, I cannot tell you how many essays I have whipped off in my time, often in the wee hours of the night the very day it was due. So when my son asked for my help, I rubbed my hands in glee.

The glee was short-lived. My son is 10. He isn't much of a writer. Enough said? Let's just say frustration levels ran very high for the first few minutes. He had pages of research already complete, but he couldn't figure out how to start. I was puzzled... he had so much material, how could he not just start? After a while, I figured it out. He was overwhelmed by TOO MUCH information. He just couldn't whittle down everything he had learned into a cohesive statement to open the essay. His problem was so clear to me, and I realized that a lot of people struggle with this, not just my 10 year old: the first go doesn't have to be perfect. I don't know very many writers who write flawless sentences from the get-go. It just doesn't happen. This process is just that, a process. Start by putting down keywords, add in a few adjectives, then start crafting sentences from there. Even bad sentences are better than no sentences at all. Here's the trick: you can always go back and edit. But if you never get started, you will never have a thing to edit.

After he put my advice into action, he whipped off paragraphs in record time. Together, we ran through an edit, and we talked about removing personal pronouns, subjunctive verbs (woulda, coulda, shoulda... shudder) and any "I, that" statements. I am proud to say my kid is now ready to whip off a University-level essay. Yes, I said he's 10. Maybe he will be a better writer than anyone expects, including me!