There’s writing, and then there’s…. this
I am a writer. I am. It comes easy to me, the words flowing out. I’ve done it for many years. I get a lot of positive comments about it.
So why the hell does my head hurt so much when I’m trying to write a lab report for my bio class? It feels like I’m trying to squish my brain through a funnel. A very, very small funnel. Like one word drops out at a time on the other side, hard-fought and hard-won. And then I realize… it’s the wrong word.
The exam, not worried about that at all. Concepts and understanding, no problems. Hell even essays aren’t too bad. But for some reason these reports are just torturous.
Oh, did I mention it’s a group project? A group report. With three people. The other two sadly have a lot of other classes they are stressing out over. One seems to not read her email at all. Which really sucks, since we’re supposed to be figuring this all out by email. And pulling together a cohesive report. By Tuesday.
It will all be over on Tuesday. Maybe then I’ll be able to sleep. Last night sucked, all hyped up on adrenaline, brain continuously nagging at sciency-report thoughts even when I sternly told it to shut up and go to sleep. Tonight is not looking much better.
Damnit.
I’m sorry this is causing you stress. I don’t know if you want any advice or not, but I have found it is easiest to start with the experimental. Writing what you did is (relatively) easy. That flows into the results and conclusion. Then lastly write the intro, which I struggle with the most. Also, if you can, just write it down–even with awkward phrasings and not quite the right word. I’ve found that i can fix that in the proofread once i am not freaking out about getting it done.If you didn’t want advice then ignore the above. Group projects suck and I hope things get easier.
Do you think the worry/stress about class is keeping *from* worrying about The Alien In Your Belly, or is the worry about class really misplaced anxiety about The Alien? Or should I be quiet and let you study? :)
Elizabeth – Thanks! I’m still new to this process.
Erica – LOL I don’t think so, I really haven’t had much stress about the alien, but then again I’m prone to anxiety in general. It’s not too bad, but just, grrrrr. I’m grrrr.
It’s a different sort of writing. Scientific writing, especially for reporting purposes, is incredibly different than for writing prose. It takes a LOT of practice. I always hated writing up the reports, but after years of it from high school and college it helped me for business writing and focusing my mind for analysis.