The Truth About Writing and Potty Training

Two weeks ago during our visit to Los Angeles (hence one of the reasons why I've been away from my blog), Grandma and Papa Scribe bought Little Scribe his first potty chair from a woodcarver at the Irish Festival. Lacking in bells and whistles and Elmo decorations, the chair is carved out of pine (complete with a crescent moon carved on the back) and includes a built in toliet paper holder one one side and a book/magazine holder on the other. It has a plastic liner under the seat and a wooden cover on top.

What does this have to do with writing? Well, writing and potty training have much more in common than at first glance. Think about the cheerleading a parent does with a toddler while he is on the potty:

"Just relax. You can do it. Let it all out. Reading helps, sometimes. I know, it's frustrating. Practice makes perfect. Don't give up. Let's try a little bit everyday. There it is! Good job!"
(All while your little one tries, cries, and flies off the potty and into your arms before you have a chance to wipe!)

Now imagine yourself on a tough writing day, when squeezing out even a single word feels harder than climbing Mount Hood in the middle of a snowstorm.

I think the feelings between toddler and writer are mutual.

Be your own cheerleader on those toughest of writing days, or call a writing friend to cheer for you. Say those same words that you say to your toddler on the potty, and when the words finally fly from your fingers and into your "potty" of a notebook or laptop, cry out with joy, "There it is! Good job!"

Of course, the words of my first drafts usually resemble what ends up in my toddler's potty more than an actual story, but cheer myself on I must, just as I do with my son, and forge ahead. As Grandma Scribe always says whenever I feel frustrated over Little Scribe's developmental progress, "There's no such thing as a typical kindergartener who isn't walking, talking, or potty trained. It will all happen in its own time."

So too should I remember when writing my stories. They will all happen in their own time.