Once More to the Lake

E.B. White's essay "Once More to the Lake" captures an experience he has while on vacation with his son. While vacationing on the lake, White notes the feeling that he has that no time has really passed since he used to come to the lake as a child because he can see himself in his son: "I looked at the boy, who was silently watching his fly, and it was my hands that held his rod, my eyes watching. I felt dizzy and didn't know which rod I was at the end of."

The Lesson:

There is a common misconception in the back of every writer's mind that says that no one really care about what you have to say in your writing. This is a foolish assumption because chances are someone has felt the way that you feel especially if you have been honest in your writing. Just write things how they happened and no one will feel as though your writing is pointless.

E.B. White does a good job of this in his essay. He wrote about a simple experience in his life. Despite that this was just a small moment, I feel that his essay relates to a lot of people. "It is strange how much you can remember about places like that once you allow your mind to return into the grooves which lead back."

We have all been in places that make us feel nostalgic and a little sad about the passing time. New experiences are exciting, but E.B. White captures a moment when he feels insecure about the passing time. I think that all of us feel like this at some point.

E.B. White writes about a time that might seem insignificant but still manages to make an impact on his audience.

How to apply this in our own writing:

• Just write
• Write about something that had an impact on yourself
• Don't worry about someone thinking that it is stupid
• Write things how they happened; don't add fluff