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Why am I so bad at writing essays, /lit/? I'd like to improve my writing skills, but I have no idea how. I basically dropped out of college because I simply can't write essays for the life of me. I don't think I'm that stupid either. For example, last year one of my professors read an essay I wrote, and he said I needed to work on the introduction paragraph. I asked him why, and he said it's because that's not how I talk. He said that in class, I spoke intelligently, using complex sentences, but a lot of the sentences in the essay I wrote were short and to the point.
I think there are many possible reasons why I have a lot of trouble writing. The first is that I'm very scatter-brained and find it really hard to focus on pretty much anything. There are so many books that I've only read the first 100 pages of and never finished. In fact, I rarely finish reading books, and usually only read the first 100 pages or so, only to get bored of it and start reading another book, often about something totally unrelated. Another possible reason is that I just have writing anxiety. A lot of times when I write, I'll write a couple paragraphs, but then I'll start to worry that what I wrote might be really stupid or illogical, and I'll delete it. And I think it's also possible that I'm just dumb, but even if that's true, I'm sure there are still a lot of things I can do to improve my writing skills.
Would reading more fiction help? I mostly read non-fiction, but I feel like reading more fiction would make me a better writer, because I think fiction writers generally tend to write more artistically than non-fiction writers. I'm not saying that non-fiction writers, such as historians, are dumb or bad writers, I'm just saying that a lot of non-fiction writers (although obviously not all) just write in order to describe things and explain their ideas, whereas a lot of fiction writers simply like writing for its own sake.
Also, if I want to improve my writing, obviously I have to write more. But what should I write about? Should I try to write essays about current events or science? Or should I try to write short stories and creative essays?
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>>9229039
nice essay you wrote there Anon
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I need help with this too btw
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>>9229039
I know the feeling, ive been hunting for books on the topic but ive just come to accept i probably just have ADD or assburgers
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Learn to Edit yourself, for one.
You could seriously edit your post down to at least a third of it's length and get the same ideas across, for starters.
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>>9229391
You're probably right, but could you give me an example?
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What helps a lot is to write to someone. If you've got a friend that wouldn't mind reading your one-e-mail-per-day, jump on the opportunity.
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>>9229039
just practice them you pussy
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Anxiety and self-doubt can be a positive thing that you juggle with a confident writing style. You're right to worry about what you write and question its logicality, but channel that worry into something rational. Don't just delete; analyze your logic, your writing. If you feel good about it; great, don't change anything. If you notice flaws in your logic (concrete stuff) change it, if it's too flawed delete it and start over. If you can't notice anything specfically and just feel anxious about it, it could be the way you're phrasing your argument. Play around with the specific stuff you feel uneasy about it. That uneasiness could also just be irrational self-doubt. Explore the feeling, sometimes it has basis, sometimes it doesn't and you're just a bitch.
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