Murray claims that talent is common. I must say, that is a relief. Here I was thinking that I had none! I suppose it makes sense - people have been telling me that I write well for decades (well... one decade). I've always just shrugged it off, but maybe they were on to something. Maybe I am good at writing. I've always gotten good marks in English. I usually do pretty well on essays. I was even put on the waitlist at Ryerson University after submitting the first script I had ever written (I know that "waitlist" doesn’t sound that impressive, but hey... if less people had applied, I would have made it!). So, if I’m so talented at writing, then what’s my problem? Why do I freak out over essays like they are the Horsemen of the Apocalypse? If everyone has talent, then what is it that is holding me back from writing and doing it well?
I’d have to agree with Andrew Dubus when he claims that discipline makes all the difference. I can write good – ahem... I can write well but I’m always procrastinating and leaving it until the last minute. Even outside of class I have a hard time focusing on my writing. Once I sit down and begin, I can usually knock out a few pages relatively quick. The hard part is getting myself to actually sit down and begin. My work habits are simply awful and that fact influences my writing greatly, both in and outside of class. Whether I’m writing for a mark or for personal fulfillment, I have a difficult time forcing myself to enter my thoughts into Microsoft Word (remember when we used to put our thoughts down on paper?). I’m having a hard time simply finishing this blog post. Once I actually force myself to start, it’s usually early enough in the morning that my mind isn’t as sharp as it should be. How much better could my writing be if I actually started early enough to put time into it?
Everyone has the talent to write (well... mostly everyone). I can accept that. The thing that holds back the majority is their lack of discipline. That’s certainly what has held me back. After all, I did wait until after midnight to post this. Maybe once I figure out how to improve my work habits, I’ll realize that I’m a good writer too. Maybe.
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Amen. More on this to come later on in the course...
ReplyDeleteHurrah for talent! I like your philosophy on the waitlist. It is very true, less people more chances. The more you try the better you will get. Here is hoping that we do well in this course and others. Maybe you will be the next great "American Novelist" or you could just live in the wild and eat lots of rice,ew. (Into the Wild, reference)
ReplyDelete"The hard part is getting myself to actually sit down and begin." Strongly agree. Writing isn't like “clean the room” or “half hour jogging” that you can put in your schedule and finish it as you expect so. For writing it has so many internal and external distractions which block us from finish it on time. Our experiences of writing may play a big role here. For me, thinking about writing often come with the feelings of time-consuming, dreary and exhausted, and all that negative feelings make a lot of people(like you and me) decide to procrastinate it as long as we could.
ReplyDeleteAh, procrastinating. I agree - starting is the hardest part of writing for me too. Disciplining yourself to write is a very wise idea. Practice makes perfect, or so I'm told. If we just wrote our thoughts down, whatever came to mind, we would probably have some good material for a paper, and it would be way less stressful than thinking "I have to find the greatest introduction for this paper right now or the rest of it won't be good!" I rather liked Murray's idea of writing every day for a certain amount of time or a certain number of words just so that we could practice getting our thoughts out of our heads and onto that piece of paper. (Yes, Andrew, some of us still write on paper. Shocking, I know.) Find passion in writing - it may help you to discipline yourself.
ReplyDeleteJust remember, procrastinate early. (A wise person once told me that.)
I am definitely with you that once I sit down the pages seem to fly by but it is the initial moment to finally begin the paper. I have made a vow to be done with all my papers a couple days before they are due so that I won't reach freaking out point again. Who knows though because the pressure has always worked before...
ReplyDeleteI have exactly the same problem. I procrastinate way too much and my work suffers. I am reassured by the tale of two sophomores (very similar to the tale of the two mice). In their freshmen year these two young students were assigned a paper in the same class. One student got right to work as soon as it was assigned and wisely budgeted his time each day and got the paper done at the right time. Another student horsed around, had a laugh and didn't care about his paper. It was due in weeks; he had plenty of time. The eve of the due date rolls round and the industrious student has his paper all ready and done. The procrastinator is rushing to finish, he's in a state of last minute panic and stays up all night to get the paper done. At 5 AM he finally finishes and gets the industrious student to take it into class for him because he's so exhausted he can't even get out of bed. A few weeks pass, the papers are graded, and the grades are returned to the students. The industrious student gets 18/25. The procrastinator gets 17/25. I might devote an entire blog post to this story in the future so more people read it.
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, the wise person heidi.t is talking about is me. Just for the record.
ReplyDelete