Writing by tonyhall/Flickr.com/Creative Commons
When it comes to writing for oneself in college (fiction, non-fiction, or in between), the issue of time is the one that interferes the most. If you are being swallowed up by long class hours, work and other related activities, it is extremely difficult to stop thinking like a student and start thinking like a writer. But there are small ways that can facilitate this transition. If you factor these into your day little by little, your mind (and your body) will give in gladly.
1. Do some kind of small physical chore, like making tea or folding laundry. While you do this, think about your day, conversations you’ve had with people, or even something as mundane as the things you have to get done during the week. This sounds ridiculous but really works. Perhaps it syncs your brain to the muscles in your hands so that you can get things down on a page.
2. Don’t take a writing “break.” For example, if you’ve spent the entire day working on a paper for class, don’t take a break from it to do some other kind of writing. Your brain will be too tired.
3. Do something outdoors, or at least in a building that is not your residence hall. The change of air makes a big difference.
4. Take advantage of mealtimes, even if they are the only breaks you end up taking during the day. Eat with other people. It’s amazing how much more creative and relaxed your mind feels afterwards.
5. Pick up a book of any kind (not a textbook) and read the back cover. Then flip through it, feel its pages and smell it. You don’t have to read it. Do this with more than one book if necessary.
6. Do a 5-minute writing exercise before going to bed. A professor recommended this to us and it is quite fruitful. Think of a scene from your day and try and reproduce all or part of that using dialogues and descriptions, in five minutes.
7. Create a Word document and have a physical notebook to jot down ideas. According to your mood or other preferences, choose which ideas you want to save on your laptop and which ones belong on paper. When you finally decide to develop any of these ideas, you will respond to the ones in the Word document differently than the ones in your notebook.
8. Always write sentences in your mind. You can do this anytime, anywhere, whether it is while walking to class or browsing books in the library (or when you’re bored in class!)