Hooray for Slacker Prompts

I don’t remember learning how to write essays in junior high—we just wrote them. The teachers that I had back then emphasized grammar above structure. As long as my spelling was reasonable and my commas well-positioned, I got the grade I wanted. Still, I was writing constantly. Usually it was stories about horses or cats, but occasionally I threw in a dog or a sheep. (My heroine was a girl invariably named Sarah or Becky—or Sarah Rebecca. I loved those names…ha.) I had time to write back then.

I really didn’t learn much about essay writing until high school. Thank heaven for Mrs. Morrison! She taught us an outlining method to organize our thoughts and gave us plenty of practice with the basic 5-paragraph essay. Those who signed up for her class knew they were going to be challenged, but that they were also going to learn something. I still use concepts that she taught me, one of which is very similar to what Adrian was writing about: Don’t panic when a thesis is elusive. Just write all you know, and you’ll find the answer as you go.

I can really empathize with students who are frustrated with their writing, because at least once a week I’m in the same situation. Just because I have the structure or the idea does not mean that things are going to “flow” smoothly. Even with the correct formula, the sentences sometimes don’t want to cooperate.

Writing is one of the hardest—and most rewarding—acts we do as human beings. Sometimes all it takes is a sympathetic ear or another set of eyes to help us move on.