3 Things about Writing That I Learned From “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins”

On a Girls’ Day outing with my hubby’s sisters, I found one of the books I loved and cherished as a bookwormish 5-year-old: “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” by Dr. Seuss in the Clearance aisle. Sentimental mush that I am, not to mention an absolute cheapskate, I bought it and as soon as I had the time, read the story again.

While I was revisiting with Bartholomew Cubbins I realized I’ve been learning from a master on the art of writing.

As early as kindergarten, Dr. Seuss has been giving me lessons on the finer points of the writing craft. Disguised, of course, as the baffling tale of Bartholomew Cubbins and his 500 hats. :)

Here are the three lessons I learned from Dr. Seuss on writing well:

Lesson #1: While you’re starting out, your stories or articles would be ordinary and plain, but it will always contain your particular kind of writing genius.

Bartholomew Cubbins had a hat that came to him through his father—a legacy that was handed down for generations of fathers and sons. Plain. Very old. Probably tattered. It wouldn’t stand out amidst a sea of similar hats in the Kingdom of Didd where Bartholomew lived.