Section
7: Starting To Write and Choosing The Right Place
Almost any task requires that certain environmental considerations be met in order to obtain a successful and desirable outcome. Lets look at a simple example.
Everyone likes to take a shower. After a shower, we feel clean, fresh and positive about the day ahead of us. To take a shower, we need to make certain preparations – we have to have water, we need to get soap and a towel, and probably a clean change of clothes. But to be comfortable taking a shower, we also have to be in the right environment.
You probably wouldn’t take a shower in a public park even if all the physical requirements (water, soap, towel, clean clothes) were there and available for you. If you are like most Filipinos, you wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a shower in an environment where you would be exposing yourself publicly. If you had no other choice than to take a shower in a public place, you would probably wash yourself with much of your clothing still on in order to protect your modesty. Although you might be able to accomplish the primary function (washing yourself), it would be an incomplete job. You would probably not be able to accomplish the final desired goal – like thoroughly washing and rinsing yourself and putting on a complete change on fresh clothes. A public park would simply not be a comfortable environment for you to remove all your clothes, and without removing all your clothes, it would be difficult to accomplish the “perfect shower”. However, if you were in the washroom of your home where your comfort and modesty was guaranteed, the “perfect shower would be would be enjoyable and easy to accomplish, because you would be in the right environment to accomplish the task.
Writing also requires the right environment if you are to accomplish a good result. In the wrong environment, your writing will be poor, regardless of how good a writer you are. Being able to concentrate on your writing process without distractions and having the necessary utilities present is an absolute requirement for good writing to occur
First, lets talk about utilities. Make sure you have the basic materials you need with you before you start. The basic writers kit includes pen, paper, notes or reference materials, a dictionary and a thesaurus. When you are writing and you need a dictionary or thesaurus, you need one now – and if you don’t have one available when you need it, you will loose your train of thought and the focus of your writing. Don’t rely on the library dictionary. There are a number of publishers that produce a good basic dictionary/thesaurus combination in a single paperback for less than P100. It will be one of the best investments you will ever make and it will serve you well through your entire college career.
Now lets talk about the writing environment. Write in a place where you are seated properly in a chair in front of a desk or table. Good writers do not write while sitting on the ground under a mango tree gazing at the sky. If you try to write while you are relaxed and “laidback”, your mind will also be relaxed and “laidback”, and your writing will be deficient and defective. Writing is work. Don’t treat it like play. Take your writing seriously and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
Choose a place that is well-lit and as free as possible from distractions. The kitchen table might sound like a good place to study, but if your younger brothers and sisters are running around, the TV is playing and the neighbors are having a karaoke contest, the distractions will prevent you from writing anything of quality. Your mind has a fixed amount of “attention” it can give to any task. The more distractions there are, the less attention can go to the task you are trying to accomplish - writing. Many students insist on listening to the stereo or radio when they are studying or writing. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. The attention that your mind gives to the music is taken directly out of the total attention that should be going to your writing process. Find a comfortable well-lit place with as few distractions as possible and commit all of your attention and energy to writing.
Don’t do your writing late at night after a long hard day. If you are exhausted, your writing will be of a very poor quality. Here is a little advice on academic commitment. If you were to go to the University of California, you would probably notice something strange at lunchtime. At American universities, the most popular place at lunchtime is not the cafeteria, but the library. Noon is still fairly early in the day, so your mind is still active and energetic. Lunchtime is very valuable, quality academic time. American students tend to be very committed to their studies and most American university students will use their lunch period as prime academic study and writing time. This kind of commitment is one of the reasons American students tend to excel at academics, and one of the reasons they earn the best jobs. If you are serious about your education and your future, commitment is an important issue you cannot afford to ignore.