BDS September 27

Tonight I had to write an opinion paper on sex-differences in learning for psychology.  I would have tried to do the stopping but for some reason I was able to clear my mind before I started and I knocked it out in 30 minutes!! Yay for mindfulness! :)

BDS - September 26

Last night I had quite a bit of reading for History of English Language, so I spent most of the night trying to make sense of Old English.  I have to say, I think I failed at that. 

BDS From last week Tuesday-Friday

So, my mind has been completely wondering this past week because of a car accident I was in.  That being said here is what I was working on all of last week as far as writing goes.

 Tuesday- I spent the whole night studying for a developmental psych exam.  I had to reread and rewrite some of my notes so that they would make more sense.  It was a stressful night, mindfulness really came in handy. 

 Wednesday- I revised poems of my own as well as commented on my classmates poems.  I also had to do homework for my History of English Language class.

Thursday- I spent most of Thursday's writing just focusing on psych notes and reading for my genres of poetry class.

 Friday- I worked a little on poetry but not too much because I've been getting frustrated with my writing lately so I decided to set it aside so that I could clear my mind.  We will see how that goes this week.

BDS 14 & 15

This weekend I worked a lot on a new poem and have found that stopping and coming back to it is really helping with the creative process.  I'm finding I may be getting a little too relaxed about writing because I often forget that there is writing to be done. 

Reading 6

In pages 30-33 I noticed that Boice was continuing with the rules of the writing process (so to speak).  She has gone through three rules in the previous parts of this chapter and now it is rules four and five that we are focusing on.  I think that rule four is fairly simple and would be completely okay to get use to and to deal with and would help immensely in the writing process especially in my case considering that I just run into writer's block at the most inconvenient times.  This is something I think is due to the fact that I am not use to just writing on a regular basis.  The fifth rule however is where I found trouble.  I am not one that is just okay to stop and let something go.  I am the type of person that will have something weighing on her mind until it is resolved.  If I am writing something and I hit a snag I will sit and stare at that page until the problem I'm having is resolved or the sentence I'm stuck on is written in full.  So "stopping" is one thing that will take quite a bit of work from me. 

Writing 12 and 13

I am falling behind in my BDS's that's why I am posting so many tonight.  It is hard to remember to blog every night on top of actually writing.  I am as always working on poetry but am finally getting into the actual content of my courses and the response papers are starting to pile up.  This is when my patience with writing actually gets tested because I am never sure exactly what I want to write or how I want to say something.  It is always a hard task to keep on track of a thought for a paper when you have so many to write at once.  This is a task where mindful writing will really come in handy and I can't wait to see how much it actually helps in writing these more content based papers. 

Writing 11

I am working on critiquing classmates' poems once again and it is becoming easier as I learn each persons' writing styles and the content that they use.  It also is becoming less of homework more of something I want to do because I am starting to learn from each person a little bit about how to make my writing better.

Writing 10

Today I am writing a paper for History of English language.    It is a response assignment that is suppose to explain how the English language has evolved from German and to use very fluid writing.  This is going to be very hard to write and it will be good to take some time to breathe and let it all come out without force. 

Reading 5

"Rule #3: Remember that impatience blocks writers by associating writing with rushed, incomplete work."

Finally, the secret is out!   Not that this isn't an obvious matter but it helps to see it in writing.  Not mention shortly after Boice actually starts to offer us solutions to these many problems that are being pointed out.  The next part that was discussed made me think about how I actually write.  I don't ever do well with writing when I'm uncomfortable hunched over a desk or a table.  However, if I'm relaxed just laying in my bed it seems to be the best fit for me to produce some sort of thought towards my writing. 

 I like the idea of the comfort exercises that Boice offers us in this section of the reading.  Something that can really help a writer pause and clear their thoughts. 

 It was really nice to move through the "problems" phase of the reading and move into the "solutions."    I almost feel as if I'm less anxious when I'm reading it now.

Writing 9

I am continuing to critique poems.  It is very hard to critique peers' poetry while I am not yet comfortable with my own.   I feel uneasy at times and I often have to stop and just let my mind clear before I can continue.

At Home Mindful Exercise

I did one of the guided exercises.  I think it was a breathing one.  I decided to try laying in my bed with the light off and just a little bit of sunlight shining in through my shades.  I then laid back on my bed and let my arms and legs just rest where they landed.  This positioning allowed me to truly relax and let my mind do what I was trying to get it to do.  It was a new experience to be completely relaxed and to have my mind and body at ease... together. 

Reading 4

While reading the Boice section I was a little bit less at ease than normal.  This was due to the fact that I have a lot of reading piling up and unlike the mindful writing, where it is easy to calm myself before writing, reading just has a stronger effect on me and I am unable to just focus for enough time to pay attention to the reading or to have enough desire to do it, that I keep on task.  I did however continue to find the same similar ideas that I have been noticing throughout the other sections, but I found it refreshing that there were steps involved in this section.

BDS 7

I am working on a brainstorming project for my short paper that is due in psychology on Friday.  On top of that I am working on writing notes on genres of poetry for my English class.

BDS 6

My weeks work will be centered around poetry, as  normal.  My poetry class is the most constant writing that I am encountering this semester.  At this point I am in the revision and critiquing stages. 

BDS 5

Today I used a different approach to my writing, when it came to working on my new poem.  I decided to try and apply some of the mindfulness techniques to my writing.  When I realized I had gotten stuck with my writing I went outside and sat on my porch swing.  I then gently rocked back and forth and closed my eyes and let myself breath and relax.  I was then able to write what I was feeling without being clouded.

Writing Day 4

I have been very bad about keeping on task with my blogs.  This is probably because I am not use to being around my computer everyday.  That being said I have been working mainly on my poetry, trying to fix and tweak my first poem and trying to write my next.  This week I have an opinion paper due in psych so that will be my next task.  I'll probably be posting one more blog today to get caught up on my blog posts.