The Power of Discovery

I homeschooled my children for several years back in the nineties and early 2000s. One of my favorite ways of approaching a topic was using the 'discovery method'. Learners are presented with a problem or project and then allowed to 'discover' the answers themselves through research, testing hypothesis, and experimenting. Much of the learning takes place through trial and error, and in fact, some of the best lessons come out of making mistakes. Of course, this isn't appropriate for every area of study, but much of the time it is very effective.

Just think for a moment about the lessons you've learned in life. We need to fall off the bike a few times; have the clay fly off the potter's wheel; suffer the consequences of bad choices... I doubt that there is a person alive who has always followed the advice of others to the 'T' or who hasn't learned a few things 'the hard way'. Discovery is one of the most powerful means of growth, especially when it means having to bite the bullet and start something over.

This is certainly the case in my own journey as a writer. I've come a long way in the last 25 years or so in both my writing skills and my confidence as an author. However, I know there is still much 'undiscovered country' awaiting. Much of the pain of my early rejection could have been alleviated if I'd done more research, for instance, but on the other hand, these 'hard lessons' have helped me to accept criticism as a positive thing, not something to be feared. It was very much through trial and error that I finally had my first book accepted for publication, and even now, four and a half years later, I see so many things I would like to change about my published work. I've also discovered so much about marketing, promoting and networking - things that I continue to learn on a daily basis mostly through the 'discovery method'.

If you are an author, embrace the undiscovered with openness. Go ahead and make some mistakes. You might not make the perfect pitch, write the best query, or even publish the next bestseller in your first try. But you'll never learn to 'ride that bike' if you don't expect to fall a few times, too. Take the risk and discover what awaits.

This has been part of the 'Christian Writer's Blog Chain'. See what other people are saying on the topic of 'DISCOVERY' by checking out the links on the 'CW Blog Chain' page at the top of this blog.