Monday, July 1, 2013

Grimes - Nightmusic & On Writing Essays


My goal of seeing Grimes perform live still hasn't materialized, but I do get to write essays while neverendingly working on my Masters. As I was writing this morning, I thought about all the little tips and tricks that make essay-writing, or any kind of writing I guess, a little bit easier and less painful. Actually, writing in general gets easier, well more flowy and smooth, with time and practice...I think. That was not a smooth sentence. My theory is wrong. Oh well...here are my questionable tips re: writing essays (and/or other things).

1) Do most of your writing in the morning, very soon after waking up. Then you'll still be in that half-asleep state that promotes creativity and makes words flow beautifully and abundantly onto your computer screen. Make sure to read over what you wrote later on in the day, when you feel clear-headed and safely planted outside the realm of unicorns and zombies.

2) Do treat yourself to milk tea. Taking dainty sips of tea promotes the feeling of really being a writerly writer and keeps your brain fresh and toasty. 

3) Do stretch and stand up as often as possible while still keeping your fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to record every flash of brilliance. 

4) Don't snack. It is too distracting. And then you might have to wash your hands, which means leaving your desk and who knows where you'll end up if that happens. There's no carpe diem-ing when one is writing an essay! 

5) Don't question yourself and stare at each sentence for too long. This slows down the mysterious and volatile process that is writing. Just write, editing comes later. 

6) Do edit. Especially if those pesky unicorns from last night's dream snuck into your conclusion. Editing is magic. And it is practical. It is practical magic. It is not a movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. This paragraph would benefit greatly from the magic of editing. 

Ta daaa! Writing this post was infinitely more almost as fun as writing an essay!

1 comment:

  1. Your theory isn't wrong! Writing gets better with practice, partly because you can "hear" when something sounds right or not-quite-right - kind of like learning music! I completely agree with your #1 - in fact, I just read an article recently that talked about how when you're a little sleepy, you're more creative. So, if you're a morning person, write at night, and vice versa. Whenever I'm working at the computer, I always need a hot cup of tea, no matter how hot it is outside :) Great list, Lucy!

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