In yesterday’s discussion about writers and sensitivity, Gordon Pamplona left a comment that stuck with me:
“…a lot of times the sensitivity about the writing is a stand-in for sensitivity about something else: you spent so much time chasing this pipe dream that you lose your job, your marriage, your kids; your kids don’t respect you because you didn’t write Harry Potter or Twilight; you charged a lot of money on the credit card for conferences and classes with no tangible results, and now the family is eating beans and rice. For many of us, writing is an addiction, no different from alcohol or drugs or gambling. And maybe people who are angry, bitter, stressed out, or despondent should take a hard look at whether this is something they should be doing–if it’s gone from a hobby to something that’s ruining their lives and their relationships with others.”
As a society, we often celebrate tortured and struggling artists who finally make it big despite their obstacles, and yet we don’t often examine the flip side of this, which is that the vast majority of tortured and struggling artists don’t actually make it. We tend to encourage everyone to write (Person 1 tells an interesting story, Person 2 says “Wow, you should write a book about that”), and there are very few people out there willing to tell any writer they don’t have what it takes and should probably try pursuing something else with their time. I’m guilty of this as well – who am I to say whether or not someone will or won’t be published?
But is this the right approach? Is writing, especially when the odds are long and the cost to a personal life is high, sometimes akin to addiction? When does it cross the line from hobby to “habit?” And should we be encouraging everyone to write?
I think that the isolation of the writing process can be unhealthy for some people if there is no public feedback/input/artistic catharsis to balance that intensity. And critique groups are not really adequate for that kind of balance.
I am not saying that being a writer is inherently unhealthy, simply that the nature of being a writer—and specifically a novelist—puts an individual in a long-term situation that is creatively challenging and emotionally stressful. And it is not an existence that is healthy for some people.
First of all, to Deaf Indian Muslim whatever, it is exactly like smoking or drugs…
The definition of addiction is "being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs) an abnormally strong craving."
Writing is both psychological and physical. It is a habit, and one that I think is terribly hard to kick.
From the age of eleven to the age of seventeen I drank at least four nights a week, every week. I realized at about eighteen that I was becoming an alcoholic, if I wasn't already one. I don't drink now.
I smoked from 11 to 21. I quit when I had kids.
I have written every day (almost) since I was eight. This includes my birthday/Christmas. It includes the days my kids were born, and my wedding. I recently had an MRI. I'm going in today for the results. My right wrist is in constant pain. I will not be surprised if it turns out to be writing related. I have a meeting next week to see if I can keep my job (I work in a warehouse and can't lift the things I'm supposed to).
All this, and I cannot, will not stop writing. I don't do it for publication (though at least my wife might moan less if I was getting paid).
If I go a day without writing, it's fine. Two, I become irritable. Three, and I'm angry. Four and I shout at everyone, become sullen and withdrawn, hate the entire world.
I've never went five.
I'll stop writing when I die. Maybe. I believe in reincarnation, so who knows.
I love my wife, but if she ever gave me an ultimatum, I'd choose writing over her. Every time.
I don't know if that makes me a bad person, or just weak. I know I'm an addict, but I don't want help. Because I also know I'm very, very good.
First off, anything can become destructive and obsessive (I won't say addictive cos that's something different entirely – you don't have an obsessive/addictive personality to get hooked on heroin). Absolutely anything. That's a personal, psychological situation which is ideally addressed by friends, family and qualified professionals.
Someone said in an earlier comment that everyone has it in them to succeed, it just takes a lot of drive and determination: that’s such a dangerous statement! By uttering these seemingly harmless words you're condemning said person (who we've already established has some obsessive personality traits) to chase a dream you've now said is attainable if only they try harder and harder and harder.
That's eff-ing cruel if you ask me!
By not quantifying the amount of work and effort required more than "a lot" (which, by the way, often becomes larger every time you succeed in putting what you think is 'a lot' of effort in) you're justifying someone’s potential unending misery. Isn’t it better to say “Look, you might get to publishable levels, but it’ll ruin your life, empty you bank account and take 30 years. If you want to make that sacrifice, that’s your choice”. And if you think you don’t have the authority to say that (and most people, including myself, don’t) pass them onto an agent, publisher, author, editor etc who does.
