I was a cable news junkie . . . until November 8th, 2016. MSNBC was my drug of choice and I watched constantly, listening to the pundits’ opinions and
following the movement and philosophies of President Obama. He was intelligent, kind, scholarly and a favorite among anyone who wasn’t a racist or
a rigid member of the religious right. I cared abut the world views and I was fascinated about how government worked and how I could be part of the
change.
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As I started to write my blog this morning, I sat there for a few minutes, contemplating what I wanted to write about. My mind skipped to a load of possible
topics but I didn't really want to write about any of them. Last week and the one before that, I knew what I wanted to say before I did it. The words
just seemed to flow naturally out of me and it turned out okay. So why was I faltering this week? What was different?
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I teach a weekly writing class for about eight students. I keep it small because it’s in my home and I want time to give attention to each person, listening
to their pieces that they write and read in class and making encouraging comments. The same people come back week after week, and we are diverse: African
Americans, gay and straight men, and single women, ranging from ages 29 to 82. Initially, I wondered if we would all get along and if we could forge
a bond since we were all so different. We came from different generations, we had different family environments, we came from different parts of the
country, and our lines of work were varied. How will they ever understand each other? I wondered before the first class. Will they connect
and be instrumental in helping each other learn and grow? Or will they feel disconcerted and unsafe? Will they embrace the diversity or feel stunted
by it?
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I work out at an elite gymnastics gym for girls between the ages of 5 and 18. My trainer, Orlando, is also a physical therapist and while I concentrate
on strength and stretching, I wonder what it would feel like to swing on the parallel bars, perform back flips on a four inch balance beam, and
run like the wind, throw a huge vault into the air, and avoid breaking every bone in my body. The only words I can think of when I watch the girls
is “super heroes.”
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Once you figure out how to get started on your writing project, various obstacles show up unexpected and unannounced. It happens when you least expect
it, when you think you found your groove. Your hands are flying across the keyboard, you're making great strides, when a STOP sign flashes in your
mind’s eye. You pause, your mind becomes hazy and you try to understand the obstacle and how to get around it.
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Two nights ago, a favored ice dancer in the Olympics, Gabriella Papadakis, had a wardrobe malfunction. The fear and upset in her face reminded me of
various missteps I made when I was in the ballet. The French couple won the Gold anyway but she’ll never forget the dread of her costume falling
off her chest. She called it her worst nightmare. I can relate.
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It’s 2018 and most of our electronic home and entertainment devises are SMART. At least that’s what they're called. Smart phones, Smart TVs, Smart doorbells,
Smart cars that drive themselves. And they’re getting Smarter all the time. We stand in long lines for hours to purchase these devices, we spend a
lot of time watching videos online about the latest and greatest Smart devises that will surely change our lives, and we wait impatiently for twenty-four
hours for our Smart Amazon Prime purchases to arrive.
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I’m often under scrutiny when I write. If I’m working on my own pieces, I only have to please myself. But when I ghostwrite and collaborate, I have several
people to please: the client whose story I’m telling, the agent who has a habit of sticking his or her nose where it doesn’t belong, and then there’s
me.
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I began teaching a writing class about two years ago, giving prompts, reading inspirational pieces, and offering advice about how to maneuver the world
of words, sentences, paragraphs, and stories. I felt that I had something to offer since I'd written so many books. But when I began to share my
knowledge and experiences as a writer, I never imagined how much my classes would impact my own writing and my understanding of the writing process
in general.
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