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The Hidden Benefits of Writing with Pen and Paper
When was the last time you wrote something by hand? What was it? A to do list? A grocery list? Maybe a note to your significant other/roommate/child?
I write to do lists every day, but rarely do I write longer words on paper anymore. I keep my creative work in a Google document and a Word document (for safe measure). I typically keep my blogs solely online in Google documents and my website.
But I used to write everything by hand. I have an entire novel manuscript from when I was in high school that was written out by hand with a trust pen and notebook.
I have been thinking a lot about this recently, as I begin to write more. I realized that I miss it. I miss the delicious feeling of a brand new pen sliding along a blank page. The visual of my thoughts becoming something on the page - a something that can’t accidentally be deleted with one wrong click of a button.
Now don’t get me wrong, digital technology can be incredibly useful! But it’s not always the best way to write. Here are 10 important reasons to pull out a notebook and write the old-fashioned way sometimes.
10. Allows for a global view of your writing.
When you’re typing, you can always scroll back through the document. If you make it tiny, you might be able to see all the pages at once, but you probably can’t read the writing at that point. When you have a pen and paper document, though, or, a typed and printed manuscript, you can lay those pages out on the floor or table and physically move them around to see how certain parts would sound in another area of the text. It’s pretty cool.
9. Allows you to see progress.
As you can see, most times we don’t always think in “final draft” form. We make mistakes, change working, and sometimes cut things out. In a pen and paper document, you have a record of what you’ve said and done. You can decide later whether your third draft wording is better than your first. With word processing, we don’t typically get that experience. Microsoft Word does have a track changes function, which is nifty. I’ve definitely used it before, but it’s not something you probably want on a first draft. Mine are way too messy for that - yikes!
Pen & paper first "page" of this blog
8. Acts as therapy.
I find handwriting more emotional than typing. It’s not that typing can’t have the same effect when put together (I see you, Eleanor & Park.) It’s more that my handwriting fluctuates with my mood. Angry writing is different than sad writing which is different than writing when in love. I like visually being able to see and remember the emotion in handwriting. Getting things out on paper and being able to see them visually is helpful for us to be able to process emotions and ideas and work through them.
7. Removes risk of accidentally deleting your writing.
This is a big one for me because I seem to be a master of losing documents by my own hand. Most of the time I can recover them, but that still causes a panicked irritation in the moment. I know I will keep paper all day long: obviously I still have handwritten writing from when I was much younger. So having a physical copy really help my peace of mind.
6. Removes risk of naming your document something “clever” and never finding it again.
How many times do we keep our original titles for writing? In my case, rarely. So finding a piece of writing with an old title you may or may not remember is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I could be searching for days without luck! Having too many documents is beside the point. When you write something with pen and paper, you can’t lose it to your own cleverness (or lack thereof).
5. Feels productive.
So, I wrote this blog out by hand first. I wanted to see how it felt, and it was great! A “normal” word processed blog with blog spacing (little paragraphs with lots of spacing) might be 3-5 pages typed out. My handwritten blog, with mock blog spacing, turned out to be 5 handwritten pages versus the 2.5 typed pages. The length was about the same, but I felt much more productive because I wrote 5 pages in a little over an hour!
This blog written out by hand!
4. Offers a much needed break from screen time.
I don’t know about you, but I spend a heck of a lot of time staring at a screen every day. I work at a job where I’m constantly on the computer, and then I will often come home and write/design/do administrative blog work on the computer. During the school year I also grade on the computer. It’s A LOT. Sometimes I just need to get away from that for awhile, you know? I think we all do.
3. Assists with memory.
Science has tied handwriting to improved memory. I find this very compelling. If you’ve met me for any length of time, you probably know that “if I don’t write it down, it’s not getting done (or remembered)” is pretty much a theme song of my life at this point. Long term memory? Great. Short term memory? Awful. So when I write with a pen and paper, it helps me imprint the idea onto my brain. It’s almost like physically writing allows the idea to skip the short term and go directly into the long term memory. Science for the win!
2. Forces you to slow down and think.
I don’t know about you, but I definitely can’t write nearly as fast as I can think. Typing alleviates this problem a bit, as I can type pretty quickly, but sometimes I don’t need to be going that fast. I like the idea that I have to slow down to write things down in a legible manner. So much of the time I’m hurrying or feel the need to rush. I don’t want my writing to feel like that, and I don’t want it to sound like that when you read it, so handwriting is a perfect solution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS_j7mNru9w
Alister Stephens discusses his recent experiences with pen & paper writing.