Success is a destination; therefore we are allowed to loathe the road we must travel to get there. You CAN suffer for your art, that's ok, but set targets that mean you don't suffer indefinitely.
I would say that obsessing over writing can harm you.
Alison – I liked your comment so much, I forwarded it to my writing group.
Thanks!
Anyone who is sitting at their table tapping away with the hope of writing a bestseller that makes them some big bucks may as well head over to the roulette wheel – your chances are much better over there.
Chris, I politely disagree. Some people write a bestseller by deciding to write a bestseller, and NOT by hoping that whatever they write will become a bestseller by lightning strike or spin of a wheel.
While The Little Book That Could gets a lot of attention when it climbs the silly ladder from quiet low-numbers publication to the top of the heap, most bestsellers are designed as such by the author and likewise are published as such by the publisher.
They come in the door big.
You know what's depressing? Almost everyone in this thread is thinking "But I'll be the one who makes it" and almost everyone is wrong.
Reading the comments makes me wonder how anyone actually gets anything written if it's something to not take seriously and isn't worthy of focus and devotion.
I'll admit it. I'm an addict. I'm sensitive. I'm one of those people who identify as a writer. It feels like that's what I'm supposed to do. I am at my happiest when I write.
The times in my life when I didn't write were the unhealthy ones, as my husband will tell you.
I don't know. Maybe it's a difference in semantics? Reading through the comments and the entry I get the feeling that by "writing" you guys really mean "getting published".
I write a Sims 3 story and publish it on a blog. And I admit that I am obsessed with it and it's what I spend most of my time thinking about.
I don't notice it negatively affecting my life, though. My husband and I have always enjoyed being in the same room together while silently surfing on our computers. I don't have and will never have kids. My day job is fine.
I don't think writing in and of itself is ever unhealthy. It can be used as a negative coping mechanism just like every other human activity, but I imagine those cases are relatively few and far between.
I think that the author has to be unhealthy to start with for their writing to be unhealthy.
As for the other bit – I like encouraging people. If I can't find anything nice to say about another person's work I just surf on to the next story. It's not my place to tell them that they should stop doing something that they enjoy.
So I guess I don't encourage everyone, but I don't actively discourage people.
I think there are two things that enable an artist to create, talent and drive. You often see very talent writers who don't have the work ethic to have a complete career (Truman Capote, I love you man, but… c'mon.) There are also a ton of people that are obsessed and driven to express themselves yet they have no talent whatsoever. (most of the throngs of people trying out for American Idol) It's rare when talent and drive intersect, especially in writers. We're a squirrelly lot and the act of writing, the isolation, the introspection doesn't make us any less so.
I want to ask the question, can anyone write? If found myself in the situation where I was seriously enrolled in a workshop to review my novel-in-progress (not initially choosing to go the MFA route, but wanting the feedback of peers), and the class was filled with what I would call writing hobbyists who had interesting stories, but also didn't have a whole lot of skill. I am still learning myself, but I feel like there also may be a line in the sand between writing that can make it to market, and writing that just won't cut it, and that the hardest part is knowing were you stand in relation to that line as a writer.
Am I horrible for proposing that? Maybe, but it's just a question more than a final answer.
Thanks for opening the conversation!
Well, there is such a thing as too much thinking can be unhealthy.So if you answered the question of "When is writing unhealthy," you are about to be arrested for pop-warner psychology. And you will be found guilty in the WitLiz Yada Court of Law. (Of course, the great thing is, your punishment is writing for the rest of your natural life)
Let me be the first to confess I don't have a degree in psychology. And even if I did, I still wouldn't be qualified to answer the above question. To do so would mean making snap judgments into the lives of people I don't even know. And it is certainly none of my business how or why a writer chooses to conduct his/her writing life, or personal life for that matter.
Unless a writer invites me into their confidence, I don't know diddly squat. And its best not to make generalized assumptions, because they then evolve into pre-judgments.
And furthermore, if a writer does take me into their confidence, then its best that I listen and take what they say at face value, rather than put it under a psychiatric microscope for analysis.
That means if someone says, I want to write, I say, great. If someone says, I want to write for publication, I say, great, let me know if you need some help. If they say, I really thought I should have at least placed in the competition. My entry was so much better than the winner's, I say, Shut up! Work harder and be happy for the person who won. If they say, I'm really disappointed I didn't even place in the contest, I say, that's perfectly normal. But think how the winner must feel. Isn't that wonderful? Now get back to work.
