WRITING

Beating Writer's Block.

 

Writing can be stressful. Especially for undergraduates with LDs. Learning how to manage the anxiety that accompanies papers is just as important as learning the tools and strategies to write well. To help combat the dreaded sensation of writer's block, here are some tips and strategies for crushing paper anxiety before it crushes you:

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1.  Remember: It's just writing. 

 

There are bigger, better, and more important things out there than articulating your great ideas (like coming up with those ideas in the first place, for instance). Writing is a useful and often necessary skill, but writing a college paper is nowhere close to the most important thing you'll ever do. 

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2.  Ignore the "voice". 

 

Odds are, at some point, a nagging voice in the back of your head will try to tell you that your writing isn't good enough. That voice is wrong. Getting ideas on paper is the hardest part of writing. No one sounds like Shakespeare on their first go-round. The key is revision and not giving up - which is why the voice needs to go. 

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3.  Process = Power.

 

Writing doesn't happen all at once. No one can sit down and just churn out an articulate, well thought-out research paper in one go round. It's impossible. Instead, writing is a process. And you know the process - you know all the steps (and if you've been exploring this website) you know how to take ownership of those steps by incorporating your own learning style. Just follow the process; the paper you need is waiting at the end.

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