1. Connects you to other writers.
I’ve always been a writer, a storyteller. And I’ve written A LOT over the years, with both pen and paper and word processing. There’s something about handwriting, though, that makes me feel like a writer. This definitely isn’t to say that people who only type are not. But writing is a craft people have been doing for hundreds of years! Many of my favorite books were written long before convenient word processing was available. Think about it for a moment: all of Jane Austen’s novels, for example, were carefully written out. Remembering this makes me feel like I’ve shared something with the authors of the books I hold dear. Where were your favorite books written? Can you imagine the author sitting at her writing desk scribbling away at a piece of paper or parchment?
Writing takes time in any form, and I’ll admit pen and paper does move a bit more slowly than typing. But in the extremely fast-paced world many of us live in, it’s actually a sweet reprieve. It’s not a negative experience because it’s “inefficient” but a reminder that sometimes the best thoughts occur when we slow down to let them.
What do you think? Have you written anything the old-fashioned way with pen and paper? What was your experience? Drop me an email or a comment below and let me tell me about it! I’d love to hear.
Timed Writing: 3 Reasons You Should Try It (Outside of School)
You’ve probably done “timed writing” at some point. If you’re shuddering and remembering a time during high school or college where you studied all night and still flopped, I’m right there with you.
I will be the first to admit that even as an English major, and someone who has done A LOT of writing, this version of timed writing still makes me cringe. I teach timed writing as a requirement of my class, and I am very up front about the fact that it’s a requirement and probably one of my least favorite things about college.
So why do we feel this way?
There are so many steps. Not only do you have to formulate a “correct” idea, but you then have to plan, organize, execute, and proofread it within the allotted amount of time.
There’s a lot of pressure to get it right. You’re doing all of this for one person, usually the teacher/instructor, to read it and judge it with a grade. This grade will then be part of how you succeed (or not) in a class. When you’re paying hard earned money for a class, you want to do well!
We have prior experience looming over us. Even if you’re a good test taker - congratulations! - there will almost always be at least one time when you fail miserably. Something unexpected comes along, you don’t understand the prompt, you have the flu on finals, anything. For most of us, that experience will be enough to convince us somewhere in the back of our mind that timed writing sucks. So many times this determines our outlook on future situations like this before they even arrive.
After high school and college, or even grad school, timed writing can take a different form. It doesn’t have to be the long sigh as you get out a pen and notebook. We don’t talk about it much, but setting limits for yourself in your writing habits can be incredibly helpful!
Here’s why.
We run out of time. Being an adult with a job and adult commitments is hard, despite the fact that most of us try to rush to get here. Working at a job you may or may not like for most of your waking hours takes a lot out of you. You might not always want to come home and write about your day or work on a creative project. Sometimes your mind is just done.
We run out of inspiration. I don’t know about you, but on occasion we get into a rut. My husband and I have our weekly grocery store run, walk the dog in the evenings, go to bed and wake up at certain times… you have those routines, too, don’t you? Or some version of them. This doesn’t leave much room to be “inspired” to write.
We don’t know what to write. Then there are other times when I am ready to go: maybe I just took a nap or someone left a really nice comment on my blog. Maybe I am just happy and want to express that. But how does that translate into something productive? I am an advocate for writing for its own sake, but a lot of people might see that as a waste of time if they don’t have plans for the writing.
So, if I tried this timed writing thing (when no one was watching so they can’t “grade” it), how would that help me?
Makes writing more manageable. Writing is hard. It takes a lot of work. It requires filtering through your own mind, which can be a challenge sometimes if you want the writing to make sense to other people. If you set a timer for yourself knowing that you will stop when the timer goes off, there’s not as much pressure to “finish” something.
Gets ideas onto the page. Sometimes the hardest part of writing is starting. At least that’s how my writing works. For whatever reason, I’m always nervous to start a new project or write down an idea that feels really out of my normal box. I assume it’s because I’ve always been a people pleaser.
But, if you have a timer there knowing that you are only going to spend 15 or 30 minutes with this idea, maybe that makes it less scary. It’s only a 15 minute idea, so even if it’s utter garbage (sometimes you’ll have that), you won’t have invested a lot into it before you realize how bad it really is.
