Talk about tough love. When I was 12 or so, I started failing English. The reason was writer's block on steroids. I was seriously verbally constipated. Nothing seemed to help. Then on a Friday, coming home after school, there was this guy with my parents. "This is Paul, we've packed some clothes for you and you'll be staying at Paul's for the weekend. Yikes. So when we get to Paul's I meet his wife, had supper and he led me to his study, where there was a pen and a legal pad on the desk. He said "Write a paragraph about anything. I'll be back in 15 minutes." So 15 minutes later, he came in, looked at the blank sheet of paper and said: "OK, this is the deal." He took me to the basement and wailed on my ass about 5 times with a wooden paddle. He said:"This will continue every 15 minutes until you start writing." It took a few more, but by Saturday afternoon, I was tearing through sheets of paper like a boy possessed. I've never stopped since. This comment is a testament to that! I really owe Paul.
Talk about tough love. When I was 12 or so, I started failing English. The reason was writer's block on steroids. I was seriously verbally constipated. Nothing seemed to help. Then on a Friday, coming home after school, there was this guy with my parents. "This is Paul, we've packed some clothes for you and you'll be staying at Paul's for the weekend. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteSo when we get to Paul's I meet his wife, had supper and he led me to his study, where there was a pen and a legal pad on the desk. He said "Write a paragraph about anything. I'll be back in 15 minutes."
So 15 minutes later, he came in, looked at the blank sheet of paper and said: "OK, this is the deal." He took me to the basement and wailed on my ass about 5 times with a wooden paddle. He said:"This will continue every 15 minutes until you start writing."
It took a few more, but by Saturday afternoon, I was tearing through sheets of paper
like a boy possessed. I've never stopped since. This comment is a testament to that!
I really owe Paul.