Asking

I was walloped by this Mother's Day story.  In the Washington Post Magazine, Steve Hendrix writes about his mother, one of the first teachers in a new program in 1976 for gifted students. He says:

"I've often wondered what she meant to the handful of students who knew her in that school room. Wondered, but never asked."

In the article, he finally asks.

If you could go back...

From an interview with author Cassandra Clare at cynsations:

If you could go back to your apprentice writer self, what would you tell her?

"Don't be so hard on yourself," I guess. I thought everything had to be perfect before I could show it to anyone, which means I never got any feedback on anything, and without feedback I couldn't work on improving. It was a vicious cycle. Eventually, I learned to share work with people even when it was in its rough stages without worrying that they'd be filled with scorn and hatred. After all, I can read their rough work without turning on them like a wildebeest."

First of all, I love her answer. Second, I still am an apprentice writer. Always will be. Third, if I had to answer that question, I would say:

Get comfortable with NOT KNOWING. Not knowing where you are going. Not knowing if you will succeed or not. Not knowing if "it will all be worth it."

When I was younger, the thing I wanted most was TO KNOW. I loved books where a character was given her Destiny, or her Quest, and then the adventure began! I thought it mightily unfair that no one ever appeared to me and told me what my Mission was.

I had no idea that not knowing is actually a physical state that you can put yourself it, keep yourself in. That it is a place to seek out, not to avoid. When you DO NOT KNOW, you are headed out on your mission, your destiny, your quest. Otherwise, writing would just be a trip to the grocery store.

For a good post about teaching kids to be comfortable in the not knowing zone, see this one, Chase the Challenge, from the blog, Unwrapping the Gifted (part of Teacher Magazine's online content.)