Hello,

Welcome back to my to my blog. One thing about being a creative writting major is PAPERS!!! Also, the University of Iowa takes pride in their students writing, so most gen eds have some sort writing component because we are one of the top writing schools in the country! Anyway, that means writing is intertwined into everything I do. I am going to talk about some of my favorite tricks that help me write literally any paper I have.

First, set your setting. Either go to a coffee shop, a study room, your dorm bed or desk etc. . . make sure you can focus and not get distracted. I love to go to coffee shops for creative papers, I sit at my desk for research ones, and I love to write my outlines in the library.

Next, you need to hand write an outline. I have a notebook where I do all of my outlines. I usally write them in the library while I play SVU law and order on my iPad through my headphones in the background. (Why that show? No clue, it just works.)

Next, when you finally start your first draft, write. No editing yet, just get to the requirements. If thats 500 words or 1200, get the basic ideas of your pre-written outline on the page. You can fix the mistakes later.

After the first draft, TAKE A BREAK! You will get nowhere with your paper if you go straight into editing after intially writing it. Go out with friends to get coffee, go watch a show. Do something else not paper related.

After a day, re-read your paper, (I do it in my room out loud) and edit the first time. I tend to play something through my speaker and complete that first edit. I repeat this step 2-4 times depending on what it is for and how long it is.

Last, before you turn it in, fine tune everything, check the requierments, and turn it in!!!

Remeber, it’s okay to make mistakes. My first college paper was hard and I did not do as well as I wanted, but now I can have 10-15 in a semster and do well on them. After you complete every paper, celebrate with something as smiple as a cookie or watching TV.

Talk later!

Cheers,
Rose