Forces you to do something. If you’re a writer, aspiring or established, it’s important to work on your writing. You aren’t going to get better at it doing nothing, and you’ll probably feel guilty for loving something and never making time for it. I am 100% guilty of this, and have used any number of excuses to dictate why I don’t need to write. But, I do need to write. And if you love it, you need to write, too.
When you set that timer for 15 minutes, you are prioritizing yourself and something you’re passionate about for those few minutes. You will thank yourself later. (Don’t worry, your Netflix/Hulu/Other Streaming Service will still be there when you get done.)
Note on Timer Length
I’ve mentioned 15 minutes a lot, but you can set your timer however you feel best! The reasons I find 15 minutes works well are because 1) I can usually spare that amount of time, 2) it’s short enough to feel like just a few minutes, but long enough to get a whole thought onto the page, and 3) if I forget to set a timer, it’s pretty easy to see on the clock.
I also think that 30 minutes would be a comfortable amount of “timed” time, if you know you will commit. The longer you set for yourself, the easier it will be to find a distraction during that time and lose focus, which won’t help you!
When I started writing this blog, I set myself a timer for 20 minutes.
I wanted to see how much I could get done by that time, as I haven’t really timed myself too many times when writing blog posts. I also wanted to use it as an example that this really works. I try very hard not to give advice I wouldn’t take, because I feel like that’s silly. It’s the “do as I say but not as I do,” ideal, which is not how I like to function.
Anyway, I got from the beginning of the blog all the way down to right after the “It gets ideas onto the page” section - about 770 words. Very productive! I did start writing with a pen and notebook, but quickly realized (yet again) that I type much faster than I write. Unfortunately, my handwriting just can't keep up with my ideas in the same way as typing.
Even if your first timed writing, or any try at timed writing, isn’t very productive, you still did it! You created something with that sliver of time, even if that’s just a not-so-awesome paragraph.
Here’s the thing: even if no one ever reads what you wrote, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write it.
For many of us, writing is the way we best and most emotionally express ourselves. It helps us cope with things that are hard, delight in things that are joyful, and just connect with other humans in a way that a lot of other mediums don’t allow for.
If you’re thinking this won’t work for you: do me a favor. Try it once or twice. Set your phone timer, the oven or microwave timer (the one that will drive you crazy if you don't get up and turn it off), whatever floats your boat. Try it and see what happens.
I’d love to hear about it! Even if it was 15 minutes of wasted time (I don’t think it will be). If it was, email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com and let's talk about it.
Research & Creativity: Friends or Foes?
You’ve probably heard of the left-brain vs. right brain binary, right? People who are more “left-brain” oriented tend to be more logical and grounded in facts while “right-brain” people are dreamers and creatives.
There is often a similar thought about research and creative work. If you’re a scientist in a hard science, say, Biology, people probably think of you as a researcher, aka someone who is not very creative. You like fact-finding and getting to the black and white “truth.”
On the other hand, if you’re a creative writer, for instance, people probably don’t think of you as a researcher. You like creating new worlds or exploring the world we live in from another angle, not figuring out whether those things would actually be possible in “real” life.
Here’s the thing about generalizations, though. They always miss important details!
If you’re that scientist, you have to be creative to solve problems in the lab. If you’re researching how to solve a disease and you run have run out of ideas, you’re not just going to stop trying, right? You’d have to look outside the normal realm of possibilities or look at your current possibilities in a different light.
On the other hand, if you’re going to be a successful creative writer, that requires research, too. It’s not necessarily the same kind of research as a scientist, but you do have to know about the setting you’re writing to make it believable and factual. This is especially true if you write nonfiction about places or people. Your audience will call you out faster than you can say, “Wait, let me fix that” if you don’t research well enough.
So, are research and creativity foes?
Nope! How do we know?
Science doesn’t support this. Upcoming scientists are encouraged to do creative research, and why not? The old adage “necessity is the mother of all invention” is a proverb you’ve probably heard - and it’s true. All solutions start with a problem that has to be solved, and most times the answer doesn’t just appear out of nowhere (even though we wish it would).
Creative research is actually a whole field of study. We’re finding more and more that creativity is essential to research. If you are researching extensively and can’t find a specific guide or resource, you’ll probably have to put that information together and write about it if you want to reference that information again easily.
