Looking Back...

One day in the middle of August when I was a novice surfer, a total squid, I almost made a colossal mistake. I hadn’t even looked to see what the weather was before deciding to head to the beach. When I realized the wind was blowing at about forty mph, a mental image of massive waves tossing me and my board like flotsam and jetsam came to me as my inner voice asked a bit nervously, “…the weather, Roxy, what if there’s a storm?” Instead of throwing caution to the winds (or possible rain and hail), I decided not to be like a few unwary sorts I’d heard about, people who actually go to the beach during squalls and big storms (big mistake).

As the spring semester draws to a close, maybe you’ve had a few less than perfect moments in your academic life or maybe just heard an interesting rumor of some giant error in judgment someone else made. Was there a time when the essay someone turned in turned out to be not quite, not precisely, not exactly what the instructor had in mind, as in not even? Did you figure out from that person’s calamity that there’s a better way to go about writing your own essays? As you end one semester and think about future writing, keep in mind that when something does go wrong, analyzing the reason it went wrong can turn into a conscious method you can use to find the right way to compose the next essay.

Your summer plans may involve more than relaxation - work or summer school - but it is a good idea to look back now and then to review the times you’d like to have back for revision (if only…) or, far more happily and much more often, the times you succeeded in doing just what you set out to do. Although I’ll be spending time on the surfboard instead of at the keyboard for the summer, I’ll be thinking about blogs to post next fall. While enjoying the waves and wind (not hurricane strength), I’ll remember this semester and consider what worked and what fell short of working exactly as I wished for it to work in my writing. Learning – improving as a writer - does involve the search for silver linings in the inevitable clouds that come with writing.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!