Post 8: Before WP3
My favorite part of the academic week is our Friday writing prompts. Other than the fact that WRIT150 is my last class of the week, I honestly look forward to having an opportunity to write without restrictions.
I’m a perfectionist/procrastinator, so actually getting started on something is sometimes hard for me. But, I noticed Friday writing sessions have been helping me overcome that a lot. First of all, they are my weekly brain dumps. Their unrestricted nature means I write anything and everything — I have no time to overthink! Surprisingly, unsystematically jotting down thought has produced some of my most creative ideas. By getting rid of “perfection”, I get to brainstorm and develop honest, meaningful ideas.
Getting things down on paper is freeing. These “brain dumps” allow me to a week’s worth of things off my chest. In a way, I’ve become mentally organized by clearing my mind of “clutter”. THIS WEEK, I had a lot on my mind in terms of WP3… I wrote a beginning and hated it. I made a new outline and then stared at my computer screen for an hour. (SEE! Starting is always the worst part.) What was stopping me? I had an outline, which meant I had ideas. Basically, my thoughts were a mess. I wasn’t writing because I was THINKING about writing. I was five steps ahead of myself thinking about what I needed to improve from WP2 or even how I could have improved high school research projects that I wrote ages ago.
With my mind nowhere near my ideas, I was very happy when I saw this question during our Friday’s class:
“What do I need to work on as a writer for WP3?”
I gave myself 10 minutes to think about it, write some things, and MOVE ON. Since airing my grievances, I am happy to report I’ve made significant progress on my WP3.
I guess I wanted to tell this story to say how I’m learning what a powerful tool writing can be. To communicate, to reflect, to regain control of ideas. The solution to my problem was so simple: write it down. Now, I feel like my thoughts are solid, grounded. They’re not even thoughts anymore, they’re a written-down plan.
Emily’s Plan — THIS is what I’m going to work on as a writer for WP3:
- Balancing personal reflection with analysis of sources
- Explaining ideas thoroughly and completely
- Connecting ideas naturally
Now, my ideas are really out there. Time to write!
