So far, so good

So, we have learned how to better our pre-writing skills and how to inspire our creative side.

I hate to relate writing to mathematics, but I'm starting to look at the writing process as a math lesson we've all learned: word problems. (The writing process...a word problem...I love puns!)

There are many possible combinations to validate that 8 + 2 is 10.

1+1 = 2. So that must mean that 1+1+8 is 10.
4+4 = 8. So that must mean that 4+4+2 is 10.

There are many possible combinations of mindful approaches to pre-writing that can produce a favorable outline. We'll consider a favorable outline to be a correct answer.

"With motivation and imagination operating efficiently, we are ready, more than ready, to move from prewriting to writing" (80)

As we've learned, motivation and imagination can be improved by range of different practices. This leads us to trust that so long as both motivation and imagination are operating efficiently, regardless of what method was used to get to that point, we can expect a good outline.

We can begin to understand now that you don't have to be brilliant to be a mathematician. It requires practice of techniques that yield the correct result. You don't have to be brilliant to be a good, mindfully aware writer, either. It requires practice of techniques that produce good results.

I thought I would reiterate that I've been reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, as I've said on previous blogs (and complained about during class). The book draws a lot of similarities to Boice.

It's a really compelling look at what leads to success. Gladwell argues that people who achieve something truly remarkable were not born with some magical gene that determines greatness. The best hockey players in the world were not born with supersonic ice skating skills. A beam of holy light to grant the gift of genius did not appear in the delivery room when Bill Gates was born. These people have had a series of advantages and an unbelievable amount of practice throughout their lifetimes that allowed them to excel in particular skills.

Of course, this is not to undermine their abilities. But it is to say that they were born no different than you and I.

We can train ourselves to become mindfully aware. We can train ourselves to produce great pre-writes. We can train ourselves to channel imagination and innovation. We can train ourselves to achieve greatness, too.

I don't think I'll be auditioning for the NHL any time soon, but I know my writing is getting better with practice.