There is a story that when Victor Hugo was not on time to finish writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he instructed his servant to take all of his clothes so that he stayed home naked. He did that to not be able to leave his house and, thus, fully concentrate on the book. Without a doubt, writing – especially a good one – can be difficult as it necessitates patience, concertation, and sometimes inspiration. For this reason, people tend to develop a certain routine that facilitates transferring one’s thoughts on paper. I also have a routine that helps me to write better and faster.
Before starting to write, I initially seek to identify the problem that I want or need to cover and try to formulate it as simple as possible and usually on paper. In this regard, my rule is ‘if I cannot state the problem in less than twenty words, then I do not understand the problem fully.’ The latter indicates that I should think, read or discuss the topic of interest with other people more.
Next, I start developing the approximate outline of my future paper, mostly in my head but sometimes also on a paper. Normally, I do not start writing without knowing around ninety percent of the information that would be in the future text. Probably, I do that because I need to see the ‘whole picture from the beginning. Yet, sometimes the topic may be complex enough that I would start writing without knowing even the approximate content. In this case, I consider writing as part of my thinking process as it helps to formulate and structure ideas. “I write to discover what I know,” once said Flannery O’Connor – the phrase that would correctly describe my attitude to writing about difficult issues (qt. in Lebowitz). As a result of ‘thinking while writing,’ the clear structure of the text eventually appears itself.
During actual writing, I try to keep the balance between attempting to write as it is already the final draft and as it is just a first draft. The former helps me avoid extensive editing afterward but, more importantly, always be aware of whether I am not alienating from the paper’s main topic. The latter, on the other hand, is beneficial in regards to keeping a good pace of writing. That is important as being stuck on some part of the text because of the inability to find appropriate words may result in losing ideas or motivation.
Probably, the weakest part of my writing habit is the final editing. Surely I check the text for grammar mistakes, clarity, and logical coherency, but I usually do not have enough patience to start thinking about how to improve each sentence. Nevertheless, I understand that thorough editing is a clue to good writing and, thus, try to develop this habit, but still unsuccessfully.
Finally, I want to discuss where and when I usually write as it also is highly associated with the quality of the paper. As for the former, there are generally two factors that facilitate my writing, namely a relatively quiet atmosphere and being surrounded by other people. Unfortunately, I cannot concentrate when I am surrounded by loud noises. When I am at home, I even cannot listen to calm music while doing activities that necessitate high levels of attention, such as reading and writing. However, when I am in public, I can tolerate people around speaking and also quiet background music, probably, because these noises are monotonic. Additionally, I enjoy seeing other people involved in daily activities such as chatting with friends, walking, and playing sports games, to name a few, as it gives some sense of peace. Thus the best places for me to write are cafes and parks. As for the time for writing, I noticed that I am the most productive either in the early morning or during the night. Therefore, this essay discusses how, where and when I usually write or otherwise my writing routine.
Work Cited
Lebowitz, Glenn. “50 Inspiring Quotes About Writing from the World’s Greatest Authors.” Inc., 2017, Web.