Writing adventures

I've had this experience, and I just want to share it with you.

"Parentheses, digression, subset. Some little detail in what I was writing, perhaps just an image or phrase or parenthesis, seems to have a spark in it. I let it go and it ends up being the main point, the center of gravity. And what I had thought was the center of gravity turns out to be only a subsidiary part. The whole thing drastically changes its orientation. Even though most of the same elements are still there, it feels very different." (Elbow, 1973, p. 37)

Remember that paper I wrote that was rejected? I was obsessed with something called "social patriotism". I kept seeing in my data that unique to my participants was the idea that patriotism has got to do with kinship, with people, with community. But then... after rejection, I had a look at the thesis again, and realized that what was more fascinating was not the social stuff, but how the teachers' understandings were postmodern. They talked about world citizenship, about caring for people rather than abstract notions. They way they think about patriotism was quite unlike how people typically think about it - it was postmodern.

So there you have it, don't be afraid to write, and to change your mind about matters. Sometimes to get to one point, you have to go through another. Don't see that "another" as a waste of time, but a necessary step to take to get to your destination! :)

Elbow, P. (1973) Writing without teachers. London: Oxford University Press