Creating on the Fly

(A version of this story first appeared on April 5, 2023 on The Heart of The Matter.)

I would sit at the small desk, my back hunched over the best I could manage, and I would write out a sentence or two onto the page. I would stop, look at what I had written, and then erase it, like I wanted to get rid of any evidence that the sentence ever existed. 

Outside of a few of my fellow classmates scribbling feverishly into their notebooks, the class would be so quiet I would be able hear the ticking clock hanging in the front of the class. One tick, two ticks, three ticks, the noise would make me even more nervous and jumpy. 

I would need to start over though because time was running out. 

The Highway To Hell

The English 15 class was required of all freshmen and my professor every couple of days would force us to write an in-class assignment for 20 minutes and submit whatever we had written for a quiz grade. 

I went into the class thinking I would I would love it. I was a communications major. The class would be right up my alley, right? Nah, to say I hated it is an understatement. The professor would come up with a broad assignment such as write something with a persuasive argument or detailed instructions, but would leave the topic to us. You had to pick quickly and dive right in to give yourself the best chance for success.

For me, it was pure hell!

When you add in, the crazy way the professor graded, my fear of failing, and my indecisiveness at that age, you can understand why I hated it. Finally throw in the fact that it was the first class of the day, beginning promptly at 8:30 in the morning, and it was downright torture. 

Did Hemingway Start Out Like This?

If there was a good thing about the class, it introduced me to quick decision marking. It forced me to put something down on paper and run with it. No dilly-dallying. No waffling. Get something down and stick with it. I learned that it didn’t matter what the great idea in my head was, what mattered was what I got down on paper. The wonderfully creative idea in my head could come or go. It was like a deadbeat dad, you never knew if you could count on it or not. The less-than-perfect sentence on the page could be modified and edited and in the long run possibly turned into something that sang more beautiful than a Mariah Carey high note. 

I learned too that sometimes it’s best to just start writing whatever is on your mind. The writing could be like the old Dick and Jane primers that once upon a time were used to help kids learn to read. For those uninitiated the writing was simple and to the point — “See Dick run. Dick runs fast. Run Dick run.” 

The content didn’t matter, what mattered was getting into a rhythm that would help get the juices flowing. I’m not sure what comes first, great ideas or great writing, it’s a chicken or the egg challenge, but I know for me, it’s best to just start and see how far I can take things. 

People I’ll Be Leaving Out of My Acknowledgements!

I barely “tweaked out” a ‘B’ in the class. I hated that the professor was bored with her job and didn’t care to inspire us or teach us to improve our writing or the love of writing. When I finally write my book one day and it becomes a New York Times Best Seller, I won’t be leaving a swell thank you to her in the acknowledgements section. However, I am glad for one thing: I learned that even with that horrible class, I loved writing and telling a story that touches others. 

I still love where writing can take us. I love too the lessons that writing continues to leave me: try to improve and get better each day, but don’t sweat the big stuff, it will come in due time. 

And oh yea, I’ve come to love setting the clock and writing for 20 minutes and seeing where my imagination will take me. Case in point — this column. 

What sparks your creativity? What gets your passions flowing?