Patios, Chaise Lounges, Diving Boards...and Writing by Jen Schwanke

My favorite college English professor, Dr. Goodman, preached how writers must find a way to write, no matter what.  She revered William Carlos Williams, a physician, who penned his poems on prescription pads between patients.  “Nothing stood in his way,” she said fiercely.  “Prescription pads.  Can you imagine?”

I could imagine.  In my mind, there he was:  Tending to an ill patient before slipping into an unused examining room to scribble brilliantly about plums and red wheelbarrows.  Stacked around him were medicinal syringes, boxes of gauze, and a couple harried, scurrying nurses.

I’ve never forgotten that image, and I’ve never forgotten Dr. Goodman’s chastisement.  Nothing should stand in your way.

Well, a lot stands in my way.  During the school year, there are nonstop problems to solve.  My time is fully committed to other people.  My writing falters; my confidence wanes.  You’re not a real writer, I self-scold.  Real writers make time every day.  Real writers produce consistently.  In the evening, I open my laptop with intentions to write.  Depleted from the day, I find I have nothing to say.

I know I should write every single day.  I should carve out time—just an hour, each morning, perhaps.  You know what else I should do in that hour?  Exercise.  Plan staff meetings.  Pack lunches for my children.  Fill the Crockpot for dinner.  Unload the dishwasher.  Do laundry.  Respond to texts, answer emails, send a Tweet.

There are no breaks between patients.  I do not have a prescription pad.

But you know what I do have?  Summer.

As a principal, I work in the summer, but my days take on a slower pace and spirit.  I’m home by four—plenty of time to open my laptop and settle on the patio, or journal in the chaise lounge next to the diving boards while my kids do 959 cannonballs.  Writing dreams come back.  Maybe a young adult novel? A memoir, perhaps?  The words flow.  Poetry.  Stories.  Ruminations.  I regain my confidence and finally, finally, remember what it is I have to say.

That is summer.



Jen Schwanke is an elementary principal in Dublin, Ohio.  She is the author of the ASCD book, You’re the Principal!  Now What?  Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders.  Her blog is ThePrincipalTalks.com.  Follow her on Twitter @jenschwanke.