Class Five! I'm Alive!
Yesterday's class was actually helpful. The teacher passed back our puppetry homework with a grade. I got a "B", the lowest grade he gave. Oh well. I deserved it. I can't complain much as I didn't even think much of it. I'm glad he's an honest grader. Maybe I'll be able to use him as an adviser in the future.
Speaking of advice, I asked him for tips on how to overcome writer's block. For the past two assignments, I've had a lot of trouble starting to write. Actually, this happens every time I try writing something. I just stare at the blank page and panic. Everything that comes to my mind is crap. So I asked for help, and everyone pitched in with their preferred tactics. I list them here:
1) Write Whatever
- To do this, you have to accept that whatever you put down at first is going to be unusable. Just put anything down to jumpstart the creative process. Mmmm, I don't like it. This is merely an attempt to overcome the horrors of a completely blank page. I've tried it, but all that happens is I write something incredibly stupid, and then I have to sit and stare at it for an hour while nothing else comes to mind.
2) Outline It
- Yeah, I probably should do this, but I don't. And I'm not gonna start now.
3) Get Ideas from the Internet and other Sources
- By Googling your topic, you might be able to find something quirky about it you can use to introduce the article. This is a horrible idea for me, because I'll just spend all day looking at the Onion or listening to This American Life episodes.
4) Pre-edit your interviews
- I like this idea. You go over the quotes you've got, and you let them dictate how the piece is going to run. This is a good tip for making a radio piece, because your story is all about the audio you've collected.
5) Reward Yourself
- This is brilliant. Sit down and work to a mini deadline. Then, once you've reached it, give yourself a treat. I'm thinking Playstation 2.
6) Find a Ritual
- Some writers do the exact same thing in preparation for a writing session. The mind-numbing inanity of it helps them somehow. Beats the hell out of me...
7) Make Your Ideal Environment
- Screw it. I can't concentrate without the television blaring.
At least I can use some of these ideas. Our homework this week is to distill our ideas for our final features into a :20 pitch. Also, we have to write a How-to feature. The article needs to be conversational in tone, and it helps if it's not completely serious. I'm going to write about making sure your kid gets the most out of his SAT prep class. I know it sounds boring, but shut up.
Speaking of advice, I asked him for tips on how to overcome writer's block. For the past two assignments, I've had a lot of trouble starting to write. Actually, this happens every time I try writing something. I just stare at the blank page and panic. Everything that comes to my mind is crap. So I asked for help, and everyone pitched in with their preferred tactics. I list them here:
1) Write Whatever
- To do this, you have to accept that whatever you put down at first is going to be unusable. Just put anything down to jumpstart the creative process. Mmmm, I don't like it. This is merely an attempt to overcome the horrors of a completely blank page. I've tried it, but all that happens is I write something incredibly stupid, and then I have to sit and stare at it for an hour while nothing else comes to mind.
2) Outline It
- Yeah, I probably should do this, but I don't. And I'm not gonna start now.
3) Get Ideas from the Internet and other Sources
- By Googling your topic, you might be able to find something quirky about it you can use to introduce the article. This is a horrible idea for me, because I'll just spend all day looking at the Onion or listening to This American Life episodes.
4) Pre-edit your interviews
- I like this idea. You go over the quotes you've got, and you let them dictate how the piece is going to run. This is a good tip for making a radio piece, because your story is all about the audio you've collected.
5) Reward Yourself
- This is brilliant. Sit down and work to a mini deadline. Then, once you've reached it, give yourself a treat. I'm thinking Playstation 2.
6) Find a Ritual
- Some writers do the exact same thing in preparation for a writing session. The mind-numbing inanity of it helps them somehow. Beats the hell out of me...
7) Make Your Ideal Environment
- Screw it. I can't concentrate without the television blaring.
At least I can use some of these ideas. Our homework this week is to distill our ideas for our final features into a :20 pitch. Also, we have to write a How-to feature. The article needs to be conversational in tone, and it helps if it's not completely serious. I'm going to write about making sure your kid gets the most out of his SAT prep class. I know it sounds boring, but shut up.
posted by Skim at Friday, May 05, 2006
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