When I was in “English” class (what we called Language Arts back then), my teacher would read my papers and remind me the following:
“You can’t come along as a footnote to your work.”
By that, she meant that our writing had to stand on its own. Writers’ explanations and amplifications were not appropriate. The work was self-contained.
She was right in 1974 as I would try to explain my way through some quagmire or ambiguity she encountered.
“Remember, you can’t be a footnote,” she’d admonish.
As I write this, I am very conscious of our changing times. When my sequel to Alfred’s Journey to Be Liked came out in March, I realized I was engaging in a hybrid category that could hopefully interest teens and adults. There is a whole other story that could be written about the smarts (or not) of going outside the lines when it comes to literary genre and readers, but that’s for another piece (and the jury is still out).
When I share Hannah’s Journal to Be Happy in groups, I tell parents, “This is a book where you get to learn with and through your child.” The book is simple on one level and hopefully thought-provoking on another.
While I think teens are the age I envisioned while writing this, I find that younger kids can process the questions and offer their thoughts as well. There is a series of small questions in Hannah’s short journal entries, such as,
Is my ego too big, too small, or just the right size?
Why do I have a hard time feeling heard?
Why can’t I cry, and is crying even important?
Where does my anger come from?
And more…
However, as I spoke with people, I realized readers could get so much more from Hannah’s Journal to Be Happy with just a little direction, which I could provide through brief audio tracks.
And that’s when I thought times are a-changin’ and I can be a footnote to my work.
So, the first question I always get is, “Who is my reader?” Here is my answer.
And about that ego of ours, how big should it be? Hannah learns the following:
There are more audio tracks in the works. Even though I’m no Morgan Freeman, it’s fun to explain key ideas in pithy two minute tracks.
I had a professional voiceover work with me some which helped and also reinforced my vocal shortcomings. But it doesn’t matter. Why?
Because another lesson of Hannah’s Journal is the burden of perfection. I’m working on that audio track now.
Bottom line: In 2024 we can be footnotes to our work (but we should still do our best job of making our work stand on its own).
If I give it a thought, I guess there are examples where the "footnote" gets all the hype, and the work gets second rank. Whether that's fine, idk. But I like the footnote metaphor, an excellent memento!