I pick up a pen for this
Jun. 17th, 2002 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beandelphikiI had my Part A English exam today - the written part - and I must say that I cannot stand written exams. It's not that I have concerns about writing well - but in a 3 hour timeframe? My usual M.O. when writing essays for class is to wander about the house, fark around on the computer, read books and listen to music - until about 9:30 pm, when inspiration will suddenly strike in the shower, and I will fly out of the bathroom and write like a maniac until it's done or I drop - whichever comes first. And then I will hand it in for an 83%, invariably.
I don't like forcing inspiration. It makes my head hurt, and it makes me have to pee - not a good thing during an exam.
The worst is simply having it all crammed into your head, in no particular order, waiting for you to pull it out and give it shape and life. I'm not one of those people who can plan an essay before they start. I just can't. It comes as I write, and I can only pray to find the next sentence, the next word, that will link it all; it's as though I'm swinging along a set of monkey bars, but blind.
And it feels as though you could telescope it all into one paragraph, if you could just get it right; but then it would be too short for good marks. And then, Oh, god - it IS too short, and it doesn't say ANYTHING you wanted it to, either. Feeling your way through a jungle and peering out between the vines, trying to see if you're getting any closer to a shining hidden temple of revelation. But I love it - this is MY jungle, MY territory, and I know I can find the hidden flowers shyly in bloom, and the animals slipping from shadow to shadow if I just extend....
I don't like forcing inspiration. It makes my head hurt, and it makes me have to pee - not a good thing during an exam.
The worst is simply having it all crammed into your head, in no particular order, waiting for you to pull it out and give it shape and life. I'm not one of those people who can plan an essay before they start. I just can't. It comes as I write, and I can only pray to find the next sentence, the next word, that will link it all; it's as though I'm swinging along a set of monkey bars, but blind.
And it feels as though you could telescope it all into one paragraph, if you could just get it right; but then it would be too short for good marks. And then, Oh, god - it IS too short, and it doesn't say ANYTHING you wanted it to, either. Feeling your way through a jungle and peering out between the vines, trying to see if you're getting any closer to a shining hidden temple of revelation. But I love it - this is MY jungle, MY territory, and I know I can find the hidden flowers shyly in bloom, and the animals slipping from shadow to shadow if I just extend....
