Craft

by Elizabeth Renaud

Hemingway not a master? What hope do I have? Yet, I get it. Some of us may have more raw talent than others, they call it the “craft of writing” for a reason. Learning a craft takes patience, hard work, and dedication. A craft takes a lifetime. Being at the Institute has started me down the path of craft -- in teaching and writing.

As we are hurtling towards the final day of the writing institute, a couple of thoughts.

1. As teachers of writing, we should be writers. What a concept! Being an English major, you would think I did a lot of writing. I did, but it was all academic -- papers about literature which the professor only wanted to know if I could back up my statements with evidence from the text. In the classroom it became more about structure, graphic organizers, grammar, and punctuation.
2. Why? This is the ever present question hanging in the air, discussed throughout groups, and not always answered. I have been asking “why” since I began teaching. However, the Institute is where I’ve experienced a serious approach to the question. No one says, “We’ve always done it this way. Don’t rock the boat.”
3. No one escapes the shitty first draft. Listening to people share their writing, it is dangerous to compare what is scratched out on the notebook in front of me, and the most wonderful, delightful prose I just heard from a fellow writer. I have to remind myself they weren’t born that way, they have to learn to write just like the rest of us. It’s a craft. You need to work at it.

As the final week draws near, and I am immersed in a flurry of writing, portfolios, reflections, and deep thought, I am happy I didn’t listen to the voice telling me I would never get into the Writing Project because it was way too late. I applied anyway. I thank Meg and Randy for taking the time to talk to me about the Writing Project. I’m sure they had plenty to do to prepare for these five weeks, but they took a chance with me that I would be ready, willing, and able to jump right into the fray.

The absolute best part of this experience has been the wonderful educators I have had the privilege to meet, listen to, learn from, and most of all laugh with. I’m truly grateful.