5 Ways Being a Writer Can Impact Being a Student

There are actually quite a few similarities between being a writer and a student — not least because both of them require you to, in some way, do a lot of writing. Whether that is essays, or exams, or preparation for these essays and exams, these require qualities such as resilience and discipline. These are not just important qualities of a student, but also in generally getting things done.

Discipline

So how does discipline link with completing coursework and writing? When you are a writer, there tends to be a certain routine in the way that you write, and how you write — in order to work in a way that is best for you — as well as being in accordance with the types of writing you like to do. 

So, in terms of discipline, we are looking at setting a daily word count of 500 words, for example — or setting a weekly target. This links to completing essays and coursework because you are needing to plan ahead, and organise everything so that tasks are completed to the deadlines — whether it is imposed or otherwise.

Resilience

A lot of studying and coursework requires resilience because it is completing a series of tasks over a longer period of time. This is comparable to the way that someone can't write a book in one go; they have to do it in stages, they have to put in planning and preparation. In completing a course, you gain a qualification, in the same way that getting to hold your completed book is the end result. It is being able to see individual tasks and stages as separate entities — but also as part of the larger plan of action. This increases both resilience and motivation as you can see how the result of one action leads to another, and being a student and writer, these can play off each other.

Stamina

During the time that I published my two poetry anthologies I was also completing a counselling course. As part of that you have to do a lot of self-reflection and writing on your own practice, and theories relating to this. It came as a shock to me to realise that people who aren't writers per se, aren't  used to writing high volumes in one sitting — or even at all. No disrespect, of course, it was more of a ‘wow, maybe I do write a lot’ moment. These analogies and examples are used purely to explore the point.

Take this blog post, for example. I am used to writing 600 words at least for each blog post, whereas a lot of people don't write more than emails or their shopping list. So, there is an element of stamina that I hadn't realised other people might not have in the same way. It was an interesting experience. 

I found that people got ‘bogged down’ with where to start and what they are writing about, whereas I very much come from the standpoint of writing about what you feel is relevant to a task or question, and then editing it. Even if you only have a slight idea of what you are supposed to be doing, at least you will have the words down. The process of actually writing might help you come up with more ideas —which then allow you to progress with the task. So, already being a writer, I had less of the paralysing fear of a blank page. Needless to say, that’s not always the case, but having that experience in writing is reassurance in itself.

Organisation 

Organisation is a big one because it encompasses every aspect of everything that I've discussed so far. This is because in order to be organised, you need an idea of the overall goal. From there, you can work out the necessary steps to get there. Part of completing an assignment is understanding what is expected of you, and going from there. Have you got all the resources you need?

It is the same with a book or any other piece of creative writing: you might understand what genre you want to write in, but that is not enough to then start writing the book. You have to understand the types of characters you want to implement, any particular features, or topics that you would like to cover. In fact, just having the idea and seeing where everything goes is still a plan in itself. To be organised, particularly when working on an assignment, you need to understand what you do and don't understand. In order to understand what you don't understand, you need to understand the overall goal; work out what you understand and where the gaps are. Once we know this, we can work out where we are going. This is important, for example, when it comes to writing a book. If you know that you are not the best typist, you might choose to use a form of dictation to bypass the typing aspect. This doesn't take away from the fact that you want to write a book, but it can make the whole process easier for you. Due to this planning, you are not sitting there procrastinating or worrying that you do not understand what to do, or how to get where you need to get to.

I find that being both a student and writer can sometimes work to my detriment. This is because I know that, being a writer, I am good with words — and I find comfort and strength within these words. So, if somebody asks me to do a maths calculation, I would be able to explain it very well in words — but to explain what is going on visually is sometimes more difficult. It definitely doesn't come as naturally to me. Having said that, as I have become older I have grown quite fond of subjects like maths and science. Now that I know that I find strength in words — and that I understand things better when I write them down in my own words — perhaps that would influence the way that I would have previously studied (definitely!). I know, for example, that my discovery of voice-to-text dictation has revolutionised the way that I work

Basically, giving the impression that being able to write gives me comfort within that subject. So, if it is a subject but doesn't require as much writing then there is a different element of uncertainty to it.

Academic and creative writing

Whilst I have made it sound as though any written subject is much better than any subject that is not, it is worth mentioning the difference in creative writing and academic writing. Some people really find one of these difficult, and the other not. I'm lucky in the sense that I find both just as difficult. There is an element of creativity to any type of writing, but the way that this creativity must be displayed is different. In academic writing, you need to be able to explain your ideas clearly — as well as linking everything together and indicating the relevance. However, creative writing is still conveying ideas, themes, and perspectives — but not all of it needs to be explained. A lot of it can be left up to interpretation, if that is the writer's choice. The complete opposite of academic writing. Not to mention the fact that academic writing has to be formal, and creative writing can be almost any form or genre you like. Ironically, I find it easier to start a piece of academic writing because the parameters are laid out for me and I just have to find a place to start within that, and then develop things from there. Creative writing, however, is completely up to me. Although I find the millions of ideas to be a freeing concept, it can also be very overwhelming, because I start doubting myself. I start doubting whether the ideas are good, and why or how one idea should be chosen over the other. This overwhelm can lead to a certain amount of indecisiveness, despite feeling as though I know what I want to do.

You can see that being a writer is mostly beneficial when it comes to studying and general academia, as it is an undercurrent of most subjects. However, depending on your point of view, it can act to your detriment. There are so many perspectives and points of view that need to be taken into consideration, and that can be very overwhelming. This overwhelm can lead us to feeling as though we have not achieved our best.