My Writing Life

My writing habits have developed into an orderly routine. I like to create rough outlines for any writing I start. Having a fairly concrete idea of where I’m headed in my writing (no matter what writing I do) makes me feel better about the process. If I am writing a memoir piece or an academic piece for another class, I always seem to outline my ideas prior to diving right in. Although, there are times where I want to include a scene in my piece, and for scenes I like to just get right down to it. I enjoy building scenes and incorporating a lot of details. Anytime I think of an idea throughout the course of my day, I try to write it down immediately. When I’m in the process of writing a paper, I have post it notes covering my desk and my note board above my desk. I’ll admit I’m a slow writer. I’m also a slow reader. I’m a slow person in general, but sometimes writing forces me to take long Facebook breaks and stare at the computer screen hoping an idea pops into my head. My writing has improved immensely throughout my studies. When I revise longer pieces now, I completely change the structure and information, and sometimes the piece travels a different direction than when I first outlined. Finding topics is always an area of writing that causes me heartache. I want to find a good topic and it find relevance with readers, but I don’t want to bore myself to tears throughout the entire process to create it. I like to start with what I know, what I like. What are my friends doing? How does it affect their life? What do I enjoy? Why do I enjoy it? What are some of the questions I have? By exploring some of these questions, I’m finding more outlets for ideas and ways to further enhance my writing.