Are You Missing Number Six?

My daughter and I recently visited a discount bookstore–a writer’s happy place. It became even happier when we discovered that they were having a sale, all the books you could fit in a tote bag for one price.

We quickly made our way to the children’s section. I love writing for children and my daughter is a preschool teacher, searching for books for her classroom. We also had a third reason for making a bee line to the kiddy side of the store. I have a beautiful little fifteen-month-old grandniece, Janie, whom I love to spoil with books. So, we compiled our books, filled our bag, paid for our purchase and longingly sighed as we walked out of our happy place.

A few weeks later, we were going to visit Janie and we went through the books to choose a couple to take to her. One of them was a counting book with bright colors and cute illustrations, but, as I read the book, I realized that number six was gone. The page had been torn out, evidently ripped out by the previous owner who was not as civilized as my wonderful little grandniece. So, now we were faced with a decision. Do we discard the book or give it to her with the number six missing? We decided that the book was just too cute to discard, and, although Janie was too young to miss six now, in all her brilliance she would soon be able to instinctively know it was there.

Do you ever look at your writing and think your number six is missing? As you reread, your latest masterpiece, there is just something not right. I wonder how many unfinished stories, articles, manuscripts, or wonderful ideas are discarded because one small part was missing.

I’m not saying that the number six isn’t important. It’s just as important as all the others, but don’t abandon ship just yet because of one missing element.

One tip I use to find my missing number six is reading my writing aloud. Pretend you are reading to your target audience or that they are reading it. I also have someone else read my piece, if possible, and then read it aloud to me. This is also where writer buddies and critique groups come in. They are on the job of telling you how to fix that unaccounted for six.

The second tip is to ask your readers what is missing from your writing. They have an opinion, I promise you, and it just might be one that you could agree with and find helpful.

If we had discarded the counting book, we wouldn’t have seen Janie’s eyes light up when we gave it to her. Don’t let a missing number six keep you from lighting up someone’s world with your writing.

Sue Davis Potts is a freelance writer from Huntingdon, Tennessee. She is mother to her beautiful adult daughter, Jessa. She enjoys writing for both children and adults. Sue worked for years as a preschool teacher but feels most at home these days with other writers who speak her language. She has been published in local magazines, anthologies, Ideals, Southern Writer’s Magazine and Focus on the Family’s children’s magazines Clubhouse and Clubhouse, Jr.

She authored a children’s library book.  She is the author of a book of short motivations 101 Life Lessons From Uno (The One-Legged Duck) and coauthored The Priceless Life (The Diane Price Story). Both books are available on Amazon. Sue can be found on her website, www.suedavispotts.com.