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Do you like writing essays?

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KathyLauren:
It has been a while, but yes, I do like writing essays.  In university, I was in computer science, so aside from a couple of required liberal arts courses, I never had to write any. 

About ten years later, I had a feeling that I had missed out on something important.  I had a hankering to take some humanities courses where essay-writing would be required.  So I signed up to do a second degree in religious studies by evening classes.  I enjoyed it immensely, and discovered I was good at it.

Until I ran out of courses that were offered in the evening.  It turned out that the senior courses were only offered in the daytime.  Something to do with evening classes being too lowly for senior profs, I think.  I couldn't really afford to quit my job for a year, so I never finished the degree.

cassiebythesea:
When I was young, writing was the absolute worst thing in the world. I would genuinely get one paragraph in, and break down in tears. Fast forward to now, I've got a writing degree and spend at least an hour a day writing.

Essays, however, were never part of the "fun" writing. Can't say I hated them, but they were just another form of writing to me, albeit an overly structured one. I liken it to an accountant crunching numbers: it's part of the job, part of what they do, and just something that had to be done.

I'm fortunate enough that I specialize in faking my way through essays. If I have bullet points and notes to go off of, I can wing my way through any size essay with little difficulty. My record to date is second semester of college, where my final for a class had to be at least 40 pages. Faked my way through 42 pages in the span of 10 hours for an A-.

ChrissyRyan:

--- Quote from: cassiebythesea on November 13, 2018, 02:21:57 am ---When I was young, writing was the absolute worst thing in the world. I would genuinely get one paragraph in, and break down in tears. Fast forward to now, I've got a writing degree and spend at least an hour a day writing.

Essays, however, were never part of the "fun" writing. Can't say I hated them, but they were just another form of writing to me, albeit an overly structured one. I liken it to an accountant crunching numbers: it's part of the job, part of what they do, and just something that had to be done.

I'm fortunate enough that I specialize in faking my way through essays. If I have bullet points and notes to go off of, I can wing my way through any size essay with little difficulty. My record to date is second semester of college, where my final for a class had to be at least 40 pages. Faked my way through 42 pages in the span of 10 hours for an A-.

--- End quote ---


That is a lot to write during a short time period.  I have found that trying to write one page a day is a good practice.  It keeps you moving forward.  Sometimes you write more.  But this modest goal helps plow through any writer’s block and procrastination.  Even if you just jot down some thoughts and flesh them out later, writing something each day (take a day or two off each week for rest and fun, of course) works out well over the long run. 

This allows more time as you approach your deadline.  Make an early fake deadline if necessary to push yourself along, or set intermediate deadlines for Part A,  Part B, etc.

Unfortunately, many people wait to just before the deadline as that is the only thing that seems to motivate them to finally get the writing, project, etc. done.

It sounds as if you came out well.  Good for you.

Chrissy

cassiebythesea:

--- Quote from: ChrissyRyan on November 13, 2018, 04:39:33 am ---
That is a lot to write during a short time period.  I have found that trying to write one page a day is a good practice.  It keeps you moving forward.  Sometimes you write more.  But this modest goal helps plow through any writer’s block and procrastination.  Even if you just jot down some thoughts and flesh them out later, writing something each day (take a day or two off each week for rest and fun, of course) works out well over the long run. 

This allows more time as you approach your deadline.  Make an early fake deadline if necessary to push yourself along, or set intermediate deadlines for Part A,  Part B, etc.

Unfortunately, many people wait to just before the deadline as that is the only thing that seems to motivate them to finally get the writing, project, etc. done.

It sounds as if you came out well.  Good for you.

Chrissy

--- End quote ---
After years of writing, the best trick I've found to keep pushing forward is dedicate just a tiny amount of time to write; tell yourself, "I'm going to write for 15 minutes." More often than not, for myself anyways, I find myself hitting a hot streak than can go on for well over an hour. And if not, I have a solid 15 minutes of work done. For me the biggest hill is that first step. Saying "I'm going to write for an hour straight" can be far too daunting, even for myself. Giving just a tiny, manageable time set aside can do wonders.

Paul Muad-Dib:
Best would be creative writing. I've been writing since I was a child so it practically writes itself. I can come up with anything the night before something's due in for the BA and usually get a decent mark.

Worst would be chemistry degree/PhD level essays. Formatting the formulae in a word processor is a pain in the arse when it's a long document and so is proof-reading it.

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