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At the front of my middle school classroom is a poster that reads, "Make Mistakes." Skateboarders and snowboarders know that in order to get better that they need to fall and crash a lot. Writing is the same, but we have so many voices in our heads that start to filter before the pen ever hits the paper.

My job as a teacher is to help young people let go of all the doubt that swirls in their heads and write with speed. I once heard Sherman Alexie say that he writes about a hundred poems for every one poem that is actually any good. If Alexie struggles that much, why shouldn't the rest of us?

National Write a Novel month is one of those exercises that forces you to throw away the filter and scramble to get 1667 words a day for thirty straight days. At the end of November, you'll have a lot of garbage, but there will be a few gems in there too.

Charles

posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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