What is Creative Nonfiction? The term “creative nonfiction” sounds confusing. How can there be any room for creativity in factual writing? Well, just because writing is true, doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Creative nonfiction is a unique form that blends the reality of nonfiction with the craft of creative writing. It allows the … Continue reading Creative Nonfiction
Pull on your running shoes, friends, because today we’re going to talk about a new writing technique — writing sprints! What is a Writing Sprint? Thankfully, writing sprints don’t have anything to do with actual running! A writing sprint is basically just a timed, nonstop writing session; usually they’re on the short side, anywhere between … Continue reading On Writing Sprints
Dear Reader, Welcome to a question that will be your constant companion for the rest of your life: how should I write this email? We’ve all written emails before, whether quickly tapped out on phone screens or debated over for hours so you can get the wording just right. Emails make the world go round, … Continue reading Subject: How to Write an Email to Your Professor
So through your hard work, dedication, and hours spent pouring over applications, you’ve found yourself in grad school. You’re excited to be here and to finally start focusing on your subfield of choice. There’s a lot of work to be done but come on, you’re ready! You didn’t spend all that time in undergrad expecting … Continue reading Grad School: Comparing Your Writing
If you have recently spent much time in an academic sphere, you will know that there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of strong opinions about reading and what is worth reading. In an era of who-knows-what internet articles, genre fiction, and even fanfiction, you’re likely at some point to encounter someone who … Continue reading Read Everything
It’s ten forty-seven pm, and you’re staring bleary-eyed at your computer screen. The cursor blinks at you cheerfully, almost mockingly, as you finally tap out Ctrl+Shift+C. Your word count pops up. It isn’t the number you want. You watch in the hope that it changes. It doesn’t. You get up to pour another cup of … Continue reading Word Counts
When writing essays, sometimes the use of “I” is beneficial. During certain circumstances, you can use “I” – in that case, see our post on using "I" here. However, sometimes that is not the case and your professor or the academic journal has deemed it unnecessary to use “I”. “I” statements can lead to biases … Continue reading The Use of “I”
When tasked with writing a paper to American academic standards, it’s easy to feel intimidated. Your mind may be swarming with questions. Where do I start? How do I know if I’m doing this correctly? Wait, what’s the difference between APA and MLA again? You’re not alone! The questions bouncing around in your brain have … Continue reading Questions? Where to get Answers at VCU
In our earlier blog post, Ways to get the Benefits of Writing, we discussed some of the different ways writing can be helpful, even in the form of something like a letter or a writing game. But what if you prefer journaling? It will come as no surprise that journaling can have a variety of … Continue reading On Journaling
…Which means what, exactly? You may have heard this phrase in a class, out in the wild world, or even from a consultant at our Writing Center. But what does it mean, and how can this practice be helpful to you? First, let's discuss your writing process. Simply put, this is the process that each … Continue reading Visualizing Your Writing Process
I want to talk about something incredibly important, a topic that has a real impact on your reader–specifically, their eyes. Have you ever been reading an academic article, or a peer’s essay, and your eyes have gloriously landed on a superscript number at the end of a sentence? And you slowly look down to the … Continue reading The Case for Footnotes
Life after college — whether undergraduate or graduate school — can be daunting or scary as we transition into a new phase in our lives. Looking at the bigger picture and having a bunch of tasks is overwhelming. However, many of the skills we learned in college could apply to life outside of school, such … Continue reading Preparing for the Future
Picture this: you get an assignment and start to read the instructions and all it tells you is to write a compelling analytical research essay on a topic of your choosing. You sit there puzzled, wondering what exactly you’ll talk about. Is this even real? Do you have power over what you’re going to say … Continue reading Can I put “I” in this paper?: How to establish your voice in research
You’ve just finished an entire five-page essay, you’ve gotten it peer-reviewed, put it through a grammar checker, and re-read it nearly twenty times. And yet, you still can’t get that nagging feeling out of your head–you know the one, that overly harsh critic that looks at a paper and says, “This is terrible.” We’ve all … Continue reading Release Your Inhibitions: How to Eliminate Self-Deprecation in Your Writing
Author’s note: This is part two of a short series on how I overcome creative dread; click here for Part I. Both parts of this essay are a bit abstract, so I’ve inserted my inner thoughts in italic type to create clarity. You will find the steps of my creative process in bolded type. I … Continue reading On Creative Dread and Trusting my Process: Part II
Imagine wanting to write a novel. Maybe this is something you’ve dreamed about for years, writing on and off, a million half-finished projects falling in your wake.