A newbie writer quickly discovers how hard the work is, and they will quckly discover rejection. How they respond is going to be up to them. It is their right to respond however they want to. And it is absolutely necessary for them to experience the outcome of that response, whether for good or for bad.
In either case, it will be important for me to listen and not say I told you so. Or make snap judgments. That would be unkind and not worthy of a serious writer intent on publication.
Anne has a really important point.
I just watched a documentary about aspiring Olympic athletes. The sacrifices they and their families made in pursuit of their dreams were mind boggling. Financially, mentally, physically. Yet, we call them heroes when they come home with a gold medal.
Have you ever seen what a medical intern sacrifices? Or a Fortune 500 CEO? Or what about soldiers? And what about their families? Like the President of the United States has balance in his life right now?
Why should someone seeking to be a top writer professionally be different?
Look what someone said about Nora Roberts.
Look what Stephen King went through trying to become published. Ah, talk about beans and rice.
But can you be a Great Writer and not make sacrifices? And where's the line of too much? After all, 99% of success is knowing when to quit. We all make the mistake of just thinking if we persist we can succeed.
Yet. Successful people were smart enough to know to persist at that which they could be successful at. Unsuccessful people weren't smart enough to know they should have quit and gone and persued what they could accomplish. Knowing when to quit is everything.
I think that the writing itself has to serve as its own reward.
If your only purpose in writing is to be rich and famous, then you're probably wasting your time. I was in a rock band for several years and it isn't much different. You've got to love playing music the same way you love writing. If you're doing either one just for that big break, you might as well spend your savings on lottery tickets or something else equally foolish.
In both writing and music, I've seen plenty of really REALLY talented people who are never going to "make it". Do it for the experience, do it because there's nothing else you'd rather do and then you'll never regret it.
You have several questions that merit a response. Below are my opinions.
I'm guilty of this as well – who am I to say whether or not someone will or won't be published?
Let me see, you are a professional in the industry, so, yes, you are qualified to give an honest opinion. I'll take a brutal professional opinion over enabling any day.
But is this the right approach? Is writing, especially when the odds are long and the cost to a personal life is high, sometimes akin to addiction?
I think you are in the perfect position to encourage balance. If the writing is poor, say so. Encourage the writer to continue, as practice should lead to improvement. The cost to personal life doesn't need to be high. It can be fulfilling. That isn't a crime. There are a lot of things with long odds. Don't let that be an excuss to never try. But, always, balance.
When does it cross the line from hobby to "habit?"
Habits are not wrong; bad habits are. So you love to write. Good for you. Do it every day. But also have a life. Don't forget the wife and kids; have fun; enjoy a vacation; write blog comments.
And should we be encouraging everyone to write?
YES! Writing is communication; the highest form, in my opinion. If more people write more, they will improve their communication skils. Published or not, better communications skills go a long way.
When you have tendonitis.
Fighting past the rejections, meeting obstacles head on, and overcoming negs are to be commended. Always.
It's when you ignore your kids, spouse, job… As with all addiction, when it's detrimental to the rest of your life there is a problem.
On-line gaming could affect you in a similar way.
Nora Roberts has been quoted as telling her adolescent kids, unless there is blood or the house is burning down don't bother her when she is writing. But then she stops at a reasonable time to be a wife and mother. I think that is the perfect balance.
Writing is a job. You need to do it everyday. Take time in it. But you also need to be able to walk away from it and live the rest of your life. It can't be the end all of who you are.
fainsully said:
You know what's depressing? Almost everyone in this thread is thinking "But I'll be the one who makes it" and almost everyone is wrong.
Hey, that's not depressing. There's that "almost" in "almost everyone is wrong"… Ah, ain't optimism grand?
"In the immortal and paraphrased words of Miracle Max: Woo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. Go through his clothes and look for loose change."
Also: "Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world… except for a nice MLT – mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe… they're so perky, I love that."
Okay, so that last one had nothing to do with anything, I admit.
