Attending last week’s writing workshop was very helpful. As someone who dreads writing school papers, I was glad that the session took time to break down the writing process and make it seem more approachable. Usually, I struggle the most with academic reports and knowing how to cut down on length to meet word limits, but the fellows, Zach and Seema, gave out great advice on how to tackle common struggles in the writing process.
Another thing that I found interesting from what was mentioned was the idea that everyone works and writes differently. So, it important that we learn what works for us and play to our strengths. Personally, I’m a morning person, so I like getting all my work done early. However, I find that tackling a new paper during the early day makes me feel tired and unmotivated. So, I’m definitely going to take their advice and try working different hours to see if my writing flow is better suited during a different time. Overall, I’m glad I was able to attend the workshop and learn such practical information that can help me improve my writing!
I’m glad to learn some writing tips from you vicariously! I also dislike writing and struggle with it sometimes (even emails sometimes seem daunting). I will definitely take and practice these tips as well. My faculty advisor, David Faulkner, is actually the head of the John Knight Writing Institute (FWS) and he gave me some advice that also makes writing seem less intimidating and stressful. He said when you have to write, think of “doing some writing” instead of “finishing a writing assignment.” You don’t have to finish it all in one go. You can even take only 5 minutes to write, but just think of writing something down. I think this also makes the task easier to start, and helps with procrastination.