Transformations, Magic, and the Power of Writing and Writing Teachers

This week has been a rough week. My first week back on campus and truly on the job since my health crisis and every day I have left campus exhausted and every night I am beyond done. However, as much as I can’t be everywhere and do everything that I would like, I have remembered why I love my job and why I have the most magical job on earth!

I am a National Writing Project site director and if that isn’t a magical job I don’t know what is!

This week I had the privilege to work with and get to know teachers who work with students from kindergarten through college. We read, wrote, talked, teased, cried, laughed, reflected, and grew – oh my, did we grow -- as writers, teachers, and people. Pure magic! And if you don’t believe it then you can follow us on Twitter (#MWPSI & #ENG608). Add to that the pleasure of watching the young writers at our writing camp find the joy and magic in writing without the fetters of school/curriculum constraints and become published writers in the process.

I love watching a group of writers become a community. I have really loved that Twitter has made it possible to watch the magic for our traditional SI even when I’m not in the room and made it possible to happen at all for our online SI.

I love watching people become writers. The transformation is nothing short of breath-taking and awe-inspiring and I do not think I will ever tire of watching it happen. Writing teachers are masters of magic!

I love watching writers discover the power and magic of words and I further love watching those words transport others to new places and new ideas as well as to raise us to great heights of inspiration and joy or plunge us to the depths of despair and sadness. This week has been filled with laughter and tears and we have reveled in this. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking and writing about it. Magic.

I love watching teachers explore ways that they can become better teachers especially how they can use their own transformation to writer to enable their students’ transformations. Teachers are the masters of magic!

 As a writing teacher as well as teacher of writing teachers, I struggle to combat the sort of magical thinking that writing is something easily taught and writing problems have easy solutions, but this week has reminded me once again that the opposite of easy does not necessarily mean difficult. We have all worked hard this week but our growth and development has not been difficult. While perhaps not as easy a waving a magic wand (or magic pen), it is also a lot fun. Being a writer is hard work but it is also magical work and what price can we put on magic?

And so, despite the constant and ongoing aggravation of administrivia, I know I have the most magical of jobs and if you want to argue that your job is better you better slap on your wizard hat and grab your magic wand!