03-31-2005, 02:12 PM
I am currently wallowing in a sea of despair, as it has now been 2 days of intensive writing, and I haven't finished the introduction for my paper yet.
For those of you who are new to this: this is the third time I come to the Lounge desperately seeking help and ideas for school-related writings. The ordinary procedure is [1] I come asking for help, [2]You people say something incredibly brilliant and illuminating, [3]I produce a piece of writing that doesn't blow chunks and get a passing grade. Let's see if we can't keep the tradition going!
As I mentioned; it's been 2 days. I've been writing for nearly 12 hours, and I've only got 200+ words into my introduction. Every single sentence has taken me painstakingly long hours of duress and hardship to produce. Writing papers are rarely easily done, but I've never experienced writer's block like this before. When I look at the near-blank MS Word on my computer screen, I feel I have nothing to say. I'm not going to lie and say that I've read everything there is on the subject, but I've read large chunks of relevant books and a couple of articles, so I shouldn't be completely clueless as to what I should include in my paper.
(By the way, my assignment is:
Compare different scholars’ views on the consequences of the printing press for literacy, writing and society. How far are claims of its revolutionary impact justified? (Limit your discussion to a specific area if you wish).)
When I spoke to my teacher, she said I should stick to Elizabeth Eisenstein's "Printing Press as an Agent of Change" (1997) and Lucien Febvre & Henri-Jean Martin's "Coming of the book". This is fine, because every website I've seen so far compare the same two books. I'm just stuck. Undeniably stuck.
I'll be going to the gym in a little while to work out with a friend, and I'm seriously hoping for a "Eureka!"-moment happening sometime between now and the time I get home. Hopefully getting away from the material and everything will dislodge the gigantic obelisk I have in my brain standing in the way between me and the pure brilliance I hope is somewhere within.
The question is:
What do you do to fight writer's block?
* Stand on one's head
* Have a cup of tea/coffee
* Take a walk
* Play through Morrowind (+ expansion packs)
* Accept the worst possible drivel you can think of, and put it into your paper.
* Do a zen/yoga-thing where you meditate on what you really want to say, bringing about sudden - yet pure - enlightenment.
I'm at a loss. All suggestions are appreciated!
For those of you who are new to this: this is the third time I come to the Lounge desperately seeking help and ideas for school-related writings. The ordinary procedure is [1] I come asking for help, [2]You people say something incredibly brilliant and illuminating, [3]I produce a piece of writing that doesn't blow chunks and get a passing grade. Let's see if we can't keep the tradition going!
As I mentioned; it's been 2 days. I've been writing for nearly 12 hours, and I've only got 200+ words into my introduction. Every single sentence has taken me painstakingly long hours of duress and hardship to produce. Writing papers are rarely easily done, but I've never experienced writer's block like this before. When I look at the near-blank MS Word on my computer screen, I feel I have nothing to say. I'm not going to lie and say that I've read everything there is on the subject, but I've read large chunks of relevant books and a couple of articles, so I shouldn't be completely clueless as to what I should include in my paper.
(By the way, my assignment is:
Compare different scholars’ views on the consequences of the printing press for literacy, writing and society. How far are claims of its revolutionary impact justified? (Limit your discussion to a specific area if you wish).)
When I spoke to my teacher, she said I should stick to Elizabeth Eisenstein's "Printing Press as an Agent of Change" (1997) and Lucien Febvre & Henri-Jean Martin's "Coming of the book". This is fine, because every website I've seen so far compare the same two books. I'm just stuck. Undeniably stuck.
I'll be going to the gym in a little while to work out with a friend, and I'm seriously hoping for a "Eureka!"-moment happening sometime between now and the time I get home. Hopefully getting away from the material and everything will dislodge the gigantic obelisk I have in my brain standing in the way between me and the pure brilliance I hope is somewhere within.
The question is:
What do you do to fight writer's block?
* Stand on one's head
* Have a cup of tea/coffee
* Take a walk
* Play through Morrowind (+ expansion packs)
* Accept the worst possible drivel you can think of, and put it into your paper.
* Do a zen/yoga-thing where you meditate on what you really want to say, bringing about sudden - yet pure - enlightenment.
I'm at a loss. All suggestions are appreciated!