Personal experience. If you’ve been to college, or (especially) grad school, you know that you have to be creative to do good research. In English we write about super obscure topics that might have less than 10 experts in the field...in the WORLD. You have to be able to think creatively to find an academic niche and join that conversation.
If they’re not foes, are they friends?
Absolutely! How do we know?
They need each other. Most good research has at least some creative aspects, and most good writing has at least some research.
Many times, the best solutions and creations use both. We have a lot of conveniences now, but it wasn’t always like that! It’s hard to remember a time without GPS and the internet, let alone without wheels. But all of these things were new once, which means some smart people had to do creative research and problem-solving.
Personal experience. Have you seen any academic titles recently? Most times, they are long, include a colon, and try to be intriguing and/or actionable. At least that’s how we do it in the humanities. One of my last grad school papers was called “Confidence in the Classroom: Identifying Instructional Strategies in First Year Composition.” Even books have these kinds of titles - we read one of these types during my last semester called Cities of Affluence and Anger: A Literary Geography of Modern Englishness by Peter Kalliney. If these don’t highlight the creativity and research combo I don’t know what would.
So why do we think of these processes as mutually exclusive?
We learn one definition of research and one definition of creative in school and don’t revisit those ideas as we get older.
We tend to work largely in one field, and don’t often know how (or look closely) at other fields to know differently.
We learn about the left-brain/right-brain idea and don’t stop and question it. Science doesn’t support this one either!
We might tend to excel in one aspect and not pursue the other because we find what we’re good at and passionate about.
What do you think? How have research and creativity interacted in your life?
I’d love to hear about it!
8 Simple Habits to Develop Writing Inspiration
UPDATED: May 2020
Do have something you simply have to do before you can really get into your writing? Most writers do! Many have specific habits or even “requirements” for the environment where they are most productive or rituals they must do.
Many factors go into the decision such as:
Type of writing
Expectations of what to accomplish
How much distraction will detract from what a writer is working on.
Some famous writers had/have crazy writing habits!
Some famous writers had/have crazy writing habits! For instance, writing in the middle of the night, or only two hours a day!
Personally, I don’t feel like I have many required habits for me to feel inspired to get writing.
Writing Inspiration
My Productive Writing Starter Pack: Computer, charging cord, pen & notepad, encouraging Post-It, socks, drink, Charlie (and his rope), and a blanket for when I get cold.
Below are 8 simple writing habits that ensure my writing inspiration & productivity.
Music
1. Turn on Music or a Movie Soundtrack
Music or a film soundtrack can be an inspirational catalyst. The type of writing we're trying to accomplish can dictate what background sound we play.
Music
Choosing music is important because it helps create a specific mood and mindset. Music is an emotional experience for many of us, so by choosing something specific, we have a good chance of channeling the kinds of thoughts and emotions we need to be inspired.
Choosing music is important because it helps create a specific mood and mindset.
If I am working on my novel, which is Young Adult (YA) fiction, I tend to choose something that reminds me of when I was in high school and first starting college.
Sometimes that’s Taylor Swift or Aly & AJ. I also like the 70’s light rock Pandora station because most of the songs don’t require a lot of energy or thinking. I grew up listening to most of the songs, so it’s an easy-listening music experience.
Taylor Swift concert
Taylor Swift Concert, Red Tour, 2013
Movie Soundtrack
I also love film soundtracks. Movies that we love and have seen a thousand times often bring up memories and emotions that we don't even recognize, but that can be supremely helpful to help us find the words for what we're trying to write.
Movies that we love and have seen a thousand times often bring up memories and emotions that we don’t even recognize.
Braveheart is by far my favorite film soundtrack because of how emotional the music is. Incidentally, you can listen to the whole thing for free on Spotify (you will just need to sign up for a free account)!
When I am writing emotional scenes or blogs, I listen to a movie soundtrack because I subconsciously recall what emotion is happening during the scene and use that to inspire my words. I also really enjoy Sullivan Entertainment’s Anne of Green Gables (1985) because it’s such a positive story, and the soundtrack reflects that mood.
Why it Works:
Having some kind of music and/or white noise playing in the background helps reduce the amount of distraction many of us face while writing. Things like kids screaming, dogs barking, or a spouse asking a favor. You know the kind. Music can help block this out and allow us time to really focus on being productive with our writing.
