I must say free writing has some challenges to it. It is strange to just let your fingers write what they wanted with no rules. I found that was the focus on my free write. I really enjoyed not worrying about spelling or work cited. Ah, work cited puts a deep fear in me. I am always so concerned about not completing that part of writing correctly. I imagine with all of the papers due for this program, I will master that skill in no time. I also found it really difficult to clear my mind and not control what I was writing. This exercise reminded me of the first few times I did yoga and how hard it was to clear my mind. Writer's yoga seems like a good name for this exercise.
I would also like to say congratulations to my fellow students. We are almost to the half way point in the semester. I would say, it is all down hill from here, but that seems wrong. Happy Mid-Semester! Looking forward to getting to know more about all of you.
The proper formatting of papers is pretty daunting to me, as well, since I have been out of school for a long time, but using the writing coaches actually has been a good resource for help.
ReplyDeleteThe free-writing gets easier with practice. I once took a course called The Artist's Way that required five pages of free-writing each morning upon first waking up. The first several times was what I called "brain drain" such as thinking about all the things I had to do today. After the first week I finally was able to start getting some great insights from my writing and was able to use it as a creative tool. And I find it even helps to be a little groggy in the morning when doing it since you are less focused on being "right."
Congratulations to you as well on the half way mark.
I found it difficult as well.I don't think it was free writing i just though of it as a journal reflecting on a topic of my interest instead of having a professor assigning some work. Thanks for acknowledging the fact that we have made it half way through the semester! that's such a accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was funny that you likened this exercise to yoga and I spoke about meditation in mine :)
ReplyDeleteAchieving seven weeks of success, I would say that the rest of the semester is downhill. Why, because we can tell ourselves that we have already succeeded nearly half of the semester. I can proudly say that I can do the same if not better than my last seven weeks.
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