Christine,
I think the writing only seems useless if you're following a really goal-oriented approach (and you aren't meeting the difficult goals). I'm more a process-oriented sort of guy. The value is in the writing itself. It's the experience, my chance to try and shape my understanding of the world and to explore something beyond myself and escape my own limitations. I think there's tremendous value in that. Now, I do have more material goals, too… but they're subsidiary to the writing and the reasons behind that writing. I write for the writing… the goals come later.
Miracle Max: You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
🙂
Writing is something that I find I need to do. When life gets in the way, and it does more so than I like, then I don't have the time I WANT/NEED to write. I get moody, short, and withdrawn – you know the Perfect Melancholy personality.
I realized not writing means emotional and mental constipation for me. Once I do end up writing then I'm back into the flow of things and the scenes of my book are not constantly visually playing out in my head and the characters aren’t constantly talking to each other or fighting.
Published or not published my main goal is to make myself happy since I'm the only one who really knows how to. Do I write with the intention of being published – of course, but then this is what helps me to step it up a notch and make sure I am writing the best I can in what little time I've got. I think everyone needs to live in the middle of an optimistic and pessimistic world which coincidently is called reality and no one should ever let themselves be consumed to the point of neglect in any aspect of their life.
Christine,
I think that everyone that takes the time to read this and other writing blogs have a greater chance at getting published than the average writer. This includes you. BTW I think it's reasonable to expect some encouragement from your family.
Writing becomes a habit when it performs no function other than escape. Just like people who work long hours primarily because they can't stand being at home with their family; who drink primarily to forget how sad and lonely they are; or who eat for comfort instead of nourishment.
But, with the exception of certain charlatans who prey on writers, I don't see much encouragement anywhere that publishing success is a realistic goal. If anyone's to blame for doing that, it's certainly not the industry — it may be the widespread practice of assignments in creative writing while we're growing up in school. To a young mind, teacher encouragement to write fiction sort of equates to teacher encouragement about other fields: science, technology, etc., where finding success is not only realistic, but likely.
This morning I noticed the absolute filth on my kitchen floor, imagined what my mother would say if she saw it, considered how long it would take me to vacuum then mop it up, and then hurried up to my attic writing den to try to make my headway on my November book deadline. Yes, I do write to the detriment of my family sometimes. I admit it!
Your writing could be unhealthy if:
1. You have killed, at least five houseplants, three fish, and/or one fur-bearing pet through neglect.
2. Your personal hygiene (or lack thereof) has set off either the smoke alarm or the carbon monoxide detector.
3. You have lost at least two shoes, on separate occasions, to the dried, yet still sticky, puddle on your kitchen floor.
4. You have scurvy.
Seriously, writing obsession has to have limits. My second year of law school, all of my classes either had papers or take-home exams. By a date certain, I owed the school a total of 300 pages of clean typed text, formatted to each teacher's specs, footnoted, blue-booked, cross-referenced, and edited.
The mother of all deadlines – my entire set of grades for that semester rode the back of those papers and tests.
I remember shuffling down to school a couple of days before the due date wearing bedroom slippers, sweat pants that had been clean a week earlier, and my hair in the first stages of dreadlocks. I handed the papers, all pristine, each in its sealed envelope to the law school proctor and then I remember literally skipping down the hall when it was done (an odd sight I'm sure my classmates have tried to forget over the last decade).
I knew when to be obsessed and when to let it go . . . until the next time.
TL:DR As mentioned by previous posters, it's not so much the writing as it is the pursuit of publication that manifests itself in unhealthy behavior.
I've been writing a story. For a couple months recently, I forgot why.
Breaking the story may have consumed much of my free time but it never overwhelmed my life or responsibilities. It was largely therapeutic.
Two thirds (~55,000 words) of the way through it, a friend asked to read some of what had come to consume most of my recreational time (time I might normally have spent watching a baseball game with him). I obliged, sending him the first 30 pages or so. His glowing assessment and insistence that I look into publishing it, as encouraging and well-intentioned as it may have been, ended up obscuring my objectives. It was a cancer.
Suddenly, in addition to writing, I was researching the process of publication – reading blogs, hashing out synopses and queries, posting on forums, etc. On top of that, I was going back to revise and censor my own work – changing large tracts of the story and voice – making alterations that might better appeal to a mass audience. It took a couple of months to realize that not only was I forsaking family events and real life responsibilities, I no longer looked forward to writing the story. I'd lost sight of who I was writing for. Originally, its only intended audience had been myself and two friends who have long since closed their eyes to the light of this world.