It can also help spark inspiration when we know we need to write but feel utterly uninspired. If you don't know where to start writing, turn on some of your favorite tunes and see what kinds of memories and ideas start popping up!
Close Email
2. Close Email & Put Phone Away
Before you outright reject this strategy, let me give you some background info! For those of us in administrative jobs, especially customer or client-facing roles, we don't really have the opportunity to just disconnect during the day. We never know when something might catch fire that we have to put out!
There are also many of us who work second jobs, which doubles the email expectations. Having email on our phone almost becomes a necessity.
We also can’t predict when anyone will call or text throughout the day. Sometimes it’s a spouse, but sometimes multiple family members, friends, and the pharmacy service all text and call. It really depends on the day.
The constant word stimulation is definitely a distraction from any type of writing we might be doing.
The constant word stimulation is definitely a distraction from any type of writing we might be doing. Have you ever started writing something, even just a sentence, and all the sudden an email pinged into your inbox on your computer or phone? Suddenly, your brain starts wondering what's in the email and if someone will need an immediate response. There goes any inspiration or productivity you might have!
If I get the chance to write at work, I set a timer for having all of this turned off so I don’t miss anything important, but can still focus. If I’m at home, it’s definitely easier to disconnect, and will often (to the annoyance of my husband) turn my phone on silent altogether.
Why it Works:
How much can you get done when your inbox is pinging constantly? Or when messages are pouring in? (We see you, group texts.) No one can function efficiently like that, especially writers! Your writing inspiration and productivity will get a quick boost when you close email and put away your phone.
I don't even keep my sound on most of the time like everyone else, so I can't imagine what it's like for writers who keep their sound on. The same goes for phone use. If you're going in and out of a text convo, or people keep calling you, both your writing and the conversations are going to be worse for the wear.
Close Tabs
3. Close Tabs (Especially Social Media)
How many tabs do you have open in your browser right now? I have 12. Would I try to write with this many tabs open? HECK NO.
Like email, having a bunch of web pages open is a total distraction from our writing - the exception being if you are using one or two of them for research or something directly related to your writing.
Be honest, though, how many of your tabs are actually productive?
Be honest, though, how many of your tabs are actually productive? How many are social media?
Social media sends out an insane number of notifications by the hour - sometimes more! Just like an email dinging into your peaceful workspace, it throws us completely out of our focused writing mindset.
So although it's hard, we need to close tabs and make sure to shut down all of our social media when we are trying to connect with our writing inspiration and be productive.
When I say social media, I mean:
Pinterest (although it's not a true social media)
AND anything else you're checking regularly for social updates.
Note: I know we can turn off the notifications for all of these; however, being able to click on the notification when I have time has proven to be helpful, especially as I interact with a lot of people directly for business.
Why it Works:
You just posted the cutest picture on Insta and you can't wait to see who likes it. You just found the funniest joke to tweet. You need to get to promoting that new blog on Facebook! Or find beta readers for your novel!
It’s a great feeling to to see people interacting with your content.
I get that.
It's a great feeling to to see people interacting with your content. But you have to have time away from social media to create that amazing content that keeps people coming back for more! You can't fully focus on your writing if you're watching your phone or browser like a hawk for new notifications.
Pen and Paper
4. Have Pen & Paper Ready to Go
Do you ever have a stray thought that has nothing to do with what you are working on? I know I do! Sometimes our brain has more of these moments when we're trying to write because it's looking for a way out, a way to distract itself from being productive. Or realizing that we're not inspired.
If we really want writing inspiration, we need to cut out the excuses and distractions and get productive.
It’s important to have a place to jot these thoughts down that’s not on the computer and/or document you're working on. If we really want writing inspiration, we need to cut out the excuses and distractions and get productive.
When I suddenly remember I need to answer an email by the end of the day, my blog post or novel is not the place to write that down. For one, I definitely won't find it again in time. Not to mention that I will keep seeing that reminder for the remainder of my writing time, which tanks my momentum.
Why it Works:
Writing things down by hand helps you remember things. Scientists study this all the time! In my experience, though, when you write things down in the wrong place, you STILL forget, only then it's worse because you know you wrote it down but you can't remember where!
Don't do this to yourself. Keep a pen and paper nearby when you're writing so you can easily come back to your ideas later.
