Blog Prompt #7

Everyone has bad habits. Maybe you tend to bite your nails in stressful situations, or find yourself wiping your mouth on your sleeve when you eat. When it comes to writing habits however, the bad ones may not be quite as easy to spot. Whether it's a person's tendency to procrastinate on starting their process, failing to utilize enough pre-writing tools, or simply not sticking to a good routine, all of these can have a detrimental effect on the overall quality of one's writing.  Of my many personal bad habits, the one that has always affected my writing quality the most is my inability to stick to a solid routine. It seems that every time I have a new project to do, I intentionally go out of my to complete the tasks in a new order. One time I will start with an outline, followed by a rough draft, and finish by editing it and finalizing the completed draft. Another time I find it ideal to simply free-write the whole rough draft, then do a quick edit and submit it as the final. Surprisingly, the effort put in does not always represent a better or worse grade. The process each person uses to write varies, with everyone finding their own unique format to suit their strengths. Despite the variations, one constant normally remains: consistency. Having a solid and repeatable format to follow when pre-writing will lead to consistent results. Athletes may not follow an identical pattern every time they work out, but most all athletes do have solid, consistent daily/ weekly routines to ensure they stay on-track with their expectations. 

For my writing to progress, I know the most important hurdle I have to overcome is nailing down a routine I can follow every time. To ensure I am able to accomplish this, I need to make sure I begin with enough time to not feel rushed. A majority of my reasons for not following a set routine revolve around procrastinating. Writing is not one of the things I see myself continuing to do after I complete school, but the skills and techniques I can learn from it will benefit me for years to come.

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