i read your lips with fear.
it's funny when people try and set you up with their friends. i'm going through with it just to see if rafael can actually pick out someone who is decent for me. let's see how well he thinks he knows me!
professor's taking the class out for drinks next wednesday. good times.
here's that paper i wrote that got a really good grade. i must warn you: it's not really that interesting. in fact, i don't really like it that much, but whatevs. i got a good grade on it. tell me what you think!
By no means would I consider myself a writer. I write when necessary and rarely for pleasure. As an English major, many papers are required to be written: a research paper here, a critique there, an essay there. It seems that every time, without fail, I wait until the absolute last minute before I begin to write. I usually write my pieces the night before, anxiously and fervently, sitting in front of my desktop computer and typing as fast as my little fingers will allow. I like to tell myself that I work better under pressure, but I am really only pulling the wool over my eyes. I am an awfully good procrastinator. I put off everything, not just my writing, to the last possible minute.
My prewriting usually takes place during random parts of the day. After I have been given my prompt, I jot down a few notes to try and jolt my thinking but then I ignore it for a couple of days or a week until the assignment is due. Then, as I am standing in line at the grocery store or at any other place, I may come up with something good to use. I will try to remember it as hard as I can until I get a chance to write it down at home. Or I may be in the middle of another class daydreaming about some of the most random thing when suddenly, the perfect sentence or idea will come to mind, and I will have to write it down immediately in my notebook so I do not forget it.
On occasion, I will actually sit down and think about my writing. However, it usually depends on how interested I am in the prompt. When I am interested in my writing assignment, I do not think about it until I set out to type it. My ideas just marinate until the time I type. On the other hand, if I completely despise the assignment, I may take some time to think about it. If I cannot figure out an argument, I like to set some time apart to untangle my ideas to make sure that I know exactly what I want to say. However, I usually do not take the time to do this. Laziness kicks in and it gets put off until the next day and the next day and the next day until the next day turns into the due date.
Usually, the night before (sometimes even the same day) my writing is due I sit at my desk, stare at the blank word processing sheet before me, and think about what I want to write. I try to collect my ideas into something insightful that can be understood on paper. I look at my notes or my textbook one last time, and then I embark on my writing escapade. I have only one strict rule for when I write: it must not be quiet. This may seem strange to some because their thinking may thrive on the silence in order to create a meaningful piece of writing. I, on the other hand, cannot stand silence. When it is quiet, my mind tends to wander. Daydreams make me lose my focus, but if there is some white noise, I can easily concentrate. Instead of distracting me, it helps me put my ideas together into a cohesive piece. What I usually do is listen to music, but not just any music. If the music has lyrics in it, I can get distracted because the lyrics interfere with my thoughts, and that is the last thing I want to happen while I am trying to write. So I open my LAUNCHcast radio player and click onto my favorite station for when I write: the classical station.
The soothing classical music allows me to keep my focus and decide on where I want to begin. This usually takes me a few minutes, but once I get started, I can sit and type for hours. However, I like to pace myself. No matter how long the paper’s requirement is, I allot myself only thirty minutes per page as I write. I even keep near me a small chart on a note pad with the page number and the time by which I should finish. This may sound pretty anal-retentive, but it helps me keep on track and stay focused. Otherwise, I would open up my internet browser and start checking my e-mail or chatting with my friends, even though I am guilty of doing this once in a while. With the schedule, though, I get really excited if I finish my pages early. If I do, I reward myself with one of the many pieces of chocolate that I keep readily available in a candy dish at my desk.
Usually I do not wait until my paper is finished until I edit. I really enjoy grammar and am often pretty good at catching my mistakes, so what I tend to do instead is edit as I type. For me, the grammar police is always on patrol; there is no waiting until the end. Then, once I am completely done with my writing, I click onto my grammar checker to see if there is anything that I may have missed. I do not really like to use it though because I think it sometimes points out sentences simply to point them out, not because something is incorrect with them.
As soon as the grammar check is finished, I turn on my printer and print out a copy of my piece of writing. Since I am a procrastinator, once it is printed I just staple it, put it in my notebook, and turn it in, but the ideal for me is to take a pencil and do one final check for any type of errors. I like to make sure that all of my sentences are clear and correctly punctuated. Of course, time does not always permit this to happen, but if I do have the time, I make any necessary changes on my word processing document and reprint it.
Finally, my writing is done. Now, I can relax, that is, until I get it back with a grade or until the next piece of writing is assigned. Sometimes, if I like my finished product enough, I share it with a few of my friends, those that I think may enjoy reading it, but my writing is usually on subjects they are not necessarily interested in, therefore I do not do this often. However, the greatest pleasure I take in my writing is rereading pieces that I have written in previous semesters. I like to keep all of my work in a corner of my closet, and sometimes, if I am bored enough, I sift through the piles of notes and papers and read what I had written. I like to look at the comments, praise, and grade that I received and reflect on how I could apply that to where I am now. Geeky, yes, but it is something that I greatly enjoy doing.
professor's taking the class out for drinks next wednesday. good times.
here's that paper i wrote that got a really good grade. i must warn you: it's not really that interesting. in fact, i don't really like it that much, but whatevs. i got a good grade on it. tell me what you think!
