March 23, 2009

Writing circumstances and rituals for effective writing

As you feel you have to start writing some assignment, either academic for your school or a business note for your work, you have to settle the writing environment right. Your writing environment must assist and help your writing process, rather than disturb you; common sense. But for ones, that calming, relaxing and ideas-generating environment is a quite cozy bedroom with a laptop on knees, and for others it might be smoky small office, keypad in ashes, and a pile or empty coffee cups interfering free motion of cmputer mouse. Regardless of what are your writing rituals, you must discover them and follow your writing rituals as you prepare to write.

The goal of the right writing atmoshpere

In order to determine what are your bet writing rutials that enable you uncover your writing potential, you must pay close attention and discover under what circumtance your writing flows by itself. What are the settings arround you and in the comptur that let you concentrate only on writing? The purpose of your writing rituals and correct writing circumstance is to cause no obstacles between the flow-generating mind and the text-document being filled up through your fingers. Once you notice you write smoothly and naturally, take a minute and memorize the setting so that you understand what makes your writing calm and natural.

The writing setting

Sounds, freshness or air, temperature, interior -- all of these any many other factors influence your mind as you write. Personally I love to swing on a chair lightly while writing, and I love to have my keypad lit very heavily with an desk lamp, even at bright days. You might figure you write best at your campus library, or in your dorm at night with your headphones on, or any other setting. There is no universal setting; you must find one that suits you best.

There are, however, general rules that most of the times help everyone. The room in which you write must be:

  • quiet
  • not too big
  • well lit
  • related to the subject of your writing

While the first 3 points are obvious, the 4-th one might sound weird. Let me explain: if you are writing for your business class, you better write in the business classroom. If you are writing a literature review, write it in that literature classroom. If you are writing for your boss, write at your workplace or in that conference room in your office. In other words, make the interior create the feeling of the subject of your writing. Studies have shown essay writing in the environment relative to the subject of your writing does help the ultimate writing.

Computer environment for free writing

I hate when that MS Word does not show me the entire page on the screen. And I cannot go on to actual writing if the margins, widow/orphan control and line spacing is not set to my preferences. I believe you also have your requirements to your word procesing application.

Take advantage of Macros to set up your word processor working environment.

Conclusion

Find the circumstances at which your writing goes smoothly and naturally, remember those circumstanes and turn them to your writing rituals.