This morning, I plopped into my chair, eager to begin my writing practice. I had an amazing thread: students hate writing because they’re forced to write on topics they don’t care about. As I began my work, I couldn’t. With a blank screen before me, I thought about possible hooks, but none seemed solid. Other websites grabbed my attention. I didn’t want to write.
Apparently, the problem isn’t that students aren’t getting the right topics. I chose this one, but this piece quickly went nowhere. Now, I don’t know which way to take this. Yet another obstacle.
As my mind fills with reasons and ideas, I realize that the real problem exists beyond the original scope I had intended. Each obstacle to the completion of this remains separate. Perhaps the real fallacy is that all problems stem from one. Perhaps I shouldn’t have started this practice on meta-writing.
Many people have difficulty writing. Even William Zinsser, former magazine writer, Yale professor, and writer of writing help books, explains his own difficulties in “On Writing Well.” Asked what it was like to be a writer, he responds, “…writing wasn’t easy and wasn’t fun. It was hard and lonely, and the words seldom just flowed.” While scary, I can feel better that the best have it tough as well.