To a reader, the world is forever new.
As stated in one of the books I’ve read before, “… a new book is one he or she has not read
before - even though the author may be long dead.”1 I’ve read that
line countless of times when I was studying the book, Writing for Children and Teenagers, by Lee Wyndham and Arnold
Madison, which was part of the materials I’ve got for my course at The
Institute of Children’s Literature in Connecticut a few years back.
While that holds true for readers, I’ve realized that it
also speaks of the writer’s experiences with each piece he or she would work on
- be it an article, a poem, a song, or a story.
Through the years, I’ve noticed that no matter how extensive
one’s writing and editing experience is, I often find myself in a whole new
ball game, in a different world, every time I start writing and working on a
piece.
It’s like I’m always back at where I started: A novice. An
apprentice.