Laptop Charged
5. Have Laptop Charged & Charging Cord Nearby
If you are writing on a desktop, you obviously don't need a cord because you're connected to the wall, which is great!
But, if you're like many writers and writing on a laptop, it's so important that you make sure to keep your laptop charged when you want to write. If your computer is a little older or otherwise prone to losing charge quickly, it's also important to keep the charging cord nearby.
Excuses seem to multiply like rabbits when we're low key trying to avoid our project(s) from a lack of writing inspiration or motivation.
This is imperative because when we sit down to write, and we're not “in the zone” yet or having trouble focusing, we tend to get up and do any number of things instead of actually getting writing done. Excuses seem to multiply like rabbits when we're low key trying to avoid our project(s) from a lack of writing inspiration or motivation.
Such an easy step to make sure we stay on target!
Why it Works:
You can't type out writing if your computer is dead can you? I mean you could, on a phone or tablet, but will you? You can't make this excuse to get up and away from focusing on your writing if you have already prepared!
Even worse than not being able to work, if you're writing and your computer dies, you may or may not be able to get all that hard work back when you charge up again. This is a major bummer, believe me from experience!
Location
6. Location Matters
Some people have to be at a certain place to get a lot done. I know many writers who need to be at their desk or have certain lighting to get into their ideal writing zone.
This habit is all about figuring out where you do your best work.
Where we are has a lot of impact on what and how we think. This habit is all about figuring out where you do your best work.
When I was in graduate school, I loved to hole up in a library study room or in our home office. I find I don’t really need a particular place, now, though. I will usually either write at my desk, in my journal in bed, or on the couch snuggled up with my dog, Charlie. He is the best (and cuddliest) supporter during the times when I’m writing like a maniac.
Why it Works:
Location is very personal, unlike some of the other habits we've talked about. You might be open, like I am, but you might need a little more quiet or more structure.
I know plenty of people who prefer a table to using their laptop on the couch. It's all about figuring out how you can be comfortable and leveraging your environmental preferences to get your writing done.
Writing Medium
7. Decide on Writing Medium
There are all sorts of ways to write in the digital age! Of course you can always trust in a good old pen and paper routine. But there's also Google Docs, Microsoft Word, notepad (search your computer for the app), Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, Wattpad, and the list keeps gong on and on. How you write is really personal because you are the one working in it on all your projects.
I used to prefer writing in a Word document and emailing myself back and forth. The problem being that if I forget to send that email...well, I would have to wait until I was back at that computer to work more on the piece of writing because I was saving locally to my computer.
How you write is really personal because you are the one working in it on all your projects.
Nowadays, Microsoft 365 is a game changer with Sharepoint and cloud-hosting, so you can access your documents similarly as you do with Google Drive.
My preferred medium now is Google Docs, where everything is instantly saved online, so I can access it wherever I can get internet. I can work at home, at work, and even on my phone! We have the Google Pixel phones, so all of my documents and things sync together nicely.
Why it Works:
When you pick a medium and stick to it, you know, reliably, that your documents will be safely waiting for you each time you go to write. Make sure you have a way to back up your work, whichever medium you choose.
I have to say, Google Docs is pretty dang great! I love the fact that I can write something on one computer when I'm out, it saves to the cloud, and I can pull it right back up when I get home. I don't have to worry about forgetting to save and send or taking my flash drive with me, and neither do you!
Comfortable
8. Make Sure You're Comfortable
This is probably the most important habit because being uncomfortable is the ultimate distraction. Who can pay attention when they're sweating or freezing? When their feet are cold or they've been sitting on a hard chair so long that they don't know if they can get back up normally again. No one! We've got to be comfortable when we write.
Personally, this habit is tricky for me because I’m fidgety. I don’t do well sitting down without moving for long periods of time, and I get cold very easily.
We've got to be comfortable when we write.
I typically sit cross-legged or with one leg tucked underneath me whether I’m in a computer chair or on the couch. I always wear layers, and have a pair of socks on hand for when my toes inevitably turn into ice cubes. Sometimes I even have to go get my slippers in the middle of summer! Interestingly, I find it more distracting to have cold toes than walk away and get my slippers.
I tend to move around and sit in different positions throughout the time I spend writing, that way I can remain as comfortable as possible. There’s nothing worse than having an aching tailbone right when you’re about to write about someone’s first kiss!
