The Beauty of Sheer Effort

Life is only right now, what happened before now and what will happen after only exist in my head.  That is why I loved when Lamott (Bird by Bird, 1994), described something she was going to write after a meaningful experience for her at the Special Olympics.  She said, "And I could see that it was about tragedy transformed over the years into joy.  it was about the beauty of sheer effort" (p. 42).

I was reading the first three chapters of Routman's Writing Essentials (2005) a little ahead of the Lamott reading, and I couldn't help but be struck with the feeling that so much of what Routman was describing as what teachers should do to encourage their students, by being writers and readers ourselves, by writing all the time, but starting with truly rough drafts, etc., is what Lamott was modeling through her book.  As if Routman told Lamott how to encourage writing in her classroom of students, or, that Routman modeled her ideas for teaching writing after what Lamott actually does.  Through my own effort of assimilating these books into my own understandings I made-up this connection between Lamott and Routman, and even if it is a connection that doesn't make sense to other people or zillions of others made the connection before me, I think it is great because  I did it.  And, I didn't even realize how good I felt about making this connection until it spilled out in my writing right here.  The good feeling made through thinking and using writing to notice the world is something that wouldn't surprise either Routman or Lamott.  Maybe it is joy.

Joy is something Routman emphasizes a lot in her book, and I feel it emphasized in Literacy class as well.  It was bothering me quite a bit as I read Lamott that however much it seemed to demonstrate almost exactly what I understood Routman to be saying about writing, I thought it was lacking the most important part, the joy.  Lamott seemed to spend a lot of time describing a lot of unhappiness connected to writing however much she also included things like "one short assignment" just like Routman's "snapshots", both really short, quickly written pieces of writing that writers can start with.  It wasn't until the chapter "Polaroids" that Lamott brought in the element of joy in writing.  That tragedy and joy can coexist in the present world and in writing seems affirming.

"Joy" I equated to "beauty" from "The beauty of sheer effort", and "effort" I feel fell in line with Lamott's "polaroid' idea and Routman's "snapshot", that they are what is happening right now, to just do something short right now because right now is short and who knows where it's leading but it could be very interesting.  maybe it doesn't even have to lead anywhere, maybe it is very interesting anyway.  And this is great, the present is great and writing is a strong way to conscious of it, that both the effort of writing and the effort of living are amazing.

Finally, on p. 47 Routman writes, "Just as important, such overplanning creates unnecessary work for the teacher.  Use that time instead to enrich your life - visit a friend, take a walk, read a book, cook a favorite dish.  These activities will leave you with more energy and enthusiasm for the hard work of teaching".  Too often I am an overplanner, and like the "perfectionism" Lamott describes in her Perfectionism chapter, it does inhibit me from the joy/beauty of the effort.  I need to be conscious of that for myself and students.