By no means would I consider myself a writer. I write when necessary and rarely for pleasure. As an English major, many papers are required to be written: a research paper here, a critique there, an essay there. It seems that every time, without fail, I wait until the absolute last minute before I begin to write. I usually write my pieces the night before, anxiously and fervently, sitting in front of my desktop computer and typing as fast as my little fingers will allow. I like to tell myself that I work better under pressure, but I am really only pulling the wool over my eyes. I am an awfully good procrastinator. I put off everything, not just my writing, to the last possible minute.
My prewriting usually takes place during random parts of the day. After I have been given my prompt, I jot down a few notes to try and jolt my thinking but then I ignore it for a couple of days or a week until the assignment is due. Then, as I am standing in line at the grocery store or at any other place, I may come up with something good to use. I will try to remember it as hard as I can until I get a chance to write it down at home. Or I may be in the middle of another class daydreaming about some of the most random thing when suddenly, the perfect sentence or idea will come to mind, and I will have to write it down immediately in my notebook so I do not forget it.
On occasion, I will actually sit down and think about my writing. However, it usually depends on how interested I am in the prompt. When I am interested in my writing assignment, I do not think about it until I set out to type it. My ideas just marinate until the time I type. On the other hand, if I completely despise the assignment, I may take some time to think about it. If I cannot figure out an argument, I like to set some time apart to untangle my ideas to make sure that I know exactly what I want to say. However, I usually do not take the time to do this. Laziness kicks in and it gets put off until the next day and the next day and the next day until the next day turns into the due date.
Usually, the night before (sometimes even the same day) my writing is due I sit at my desk, stare at the blank word processing sheet before me, and think about what I want to write. I try to collect my ideas into something insightful that can be understood on paper. I look at my notes or my textbook one last time, and then I embark on my writing escapade. I have only one strict rule for when I write: it must not be quiet. This may seem strange to some because their thinking may thrive on the silence in order to create a meaningful piece of writing. I, on the other hand, cannot stand silence. When it is quiet, my mind tends to wander. Daydreams make me lose my focus, but if there is some white noise, I can easily concentrate. Instead of distracting me, it helps me put my ideas together into a cohesive piece. What I usually do is listen to music, but not just any music. If the music has lyrics in it, I can get distracted because the lyrics interfere with my thoughts, and that is the last thing I want to happen while I am trying to write. So I open my LAUNCHcast radio player and click onto my favorite station for when I write: the classical station.
The soothing classical music allows me to keep my focus and decide on where I want to begin. This usually takes me a few minutes, but once I get started, I can sit and type for hours. However, I like to pace myself. No matter how long the paper’s requirement is, I allot myself only thirty minutes per page as I write. I even keep near me a small chart on a note pad with the page number and the time by which I should finish. This may sound pretty anal-retentive, but it helps me keep on track and stay focused. Otherwise, I would open up my internet browser and start checking my e-mail or chatting with my friends, even though I am guilty of doing this once in a while. With the schedule, though, I get really excited if I finish my pages early. If I do, I reward myself with one of the many pieces of chocolate that I keep readily available in a candy dish at my desk.
Usually I do not wait until my paper is finished until I edit. I really enjoy grammar and am often pretty good at catching my mistakes, so what I tend to do instead is edit as I type. For me, the grammar police is always on patrol; there is no waiting until the end. Then, once I am completely done with my writing, I click onto my grammar checker to see if there is anything that I may have missed. I do not really like to use it though because I think it sometimes points out sentences simply to point them out, not because something is incorrect with them.
As soon as the grammar check is finished, I turn on my printer and print out a copy of my piece of writing. Since I am a procrastinator, once it is printed I just staple it, put it in my notebook, and turn it in, but the ideal for me is to take a pencil and do one final check for any type of errors. I like to make sure that all of my sentences are clear and correctly punctuated. Of course, time does not always permit this to happen, but if I do have the time, I make any necessary changes on my word processing document and reprint it.
Finally, my writing is done. Now, I can relax, that is, until I get it back with a grade or until the next piece of writing is assigned. Sometimes, if I like my finished product enough, I share it with a few of my friends, those that I think may enjoy reading it, but my writing is usually on subjects they are not necessarily interested in, therefore I do not do this often. However, the greatest pleasure I take in my writing is rereading pieces that I have written in previous semesters. I like to keep all of my work in a corner of my closet, and sometimes, if I am bored enough, I sift through the piles of notes and papers and read what I had written. I like to look at the comments, praise, and grade that I received and reflect on how I could apply that to where I am now. Geeky, yes, but it is something that I greatly enjoy doing.