Realizing this, I hit the reset button. I trashed all the additions I made during that time and reverted the manuscript to its original form. I stopped sweating queries, reading industry sites (Nathan's blog being the exception), and concerning myself with anything that had to do with publishing. I even completely stopped writing to focus on friends, family, and responsibilities – to make up for lost time. Last week, after much debate (and 30 minutes before the deadline), I finally re-opened that original file to enter a paragraph into Nathan's contest. I didn't expect it to qualify. It didn't. And I was fine with that.
Since then, I've been able to look at the story with no sense of urgency. Gone is the self-imposed need to craft a literary masterpiece at the expense of everything else. But what's most relieving: once again, I wake up every morning and find myself looking forward to finishing the story…and doing it on my own time.
OMG, Terry, you are funny!!!
Anon 11:28 – My mom came to visit two weeks ago. I spent the whole previous week in an absolute panic, cleaning the house. Not because she would criticize, but because she was driving 8 hours just to spend one day and two nights here to celebrate my birthday (she couldn't take any more time off work), and I didn't want her to recoil from touching surfaces in my house, or have to sleep on the floor because the guest room was full of crap.
My husband says that if my mom never came to visit, I'd never clean.
He's probably right.
Anon 10:51 – I thought I had a chance at getting published until I started reading this and other blogs. Now I figure I have less than a snowball's chance, no matter how good I am.
Sorry I'm so depressed today! The problem with my family is none of them are writers, or even avid readers. So they don't see much value in what I am doing. To them it's just a selfish pastime. Which, if it's not bringing in any income, is pretty much true.
Once John Steinbeck was approached by a surgeon who told the author:
"You know, someday I'm going to take some time off and write a book."
"Really?" Steinbeck said. "What a coincidence. I'm planning to take some time off do an appendectomy."
And then on the flip-side people would almost rather you write, you know? Like "Well I'd rather he channel his energy into writing vs. drinking or something worse." Almost like a coping mechanism but you're right if it does more harm than good, and if there's the dream amongst the addicted for "the great American novel" when only 0.1% of writers ever get published (I'm making that up…it's probably a lot less I'm guessing? 🙂 )…kind of scary.
Listening to the sounds of the "door closing," is something that leaves many of us tone-deaf. While we can envision our dream as the "hot-new-author," with our book sky-rocketing to #1 on the NY Times Bestseller List, in reality, we have only built what is conceivable in our comfort zone. To watch what often has been a life-long dream, wittle away is extremely hard, especially if it's something that you think you are "suppose" to be doing–for whatever reason.
I guess I"m someone who takes a more "spiritual" (not religious–big difference) approach to this topic, because some of my worst mistakes have been when I was focused on something that wasn't really my passion– but just a hobby. It stifled my "growth" by keeping me from doing what I "should" have been doing. It also set a cycle of very toxic behavior that often left me wondering why the hell I was here to begin with.
For example, I love making holiday wreaths. I've always made them and it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I decided to sell (at the advice of friends who thought they were GOOD–sound familiar)a few. I did alright during the holidays, but for some reason, this gave me a hunger to sell more! SELL MORE! SELL THE HELL MORE! It was like an addiction and before I knew it, what used to be a fun hobby had turned into a business nightmare! I was never meant to be a florist!
I'm one of those (don't gag) that believes–especially, as I get older–that we all have some "purpose" here on this ever-increasing warm earth and not searching for what that "thing" is is just "settling" for what we "think" we know.
I guess this can lead to eating beans and rice around the table with the kids.
I think about this a lot myself. While there is that addiction part of it, I have realized over the years between when I wrote my novel (about 4 years ago), and the point (this summer) when I started revising, that I am a much happier person when I'm writing. It was an emotional escape valve for me, especially when I was in high school, and now I'm at a point (going to graduate school,leaving the continent on which I grew up), where I need that again. I write because I have a story that will overwhelm my consciousness if I don't get it down on paper– I think the obsession would occur whether or not I sat pecking at the keyboard. (Also, I never had "be a best-selling writer" as my goal/reason for writing. However, the compulsion to write is so strong for me that I do it anyway).