Why it Works:
Your body is super important to your writing. When you're not on your game physically, you probably can't be at your best or most productive in your creativity. You know yourself best, so you know if your toes get cold when you sit down for a long time. Or, if your eyes hurt from looking at your computer screen for a long time you probably need blue light glasses or the free Flux app to help you out.
Your body is super important to your writing. When you’re not on your game physically, you probably can’t be at your best or most productive in your creativity.
There will always be more habits that could be helpful, but these are critical. Making sure to build these habits over time will really help writing inspiration and productivity!
If you're like me, though, and inspiration strikes, we are on it. We get the words onto the page as soon as we can, lest we forget anything (short term memory is definitely not my strong point!).
Sometimes I can get to my computer, but sometimes I can’t. I have written in almost every medium! There’s a section of my novel that was typed on my phone in the Google doc when I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. As it turns out, it was a full three pages. There were also several sections handwritten late at night when I got inspired right before bed.
Once you start writing you'll figure out how to best tame and create your habits.
What are your writing habits? What do you need to write productively? If you don’t have any, you’ll get there! Don’t feel pressured into doing anything crazy. Set your own goals and work towards achieving them.
I would love to hear more about your writing habits and rituals! Drop a comment below, find me on social media, or shoot me an email at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com! Let's chat.
7 Strengths of an English Major
Imagine you’re about to finish high school or a gap year and you’ve been accepted at a college or university of your choice - yay! What an accomplishment! The question on your mind, and that everyone will be asking you, is: what are you going to study?
You freeze.
What do you want to study? What will lead you to a “good” job? What kinds of jobs are out there? Oh no! You don’t know. How are you supposed to figure it out when you haven’t even gotten there yet?
You freeze again.
Does this sound familiar? Even if that wasn’t your own experience, you probably know someone who had this moment.
There are a ton of choices when you go to college, and as a college student, you’re expected to figure out what you like and what you are good at fairly quickly to “get your stuff together” and graduate in 4-5 years.
Many people will say that the best and most logical course of action is to get a degree with immediate and easy-to-see job paths such as engineering, nursing, accounting, or pre-law/pre-med. For some students this makes sense! If you already know what you are good at and what you like, it makes a whole lot of sense to go right to a more direct career-driven degree.
But for those of us who just love a couple of things and want room to explore, that’s not always the best answer. Sometimes we need a little more flexibility than a nursing degree offers. English is an incredibly viable option for those who want to explore their interests while still making themselves employable.
Liberal Arts degrees are a hot topic right now because they are less structured toward a direct career path. English has often been picked on as an “easy” degree, but, as someone with two of them, I can tell you that’s not true.
Below are the top valuable skills that English majors acquire and hone during their degrees. Do those skills look familiar? That’s because they’re in almost every job ad you’ve ever seen.
English majors write. And they write some more. And then more after that. Chances are, if you are taking a full course load of English classes, you might end the semester submitting 30-40 pages of polished writing for a large portion of your grade in most or all classes. This means that by the time you have done this for 6+ semesters you are pretty darn good at sounding professional and appropriate in your writing. (You may or may not encounter the longer more intensive writing during your first year.)
You learn to speak the speak and walk the walk of an academic, and sometimes creative, writer. This is valuable in the professional world where the primary contact is via email. Figuring out how to complete all of these papers and projects without sounding exactly the same each time also means that you have developed a knack for getting creative and organizing your writing appropriately. You will be right in your element when you get into a workplace that’s project-based and you have to send 50 emails a day.
If you are shy of public speaking now, you probably won’t be after you get done with an English degree. At least not to the extent you were when you started. English majors have many presentations throughout their degree - some creative and some research-based. Sometimes they are brief (around 2 minutes) or sometimes they are longer (around 15-20 minutes). If you are a go-getter and the opportunity is there, you might even present at conferences! You might also have to put together group presentation at some point.
Any way you go, you will speak in front of people. This translates well outside of college for several reasons: you have to interview to get a job, many jobs require talking to people you don’t know, and even if you are not in a client/customer-facing position you will still work with other people. Being able to talk to people means that you are more likely to be able to work well on a team and collaborate with others, which is a desirable trait (often a requirement) in many companies and careers.
