Write Like Your Life Depended On It!

Sometimes one post leads to another, and thus my procrastination post has spawned this one about writing.

It’s not easy to write. Even if you’ve been doing it for 20+ years (counting all my schooling of course - I’m not that old yet!) like I have, it can still be difficult to find those words.

Anyone can write about anything if they have the choice, but the difficulty comes when you’re either given a topic or must decide on a topic for a specific audience. Usually I’ve got a ton of things to say about what I know, but when it comes to something like a music review, I’ll write 100 words before I’m stuck. I can appreciate a good music review, and I like reading the occasional one that’s well-written, but I have no clue how to write a good one.

Writing is the feel you, as a writer, have for the subject material. If you are unsure of your subject, this will shine through in your article. No matter how much you try to hide it, your lack of knowledge will be displayed by your word choice, turns of phrase, and sentence structure.

So what can you do about this? Simply put, one of the only ways to get better at writing is to read. Sure, you can practice your writing with blogs and journals and what not, but if you don’t read good writing, you’ll have no idea how to write well.

I’ve expanded my reading beyond the usual sci-fi and fantasy I love to include historical fiction, contemporary fiction, creative non-fiction, and just about anything I can get my hands on. I don’t know a book is going to be a good read when I pick it up, but I figure if I can pick out the parts I don’t like, then I’ll know what to avoid when I write.

Try to pick up a newspaper, magazine, book, or whatever, everyday. Read something other than your textbook. Spend at least half an hour doing this. You’ll be amazed how quickly your vocabulary and writing will improve.

Oh, and make sure that you read something you enjoy. There’s nothing more irritating and discouraging than forcing yourself to read something that you find boring and dry. Like a textbook.

So Let’s Talk About Procrastination…Later

I’ve done it again. I’ve got an assignment due tomorrow that I haven’t started yet. This happens, without fail, for 95% of my assignments.

I do have an idea of what I’m going to write on, but this isn’t going to translate into a finished article without many hours of keyboard staring in between. When I was 12 years old or so and writing my first essay, I wished that I could go to sleep and wake up with the paper in its finished state. I haven’t stopped wishing for this.

I suppose I could have saved myself the upcoming stress if I had started the article over the weekend. But that would have gotten in the way of my fun, and who wants that.

I guess I’m just a creature of habit and this is one bad habit that I haven’t managed to change.

But I have learned how to deal with it. I know that I can only leave an assignment to the last minute for shorter assignments. If I have to write more, I’ll start earlier. Sometimes even two days before it’s due. Ha.

I’m extremely lucky that my one talent in life is one that is often used in academia – writing. I know I can write quickly and do a good job at it, so I’ve never felt that I’m endangering my academic life by procrastinating (such an ugly word).

However, I do put unnecessary stress on myself by doing so. I know what I need to do to change, and sometimes I do, but never for an extended period of time. I guess it’s a good thing I’ve learned to deal with it, because it will always be a struggle for me.

Reading? Redding?? Reeding???

Do people still read these days? Do people even have the time to read? Are books being phased out by the Internet?

Answers: Yes, probably no, and I hope to hell not.

People do still read these days, but what are they perusing? Magazines still continue to be very popular, with hundreds starting up and going defunct every year. Books seem to be doing okay, though conversations would seem to indicate that fewer people are reading books.