1. Get comfortable. To write right, use the method of writing and writing tools that suit you best. If writing longhand allows you to feel more in control of your writing, choose a favorite pen or pencil and notebook that opens flat. If you write more slowly than you think, then try dictating your thoughts into a tape recorder first. Then, listen to the tape and write it down what you said.
2. Before you get started writing, put together a set of reference books and keep them hand. A good reference library will have a dictionary, a thesaurus, an encyclopedia and an English grammar book. Use the dictionary to check meanings of words that you are unsure about in your research. Use the thesaurus when you want to find a selection of synonyms or words that are close in meaning to the word you want. An encyclopedia will put many subjects at your fingertips and will save you a lot of trips to the library. The grammar book will help you check your punctuation, sentence structure and paragraph structure.
3. Find the right place to write. It could in your room, at the dining table or your favorite branch on a tree. The right place is you can use tools, the time, the space and a good level of silence.
4. Choose a time of day or night that is right for writing. The right time is when you are alert and not distracted by something else. (Like the TV or radio) Let family members know that you are working and will be unavailable for phone calls.
5. Decide in advance how long you will work. Stick to your schedule. Give yourself uninterrupted time to really get in your work. Decide what your time limit will be.
6. Once you started, stay in your seat and work as long as you promised yourself to do. Some people find kitchen timers useful for designated lengths. Try and see if it works for you. When the timer goes off, stop working or set it for an additional ten minutes so you can finish what you started.
7. Plan you work time well. Figure how much time you need to complete the assignment. First make sure how long your finished paper is suppose to be. If it is a long-term writing assignment, then divide your work time each day. Don’t save it all for the night before it is due.
8. Last but not least, reward yourself. You deserve it. A reward gives you something to forward to for working a while.
Here are some tip reward ideas:
-Have a hot fudge sundae
-Take a bike around the neighborhood
-go roller skating with a friend
-take a long nap
-treat yourself to a hot bath
-listen to your favorite music
-or sit and do absolutely nothing, feel lazy, after all you earned it.
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.