In this week’s RCL post, we have to elaborate on our writing process. Specifically, writing that’s directed towards assignments in school versus writing during free time.

The first part of my writing process involves the “where” component.

Generally, I need to be in a quiet place to start brainstorming ideas. I tend to get the best ideas in the shower or when I’m laying in bed at night. Any place that I know someone won’t bother me will work just as well. When I start writing, however, I find that being in a crowded place sometimes helps. There are times when I need to be around others in order to start writing. For instance, I enjoy going to the HUB to work on a couple of papers because the commotion acts as a catalyst for ideas.

The second part of my writing process is based on the “when”.

Coming to college, I found out that it’s impossible for me to write anything during the evening or late at night. All I focus on is how tired I am. To remedy this, I started waking up early in the mornings. What I realized is that my writing process is at its peak when I first wake up in the morning. Now, I go to bed at a decent hour and simply get up extra early in the morning.

The last part of my writing process incorporates how I actually write.

The first thing I do is grab a blank sheet of paper and start jotting down ideas. I’ll usually even write out my introduction by hand. This helps me form ideas so when I look at an empty computer screen I can start typing away. Writing first by hand decreases the chances of acquiring a writer’s block.

My writing process also varies. It’s never a standard process that I follow. Whenever I’m writing, I usually just fellow a method that works and gets the assignment completed.