AmyMaidaWadsworth

I've been teaching a writing class to a group of 6th graders for the past 5 weeks.  More than anything, it makes me want to be a writer again. I think I've been a teacher/critic for too long.  Every time I get an idea, I get excited about it, I start working on it, and a couple of days later I abandon the idea because I suddenly think it's stupid.  *sigh* The best thing to do is just to write.  Throw the critic out the door.  Push her face into the snow.  Write a little every day until I trust myself again.  Push through the idea even when I think it's stupid.  Stop expecting perfection to pour out of my finger tips with ease. A friend of mine once told me that successful writers are good at revision.  Maybe so.  But you've got to get something written before you can revise it.

I love the part in Little Women when Jo realizes that her sisters are not only the door to her heart, but the door to her artistic "becoming."  She calls the moment "astonishing." I feel like I'm on the brink of something astonishing.  Ever feel that way?  Since 2002, I've been writing, learning about writing, studying techniques.  I got a job at a school and had to learn all kinds of things I never thought I would learn--how to put together lesson plans, how to present lessons to children of various ages, how to teach things I want to teach and still comply with curriculum standards.  I learned how to use macs, and I learned how to create all kinds of documents with various programs.  I learned how to use a lot of tech to enhance education.  Then, I had the opportunity to produce a show and I learned how to get out of my shell, professionally, take a risk, and trust my instincts. If my current project comes together the way I hope it will, it coul...