English majors think. Hard. For long periods of time. In writing. How do you think we get all those papers done? You will learn new things on a daily basis about researching, writing, and things you never thought you would know. English majors can look at a problem and dig in to see what’s at the root. I did my undergraduate degree in English, with a concentration in Literature, and for almost every single paper I wrote, I had to find an aspect of a piece of literature, explain it, describe why it’s important, and how it relates to everything else we learned in class.
Other concentrations are similar in that they all find a problem, explain it, and relate it to the larger discussion. You have to be able to think critically about what the problems are and what the larger conversation is in order to place yourself in that realm. This is beneficial outside of college because you can think about problems in the workplace and see the global picture as well as the situation at hand.
Creative problem solving goes hand-in-hand with critical thinking, because English majors learn how to identify and become a part of larger conversations. When you’re thinking critically about the conversation, you really have to be able to carve out a small niche for yourself to join that discussion. And, if you were thinking that you were the only one who fell madly in love with that classic novel written in the early 1900s, you are DEAD WRONG. People spend their whole lives writing about “classics,” so when you want to write about them for a class, you really have to get creative to figure out how to make your own ideas different from every other scholar who loves that book as much as you do.
The good (and bad?) news is that this happens all the time. So what is an English major to do? Pull up your researching pants and get to work thinking about how you can get creative with your writing. Employers need this skill, and often desire or require it in job ads, because if you can creatively solve problems, you can promote growth and help solve existing problems. It’s also important for upcoming fields not well established yet because you excel at making things work in new and creative ways.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever looked up? (I don’t know if I actually want to know, by the way.) You will probably top it when you are an English major because most times you are able to write about something that interests you. Fashion in Victorian England? I know a researcher who is an expert. Dead bodies or trash and their portrayals in literature? I know researchers who study those things, too.
Not only is it incredibly gratifying to find a relevant article you can use in your end of semester papers, it’s also building an invaluable skill for post-graduation. We live in a world where information is literally at our fingertips almost anywhere at almost any time. About anything you can think of. It’s not enough to know some stuff when you go into a career anymore. You have to know how to quickly find information when you don’t know things. And when you spend the last semester of college trying to figure out how to write about a book no one has ever heard of, I’d say you’re probably pretty good at finding resources.
These are skills that many college majors offer, but are really critical to English majors. On average, if you’re taking a full load of 4-5 classes, you will have 4-5 end of term papers to write that are all due the last 3 weeks of class. Yes, you can do it. But, that doesn’t come easily if you don’t use some planning and multi-tasking skills. You have to manage your time at least reasonably because you will probably be writing 4- 5 papers on 4-5 topics that are all between 10-20 pages long. And that needs to be good, polished writing when you turn it in.
So, you have to prioritize and plan your time well to succeed. This is also imperative in life after college both personally and in the workplace. Things get complicated after college! It’s harder to hang out with your friends when they are on different work schedules than you and you all have significant others of some sort. These are also all skills you must have in any job, especially if you want to get into a career where you work pretty independently.
Last, but certainly not least, English majors are flexible! We get to choose much of our college curriculum for ourselves, and if two classes you want to take are at the same time, you have to pick one. We learn early on to make decisions and think ahead. Your favorite professor might be teaching your dream class at the same time as a class you are required to take - what do you do?
You might have to choose between two classes, but one of them sounds slightly less terrible than the other. You (hopefully with the help of an advisor) have to learn that flexibility and decision-making because sometimes specialty classes only run once every 2-3 years.
This skill is an absolute essential in most jobs outside of college, too. Employers need someone who can flex outside of their job descriptions sometimes (within reason) to lend a hand or for someone to take ownership of a project. English majors excel here because we’ve been taking that ownership for years.
While these are highly valuable skills, English is not the perfect major for everyone.
It does require intense writing and researching. Some of the careers English majors develop into also take a little longer to grow.
You need to work on doing something with your skills while you’re still in college. This might mean an internship, a part-time job, or an immersive learning class. With as competitive as the job market is these days, you do need to think about how to make yourself marketable in these types of ways. You can also consider pairing your English degree with another major or minor to really set your skills apart.
Word to the wise: you probably won’t land your dream job immediately following your degree. That’s okay! No one really has a “dream job” as their first job out of college! (If you did/do, please let me know how you got there! I would love to hear about it.) But, the skills you will develop during an English degree will be invaluable in growing into a successful long-term career.
I’d love to hear about your experiences! How has your English degree helped you? How has it challenged you? What would you tell incoming students who are considering it?
