Summer Means 4H Writing ... Well, To Me

So, I spent another July week judging prose writing projects for the Noble County 4-H (which still has some judging going despite the sad cancellation of this year's 4-H Fair). Apparently I've been doing this every year since 2016; time flies when you're being impressed.

And boy, as usual, am I impressed.

This year they range in grades from 6th to 12th, which makes it even more difficult to judge, as you have to take their ages and relative experience into consideration. But while I've seen plenty of writing that needed work, I haven't seen any yet that I'd characterize as being bad. One piece from this year is freaking brilliant. Another writer needs to work on their fundamentals, but still almost had me rolling on the floor with funny scenes.

I'm so jealous.

I started writing steadily at around sixth grade, but didn't  come up with anything approaching good until the middle of high school. I didn't start getting good at my fundamentals--grammar, spelling, sentence structure--until after high school. See, in English class, instead of paying attention, I was in the back row writing fiction. As a writer, I was trying to build a house without knowing how to use a hammer or saw.

(I still don't know how to build a house, but hey, it's just a metaphor. Or simile. One of those things. On a related note, sometimes I'm still not that great at fundamentals.)

So after high school I bought a used English textbook and actually taught myself the stuff I hadn't picked up before. After that, I got a little better. Some would say.



If the kids have a common problem, it's that they need to understand that writing is rewriting. I'm seeing good work that just needs to be edited and polished, more than anything else. They're already as good as I was at their age: A little work, and they'll be better.

And hey, more competition is just what I need. That, and editing.



4 comments:

  1. Good for you! Tell them to keep studying! They are so fortunate. The only thing girls were allowed to do in 4-H when I was in them was sweing, baking, and canning. Even raising the animals came long after I had left the farm. Tweeted.

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    1. 4-H has come a long way ... I didn't realize they had a writing branch until they contacted me to be a judge!

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  2. That's so cool and must feel so rewarding. I never really embraced the complete writing process until the last couple of years actually. Accepting that rewriting is writing is a huge factor!

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    1. It sure is. I'm pretty good at rewriting small, revising and polishing, but I'm terrible at major edits--I have to really kick myself to get going on them, and I'm never sure if I've improved the book or otherwise.

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