"I felt like crying but nothing came out. it was just a sort of sad sickness, sick sad, when you can't feel any worse. I think you know it. I think everybody knows it now and then. but I think I have known it pretty often, too often." — Charles Bukowski (Tales of Ordinary Madness)
Here, I am trying to help a brother out.. Sheri
ReplyDeleteSYMPTOM
You have attempted to begin a paper without doing any preliminary work such as brainstorming or outlining...
POSSIBLE CURES
Use invention strategies suggested by a tutor or teacher
Write down all the primary ideas you'd like to express and then fill in each with the smaller ideas that make up each primary idea. This can easily be converted into an outline
SYMPTOM
You have chosen or been assigned a topic which bores you....
POSSIBLE CURES
Choose a particular aspect of the topic you are interested in (if the writing situation will allow it...i.e. if the goal of your writing can be adjusted and is not given to you specifically, or if the teacher or project coordinator will allow it)
Talk to a tutor about how you can personalize a topic to make it more interesting
SYMPTOM
You don't want to spend time writing or don't understand the assignment...
POSSIBLE CURES
Resign yourself to the fact that you have to write
Find out what is expected of you (consult a teacher, textbook, student, tutor, or project coordinator)
Look at some of the strategies for writing anxiety listed below
SYMPTOM
You are anxious about writing the paper...
POSSIBLE CURES
Focus your energy by rehearsing the task in your head.
Consciously stop the non-productive comments running through your head by replacing them with productive ones.
If you have some "rituals" for writing success (chewing gum, listening to jazz etc.), use them.
SYMPTOM
You are so stressed out you can't seem to put a word on the page...
POSSIBLE CURES
Stretch! If you can't stand up, stretch as many muscle groups as possible while staying seated.
Try tensing and releasing various muscle groups. Starting from your toes, tense up for perhaps five to ten seconds and then let go. Relax and then go on to another muscle group.
Breathe deeply. Close your eyes; then, fill your chest cavity slowly by taking four of five short deep breaths. Hold each breath until it hurts, and then let it out slowly.
Use a calming word or mental image to focus on while relaxing. If you choose a word, be careful not to use an imperative. Don't command yourself to "Calm down!" or "Relax!"
SYMPTOM
You're self-conscious about your writing, you may have trouble getting started. So, if you're preoccupied with the idea that you have to write about a subject and feel you probably won't express yourself well...
POSSIBLE CURES
Talk over the subject with a friend or tutor.
assure yourself that the first draft doesn't have to be a work of genius, it is something to work with.
Force yourself to write down something, however poorly worded, that approximates your thought (you can revise this later) and go on with the next idea.
Break the task up into steps. Meet the general purpose first, and then flesh out the more specific aspects later.
Try one of the strategies on the next page of this resource.
you are not blocked, its just the shape of your head :D
ReplyDeleteYou are not blocked, just your head is shaped like one, thats all... :D
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