As we enter the new semester and are faced with a host of new experiences and challenges, writing can become a key strategy to help cope with stress. Getting your thoughts onto the page can be hugely beneficial in a number of ways, and help support your mental health as you adjust to new situations. … Continue reading Ways to Get the Benefits of Writing
We at the Writing Center know that writing is not always something you do alone. VCU offers clubs for writers to engage with peers to discuss writing in fun and stress-free ways outside of the classroom. Maybe you’re minoring in creative writing or you’re an engineering student who doesn’t want to give up writing. The … Continue reading VCU Creative Writing Club
Oftentimes when I speak to writers who are struggling, they mention how much life can get in the way of their writing. “I just can’t get into the groove!” they say. The Emperor's New Groove (2000) And they aren’t alone. Sometimes writing itself isn’t difficult, but the circumstances around it — work, limited time, energy … Continue reading Building a Writing Routine
Anyone who has tried writing knows that it can be hard. And that goes for any type of writing; an academic essay or scientific thesis, a creative piece, or that novel you’ve been chugging away at. No matter the genre, any writer is likely to lose steam or hit writer's block at some point during … Continue reading Gamifying Writing
This is part 2 of a blog series. Click here to check out part 1, which is about overcoming perfectionism in writing. Have you ever sat down to write an argumentative research paper and had no idea how to proceed? You’re not worried about finding the ‘perfect’ word choice (i.e. how to write), but you … Continue reading Overcoming Barriers to Writing: Part 2 – A Lack of Content
This is the second part of a two part listicle. Click here to read the first part, which explores the process of creating a research problem, finding sources, and structuring your writing. 4. Writing about research Once you’ve determined the direction of your research and collected a solid foundation of knowledge, it’s time to dive … Continue reading Research Writing: The Listicle (Part 2)
Have you ever sat down to start a paper and been frozen in place, unable to type a single sentence? You know your content and the argument you’re going to make, but you can’t bring yourself to type anything. What stops you from writing? For many of us, the pressure for our writing to ‘sound … Continue reading Overcoming Barriers to Writing: Part 1 – Perfectionism
Okay, picture it: the week before that big paper, or essay, or creative piece is due. It’s probably late at night and your computer is far too bright in your face. You have to revise this paper or essay or whatever. You want to revise it, but the Writing Center is, sadly, closed and your … Continue reading Solo Revision Tips
Before my freshman year of college, I knew I wanted to study psychology. I had always been interested in behavior and emotion, and I felt most drawn to the discipline’s eclectic blend of theory, science, and unanswered questions. I was not, however, drawn to the world of psychological research. I felt I had fought my … Continue reading Research Writing: The Listicle (Part 1)
Qualifications: So, you have a bachelor’s degree or you are about to graduate. The first qualification to the next step in your journey is being poked with 20 questions: What’s next for you? Have you found a job? Are you going to graduate school? These are the stressful questions from family members, friends, or coworkers … Continue reading Job Title: To be Determined
Author’s note: This is part one of a short series about how I overcome creative dread. The piece is a bit abstract, but I’ve inserted my inner thoughts (italic type) to create transparency. I hope there is something within that you can use for yourself. If not, that’s okay, too. I’ve led enough writing process … Continue reading On Creative Dread and Trusting my Process: Part I
Imagine you’re a detective. A local citizen has hired you to solve a problem: One of her neighbors has been yodeling loudly in the street every night for the last week. She wants your help to figure out who the culprit is, so she gives you a list of neighbors to question. One of the … Continue reading Research in the Right Direction
With a new semester underway, there are undoubtedly lots of to-dos requiring your energy and attention. Check out the conclusion to our series on rest to find some relaxing and restorative activities to help you take care of yourself this school year. If you’ve read our previous two posts on rest (Rest for the Restless; … Continue reading 19 Ways to Rest Actively
If you read our last blog post on rest, welcome to part two! We've talked about the importance of rest—why we need it and why it's hard. Now, we want to discuss why rest sometimes feels evasive even when we have an abundance of downtime. The truth is, it's easy to have the illusion of … Continue reading True vs. False Rest
“Tired.” That’s been my routine answer to the standard greeting of “how are you?” We ask that question by default, even if we don’t expect an authentic or complex answer. How about you? Are you tired? Despite the fact that most of us spent the last year in our homes, rest seems evasive. As one … Continue reading Rest for the Restless
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”
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
from the writing center at virginia commonwealth university 