Sunday, March 13, 2011

Habits of a Writers Heart

I have two favorite Friday afternoons. Twice a year my son’s school invites parents to an end of the semester reflection. Students orally answer

What habit have I most grown in?

How do I know?

What habit do I most need to improve in?

What step can I take?


Students are remarkably humble and candid. I walk away every time thinking we parents could go and do likewise.


So what heart habits would make your list?


The twelve- through fourteen-year-olds focus on

Reverence

Reflection

Obedience

Respect

Attention

Service

Humility

Thoroughness

Self-control


As a writer, what do you want to cultivate? You might adopt some of the middle schoolers’ list. You may also want to deepen

Faith

Craft

Innovation

Generosity

Joy


When you have your list ask yourself

What are the evidences of these habits?

In which habit am I lacking?

What steps can I take to shore up the lack?


Think on these things. You’ll be glad you did.

4 comments:

  1. You need to break these down with suggested ways to improve. I expect I need to work on them all, so where to start????

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  2. I would only add patience and perseverance to the writer's list.

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  3. Thanks for the comments.
    I'm like you, Sharon. I'd like to tackle all the habits at once, and I would tackle them all if I knew the exact next step to take toward improving each one. The middle school students reflect and determine in which one they are most lacking and what is the most appropriate step toward maturity.
    For instance, one student might say she needs to improve in attention, so she determines to listen when she is tempted to talk. Another student might say he wants to improve in reverence. Rather than mumbling words of a song he determines to engage his heart.
    Those are simple examples but I hope they help. I really appreciate that the students choose one habit on which to focus, and choose one way to improve it in the coming semester. Zeroing in on one habit and one step to improve makes the habit stick.
    Thank you, Loree, for your additions. Writing is far more difficult than I expected. Patience and perseverance are essential.

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  4. What wise middle-schoolers!

    I like the polite tag "perseverance," closely related to my not-so-virtuous forte, stubbornness.

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