On the Children's Shelf: December Reflections

I'm feeling a bit reflective today. I started the morning trying to remember when I began writing this column. I looked back through some files and found the first one ... September 2014 ... over three years ago. I wondered how time went so quickly but like every parent who uses Facebook and sees those memory photos pop up, I'm often wondering how time went so quickly.

I thoroughly enjoy writing this column and sharing my favorite books and authors with you. I love sharing my reading experiences, and I am always happy when I hear from readers. I realized, the more I thought about it, how much I have learned from writing "On the Children's Shelf." When I started, I had this silly idea that the reason writing is sometimes really hard must be because I'm not as good as others. Over the past three years, I've been blessed with the opportunity to talk to several great authors and read about many more, and I learned that writing, at times, is hard for everyone.

The reason those authors write so well is because they work so hard at it. The words don't just fall magically onto the pages of the beautiful books we buy. More work than we can imagine goes into writing those stories. When I saw Kate DiCamillo speak earlier this year, she shared that she writes very early every morning because that voice in her head that tells her she can't do it doesn't wake up until least 9 a.m. each day. She writes before she convinces herself she can't do it, and then she rewrites the whole story many times to get it right. I sat there thinking "I can't believe Kate DiCamillo, author of books like 'Flora and Ulysses' and 'Because of Winn Dixie' has that same voice in her head as I do!" E.B. White spent a year ... A YEAR ... rewriting the beginning of "Charlotte's Web." I find comfort in knowing this. If by rewriting and rewriting I'm doing the same thing as E.B. White, then I'm happy to rewrite.

So I decided (obviously, I had a lot of thinking time this morning), that I wanted to share this in the hopes that it encourages someone else. I want others to know that yes, sometimes writing is really hard. Sometimes I sit here and stare at a blank screen and curse that blinking cursor who I swear is mocking me. Sometimes I write and write and delete and delete some more. Often I revisit my writing and spend a lot of time rewriting. It's all part of the process. It's okay to go back to your writing and not be happy with it, just don't give up. Channel that into rewriting, editing, trying to a new approach, just keep going. It's okay to think something is hard to do, just don't give up.

I think my resolution for 2018 will be to try to do something new that scares me. I have an idea of what it might be, but I'm not sure yet. All I can say is I'm not positive I can do it. I'm not sure I will be good at it. But I'm going to try. I'm not going to listen to the voice of doubt. I'm going to draw from the authors who inspire me and try. I hope you will too.