Is the pursuit of publication unhealthy and frustrating? I'm not sure. When I got my first rejection letter, I had a fit of doubt over whether my work was good enough, or ever would be. And I can see obsessing over publication as being a problem.
On the other hand, I feel like sharing one's story is a logical step. And I definitely want to do that– to me, it feels like the story won't be complete until enough strangers read it.
REF: BILLRUPERT8
Your comments ring a familiar tune in my head. I liked what you had to say.
At first, writing for me was a life-preserver floating on the surface of the water after the ship sunk. It kept my head above insanity, but then the pursuit of publishing clouded the purpose of it.
Finally, I have balance (I think) and still feel I have a good day if I write, but there is no urgency for publishing.
Several things resulted in the pursuit of publishing.
1) Learning and growing in the craft to perfect it.
2) Realizing there are many just like me chasing the same rainbows.
3) Learning what hoops we need to jump through.
4) Finding Nathan's blog spot. (smile)
Comments to this blog topic are very interesting.
wordver: polingso (could that be a survey of sorts?)
Writing is unhealthy when you have six figures in student loans and law school finals looming yet you blog at 2:00 am.
Because some random friend of yours on facebook complemented something you wrote.
Because you hope your ex-boyfriend is reading it or better yet your crush.
When I was in college, I studied journalism. I loved writing feature stories, but as I focused on the technicalities of writing, I found out something. I didn't have much to write about. After taking many technical classes, and writing pretty interesting articles, mostly about people, I switched to psychology. I found out through my writing classes that I love focusing on people in my writing, and I felt that by studying psych I gained a framework through which to view others.
I think one should write when one has something to say; it's so much more motivating than knowing you have a talent and like the trade better than others. Personal writing, or writing for self, as in journaling obviously is an outlet, but writing to be recognized is futile if what is written about does not reach to others. This doesn't mean all writing should be persuasive and have a platform, but even with a fiction that flows spontaneously, it should be spawned from a deep desire to share a story that flows from something deep within. If a writer has something deep within, but it does not surface in writing, then one should pursue interests that helps the inner message surface.
I've read most of the comments here and my beliefs are similar. To sum up the answer to the question, I think writing is unhealthy when you neglect your responsibilities (family, friends, bills, etc), spend too much time on your tooshie, and eat poorly. My favorite response here was from Bane of Anubis who simply wrote, "when you start hating it".
On a personal note, my fiction writing teacher (who is a published author) asked our class at the beginning of the semester if we, “…had ever read something that made us want to stop writing?” This question didn’t even register to me, writing is my passion and I do make time for it but not at the price of family, work, bills etc. I would do it for free, meaning if money didn’t exist at all, my peace, my joy, would still be found in the writing process; the rough drafts, the rewrites and the criticisms. I don’t run to the corner and buy an idea from the idea dealer, sometimes stories just flood in and yeah I have lost hours to typing just to get a story out of my head so I can focus on the day. It’s like reading a book you can’t put down, only you are the one dictating. Crazy? Maybe. Unhealthy? I don’t think so. TuPac Shakur carried a journal with him all the time, constantly writing. Songwriters, musicians composers, they have to get it out, it’s not forced, it just happens, it’s a gift.
This is getting long, but I think the most important thing is to write for you first; journalizing, en escape, to vent to get out whatever is banging around in your head and set time for it so you don’t neglect your responsibilities. If along the way others happen to enjoy your work AND are willing to pay for it that is a blessed and happy plus.
Writing isn't destructive, writing is helpful and healthy. What's destructive is jumping through hoops to get a book published. Your self-esteem suffers for one, because you start to think you suck at writing. Meanwhile, they publish crap, including crap from celebrities who suddenly think they can write fiction. *cough-Nancy Grace-cough*
Just my 2 centz.
Eating beans and rice? Wow! First of all my children love chili beans while my daughter cannot live without rice. Tell the guy maybe he likes drinking whiskey and wine, hehehe bye bye miss american pie)))) Anyway, Mr. Bransford your non-stop question period can make every blogger use their common sense. They should apply question period too in schools everywhere to make sure that ALL students can participate and use their reasoning power either through recitation (verbally) and written, text messaging. To the teachers try this in your classroom. Form a CHAT room and find out how each student can resonate.