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The time arrives. You spread out paper and pick up a pen. There is no escape
- you have to face the single most difficult part of the writing process:
writing an essay. One misunderstanding about writing involves the fear of
failure. We must get rid of that fear at the beginning. Failure is a normal
part of the process. Indeed, without failure, most of us would never be able
to express what we wanted to. We would never know what we truly think
without first articulating the ideas that come into our mind. As you do so,
you may need to make a few false starts. But that should not matter. As you
work through some awkward, inaccurate and misleading sentences you will
finally arrive at one that expresses your ideas exactly and seems right. Do
not expect each sentence to form easily on the page. Even with practice,
this does not happen. Instead, work through the failures to arrive at
success.
Some preparation, as well as your attitude, can make your writing more
productive if not easier. If writing is an occasional thing, it will seem
strange, even threatening. If however, you do it regularly you will find
writing easier. If you practice the piano a little every day, it becomes a
familiar instrument; you will feel comfortable with it. Familiarity in any
situation helps you relax. Therefore, set aside some time to write every
day.
In addition, try to write at approximately the same time each day. We are
creatures of regularity. Football coaches know how important it is for a
team to practice at the same hour, five days a week. The body - and the mind
- has its rhythm. Whether you write best in the early morning or at midnight
makes little difference. What is important for you is to find the tide of
your personal rhythm and flow with it every day.
Writers claim they need a special place in which to work. Some prefer
absolute silence; others write well in noisy surroundings. Find what works
for you and stick to it. Create your own nest - whatever makes you
comfortable. The German writer, Schiller, claimed to work well only when he
could smell rotten apples. Most of us are not that eccentric, but having a
special place helps establish a pattern for writing that almost all of us
need.
Finally, the best preparation is a warm-up where you write for ten
minutes. Of course, a warm-up can never substitute for honest effort on the
main essay. Write about anything that comes into your head. If nothing else
comes to mind write a nursery rhyme or the words of a song. But start
writing fast. Time yourself and do not stop writing for at least ten
minutes.
But, a word of warning - do not postpone writing until the night before the
essay is due. Remember the act of writing itself is more productive than
merely worrying about what to write. Once you begin work on your essay
topic, write with as much intensity and speed as possible. The mind usually
moves faster than the hand, so work fast. The more words you write, the more
you will activate your mind. Words call up words. Images call up images.
Slow writing, on the other hand, makes you critical. You may begin to
challenge the sentence you have just completed. Once this sort of
self-criticism begins, you are no longer writing. You are editing. Writing
and editing are different stages in the writing process. During the first
draft, fast intensive writing focuses your mind on the subject. Ideas will
grow only out of an encounter with the subject, not out of concern for
grammar and spelling. After you have finished a rough working copy, you will
have time to revise, edit and polish your work. |
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Based
on the passage given, write a summary:
• how
to prepare for writing and how to write
Your
summary must:
• be
in continuous writing ( not in note form )
• not
be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below
Begin
your summary as follow:
Many of us find writing difficult because we fear failure ... |
