'Ze' Process

In most cases my writing is done under pressure, stress, and of course the deadline. I enjoy writing but somehow I always find myself putting it off until I no longer can. So in terms of preparation for my writing, it is usually minimal unless it is a research paper; however, it seems that this is when my best writing finds its way out. Somehow, it is as if when I have no choice but to put the words to the paper it just begins to flow. In the overall scheme, writing is one of my favorite hobbies, but without proper motivation to do so, aside from an occasional journal or dream entry, I never get around to doing so.

Most often when I begin or work on writing a paper I am sitting at a desk of some sort, often away from other people and quiet. Once I start though, in most cases, I turn on some music that is relaxing and unfamiliar or else I will find myself distracted by singing or tapping out the beats. Depending on what it is I am writing, I switch between starting with a draft on paper or just diving straight in on my laptop. Oddly, my result in the quality of material produced switches back and forth between the two. Although, when I do a draft on paper my final draft afterwards seems to come easier after I’ve already written some because I’m able to elaborate more the second time through. One problem I always seem to run into when I start on my laptop though is distractions. Youtube, facebook, and a plethora of other terrible time-wasters always seem to find their way into my screen and side-track me away from my priorities. Maybe as future advice to myself, I should use pen and paper for starters just as hundreds of other brilliant writers have done before my time.

To this point on the road I’ve traveled, I have never had much more of an audience, aside from once, than just simply my English teacher. On that one occasion though, I was almost done with freshman year and was asked to give a speech to the incoming kids for next year. This one in particular I had to really think about what I could say to grab their attention and make them really listen to what I had to say. Like in most cases, I just laid around and drifted into thought for awhile. About my own experiences, about things my friends loved, opportunities I had missed, any sort of wisdom I gained through my one year, and it worked. A few kids even came up to me the next year and thanked me, which I think meant much more to me than anything I had done for them.

When I write drafts, if I do at all, it is usually a few good sentences, a thesis, and random scribbles of ideas in between. Most often once I sit down to write, I write. I try to get it all out of me while it is fresh. Once I try to come back to something my mind set has change most likely a bit and mixes my composition. If along the way I hit a writer’s block, my solutions sometimes vary. Sometimes it is just whatever pops into this mixed up mind of mine but often eating anything does the trick. After I finish I usually print it out to revise physically with a pen rather than on the screen, and I pay attention to the sentence structure, commas, and overall flow of the paper more than anything else.

In my writing process I believe my ability to just sit down and spit it all out is my most effective part. Nonetheless, this part is also something that worries me. I feel as if I may rely on it too much and it could be a bad habit if the assignment is extremely time consuming. I suppose this year I will have to try and kick my procrastination out the door and be on top of my writing, along with all my other classes. Of all the different steps taken through writing a paper I would, with no doubt at all have to say I love proof reading the finished project. The satisfaction you get from reading the words that came from you is an overwhelming one; it gives a huge sense of accomplishment.