As we teach students to write, we aren’t just mentors; we’re writing architects. Instead of rulers we use the Writer’s Checklist, in place of a drafting table we pen rough drafts, and where architects create art out of concrete and wood and beams, we employ adjectives and verbs and semicolons.
Oh, and one more parallel: the stronger our foundation, the higher we can build.
That’s why Spring into Writing is a launching point rather than a destination. Seeking to master the art of writing is akin to climbing a mountain and never quite catching a glimpse of its peak. All we can do is put one step in front of the other, taking the journey mile by mile— meanwhile widening and strengthening our foundation.
The resources we’ve highlighted this month are exactly how you can grow that foundation of skill and ideas. From reading with a perspicacious eye, to writing like a painter with The Writing Mentor, to using the Writer’s Checklist and remediation help and abecedarians, we offer support for every level. We’re here to leap into this tumultuous, beautiful, soul-touching, mind-bending art of writing right beside you.
So to wrap up our March theme of springing into writing, I thought I’d pull in writing wisdom from some of my favorite authors:
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“I write to discover what I know.” — Flannery O’Connor
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“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” — Ernest Hemingway (debated)
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“Instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, ‘Please will you do my job for me.’” – C. S. Lewis
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“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” – John Steinbeck
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“To be a successful writer, you need at least the following four things: persistence, revision, characters with distinct viewpoints, use of concrete detail.” – Brandon Sanderson
May this spring be the start of something great. Happy writing!
~Claire S.