Getting back into writing
 The time of the semester has come when final papers loom large, and I know that to manage I need to be writing more. An important part of academics is writing papers, and academics are famously bad writers. I’d like to take a class or two to hone my writing skills (have wanted to for years). But I know how I write, I know when I’ve done my best writing, and I know that I don’t need a class to do that (though it can only help). The key is to write regularly. And for some reason, my classes have required little writing this semester, and the page looms bigger and bigger in front of me as I think about tackling my two big final papers.
Tonight writing two small papers for tomorrow, I realized again the truth of my writing process. Put some words to the page from the beginning. Allow the thinking that happens only as I write to begin flowing. Don’t seek perfection in the first paragraph. Such basic writing advice. But crucial to remember as I try and get over these blocks and put ideas to the page little by little in preparation for writing these big papers.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:39 am
It has surprised me, too, how little writing I’ve done over the course of the semester. Now there’s 1 big paper and 2 project write-ups on my to-do list 😉