Know It All

I recently attended a professional development day on strengths based cultural transformation. It was brilliant. The stand out for me was when one of the keynote speakers, who has won multiple awards for his leadership abilities, made a throwaway comment...

“I am a student of leadership.” 

The way he said it was so subtle, so discreet that I could have missed it, but he hooked my ear and he hooked my mind. I don’t remember the rest of his presentation, because I was totally fixated on that simple statement. It was hugely revealing of his character and his commitment to development. To me that phrase showed a posture of humility, which I thought was stunning.

And thus, I began to ask myself, “Am I a student of writing?” 

I’m currently working on a research based non-fiction book for a client and it has required a different approach than writing fiction. To be honest, it’s been really hard—a major stretch. 

On a good day, when writing fiction, I can pump out 5,000-6,000 words. I get into a zone, I get into a flow. My imagination does the work for me and I love it! With the non-fiction book project, I have to grind for every sentence. And a good day is around 1,200 words. The challenge is that my imagination isn’t the driving force, it’s my research. Where’s the creativity in that?! Well, I’ve learnt that it’s in the flow that serves the reader. In other words—is there a logical progression, are there shifts and changes in the pacing, the facts and the stories? Is it interesting and consistently engaging?

So, am I a student of writing? I think I may be, it’s just not as clear-cut as sitting in a classroom learning about third person limited vs third person unlimited. In this instance, it’s in the grind, it’s writing a new style and tone and a completely different genre. Forced learning.

To get better at anything, you have to practice it, to do it. And thinking about doing it isn’t the same—in this instance, it’s NOT the thought that counts! Being a student of anything has a posture that says, “I don’t know everything yet, but I’m willing to learn.” 

The fact of the matter is that learning is up to us, our posture is up to us. I’m not convinced that anyone can really be a Know-It-All—because there’s still so much to learn.