“Before you go, what’s the key to successful writing?”
I stared at the professor with a look that had the heat of a thousand suns. I am not great at ad-libbing. This is why I am a writer, not a stand-up comedian. I have a chance to think my thoughts over and tweak them before sharing them with the world.
I had pre-planned my speech introducing his students to the college’s Academic Support Services, including me as a writing tutor. I had answered the expected questions about making appointments, e-tutoring, study groups, effective study techniques. And now he was throwing me a question from left field. Arghhh.
A kid sitting in the back of the room smirked. He knew I had absolutely no idea what to say and this was the highlight of the class for him. He leaned back in his chair, waiting.
“Well, that is an interesting question and so many things come to mind…” I gave the professor another glance, hoping he would jump in with whatever he expected me to say. No such luck. What did he want me to say?
An interesting opening. Consistency. Use of all five senses. Pacing. Organization. Solid research.
“Time.” Wait. Did I say that? Where am I going with this?
"Writing doesn’t come easily for most of us.” Snorts from the audience.
“Sometimes, I think writers – and you all are writers – think if we could just get the words out of our head and on the page or the screen the hard work is done. We forget that this is just our first draft. The first step in a process. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, ‘This is not the beginning of the end but it may be the end of the beginning.’
“So, give yourself the luxury of time. Time to proofread and smooth out your wording. Time to rearrange things. Time to put it away for a day then reread it and see if it still conveys what you want it to say. Time to read it aloud to a friend and get their opinion. Time to hate it and start over.
“Time gives you the opportunity to improve your writing. Time is the key.”
I knew I’d still get students coming in one hour before their assignment was due but maybe someone was listening. Later that week a student came in and started with, “It isn’t due for a month but I thought I should get started early…”
So tell us, if you were in that classroom what would you pinpoint as the key to successful writing?
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