Dress up your writing, I still remember my seventh grade writing teacher telling us. That afternoon, I sat in Panera with my mom as she helped me write my next three paragraph essay, filling the page with “interesting” word choices and “vivid” descriptions. You may know those literary and academic buzzwords, the ones designed to … Continue reading You’re Not Here to Prove Yourself: Overcoming Academic Perfectionism
As the semester rockets towards finals month, we find ourselves in strange times: remote classes, changes to living situations, uncertainty about the semester to come, uncertainty about much more immediate things. With everything in transition, it can feel overwhelming to think about writing a paper or finishing a project––each time I’ve sat down to write … Continue reading Writing Finals During Quarantine
Blank pages. Every writer's biggest fear. Sometimes being in academia feels like you have to learn another language. My first semester of my doc program involved a lot of nodding and pretending to follow conversations, googling terms and phrases I hadn’t heard before, and feeling like I just didn’t belong. I had never heard the … Continue reading Breaking the Bad Habit of “Good Writing”
If you’re a student, especially a graduate or professional student, you’ll probably get the advice sometime in your first semester to start marketing yourself online. Not just a LinkedIn, but a CV site, even dedicated academic social media profiles. Before COVID-19, I expected to use my academic Twitter account to live-tweet conferences and connect with … Continue reading Against Harsh Writing Advice and Wellness Routines
Writing can be a blast; all the twists and turns of storytelling, the ins-and-outs of research, and even the ups-and-downs of argumentative writing. But sometimes finding that spark of creativity can be a laborious feat. Not to mention the ridiculous rules and guidelines of “proper” writing high schools spent years etching into our brains, making … Continue reading 10 Prompts to Spark Creativity
I’m graduating in the spring. If you had asked me two years ago where I would be after graduation, I wouldn’t have had an answer for you. In fact, I still don’t have an answer. Two years ago, I was a senior in high school. My life could not have looked more different than it … Continue reading Finding Hope
I feel lost. Saying goodbye to a year I’m glad to leave. Now I ask myself, what’s next? It feels like any other Thursday to me. Festivities are saved for friends, Yet I’m all alone. But content. I feel lost, but I’ll find my way soon As cliche as it sounds, I found my passion … Continue reading How Has Writing Helped You During the Pandemic?
Every semester, members of the VCU Writing Center staff meet to create individualized, personal posts designed to help with all aspects of the writing process –– from brainstorming, to finding ways to feel original, to breaking writer's block, to dealing with writing in quarantine. We've also got lots of sample creative essays for writers approaching … Continue reading Meet the Spring 2021 Blog Writers!
Part I: Change Change. A whirlwind. A sudden shift. Change. Gradual. Evolving with time. Change. To make or become different. Change. The act of becoming different. How have I changed? Have I changed? Will this change how people see me? Now there’s fear. I can’t keep it inside forever. Do I hit send? I’m tired … Continue reading Grammar B: Change in Pride. Pride in Change
Dear Self(present), I found another stretch mark today. The most obvious sign of change on my body. It’s the consequence of weight gain from birth control, quarantine, depression, whatever. I am more than I want to be (in size) and still not enough (in everything else). I’m in this apartment that I’m calling my home, … Continue reading Grammar B: A Letter to Myself About Change
Archived Posts Welcome to the new VCU Writing Center blog! If you're new here and looking for posts written before 2018, they are archived here. Former Blog Writers The VCU Writing Center blog is grateful for the creativity and hard work of all current and former blog writers. Find them, and their six-word biographies, listed … Continue reading Our Blog In History: Archived Posts and Former Writers
