Jaws?

Once upon a time, when I was actually teaching (and yes, I miss it horribly, and I am always looking for a job) there was a student teacher who graced our English department for a semester. I use the term "grace" loosely because not one of us really could handle his superior attitude and know-it-all personality. He decided that he needed to school the veteran teachers in the department one day (I was still a rookie, and therefore was below even him) with his brilliant plan for teaching students how to write an essay. This plan he titled J.A.W. Which, of course, stood for: Just Ask Why. The idea behind it was that by continually asking our students WHY, they would be able to explain as clear as possible the point and meaning behind their essay.
Hmmm...ever engaged in a conversation with a two-year-old curious about the whole world? Remember when you get to the point when you have come full circle? Can anyone even imagine what would happen to an essay where the writer answered WHY after every statement made? Don't get me wrong. This does need to happen. Essay writers need to be clear as to the WHO, WHAT, and WHY of their essay. There is such as thing as TOO much.
I don't ask my students WHY so much any more, but I push them to answer the HOW COME. What? They are the same, you say? They are, but they are not.
They are the same in their meaning, but they are not the same in how we think of them. When I ask WHY, students sigh and give me one word answers. When I ask HOW COME students come up with one, two and three sentence answers that fit into the essay beautifully. They find evidence in the text and in their lives. They connect ideas to one another, and I get them to do that without becoming a two-year-old following them around.
What does this have to do with my own writing? Well, sometimes I find myself forgetting that while my novel is playing out beautifully in my head, what ends up on paper is short and devoid of any imagery. I need to remember that my reader will need a HOW COME in order to understand my line of thinking or my character's line of thinking.
Besides, I really miss teaching. Really, really, and I have been dreaming about it. Dreaming about the past and I wake up wondering if there will be a future. I certainly hope so.