Intro graph 1
Did you catch it? The rustle of the trees outside the window when the Grey Squirrel jumped? How about the spot on the wall about four inches to the left and just above the monitor where you stuck a tack last year and now it has a hole, staring at you and sucking you in. Amazing how much your senses become acutely aware of your surroundings When you have to concentrate to write something. I have a small bedroom in the back of the house I put bookshelves and the computer in on the pretense of studying, complete with what conventional wisdom dictates one needs for effective studying; silence, a stable consistent environment, and the proper tools. I have found these to be the opposite of what I need. I require noise and bright lights, an uncomfortable seat and many distractions.
Intro graph 2
Writer’s block is something that only happens to the most intelligent and able wordsmiths, ones whom Erato and Calliope have decided no longer need their assistance and stop offering up ideas. These writers have focus and discipline. I, on the other hand, don’t know what not to write about. There are so many things that need description and narration it becomes an agonizing choice to find the one thing worthy of spending precious thoughts on. Ideas are floating all around whispering “try me” until I corral them onto a notepaper where they wail for freedom. There are several ways to pick a topic for a paper or essay, but the trick for me is to not have a clear focus so only the strongest and best thoughts can break through the corral and get into my head. Comfort is espoused by those in the know, but I say “malarkey!” You want to be as uncomfortable as possible to keep your defenses up. Silence is another fallacy. Keep a steady stream of white noise (I prefer opera…really loud) to keep your head on a swivel and force yourself to pay attention. The more distractions the better. The dog barking across the street, the flickering light, the leaky pen all work in harmony to keep you sharp and on the task at hand. I may not be much of a writer, but I know what works for me.
Nice to see this much versatility--not only two wholly different approaches to the same topic, but also two grafs suitable for my missus. I also appreciate the counterintuitive approach.
ReplyDeleteNeither of them lead to a cause essay though--you're not giving reasons for anything. You're describing your study requirements, what works for you. That's probably going to be a division essay, which we do write later. Why don't you write it now, just the way you have it planned, rather than indulge in some bizarre mental gymnastics to turn it into a cause essay--and then when everyone else is working on division, you go back to cause.