Curious Incidents of a Flailing Mermaid

Day seventeen: habits

Before I get on with writing about today's prompt, I just wanted to say how excited (and shocked) I am about being turned yellow and awarded the preferred author status. This was definitely a very long term goal. So, I definitely didn't expect to wake up to the email this morning! I am delighted that the powers that be think I deserve it.

Today is a little odd, which is why I am trying to get this blog post in early. A couple that we met on holiday in Cuba last year is visiting us. I am actually really looking forward to seeing them, but you know when you find yourself thinking "why today?" Or even "why this week?" Chris has a job interview today and tomorrow (they are like buses!) And I have absolutely loads of little bits and pieces that I need to get done. Nevertheless, I'm sure it will be the lovely.

I have approximately 4 hours to: write this blog, tidy the house, prepare speeches for tomorrow and Friday (the teacher have been highly unorganized and have only just told me what they want), and write about 400 emails to teachers to try and book dates in for my visits next term.

On that note, I better get cracking!

Prompt for day seventeen: Describe an odd or unusual writing habit or ritual you or someone you know has.

I’m not sure I necessarily have unusual habits or rituals, per se. But I’ll just talk about a few things I noticed about myself whilst studying for my degrees. These degrees were, to my advantage, entirely writing based. Therefore, I spent a lot of time stooped over my laptop trying to fill up empty pages. A bit like now really.

The first thing I noticed is that I cannot complete all my research prior to starting a project. A couple of times, I tried to read all the information I figured I needed, highlighted everything, used pretty post-it notes – the whole shebang! But when it came to writing, every single piece of information I had read flew straight to the front of my mind. So much so that I really struggled to work out what I needed to write where and when. Thereafter, I decided I would do better just to do basic research to start with – enough to write the title and introduction and leave the remainder of my research to do as I went. Surprisingly, this worked perfectly – at least, it appeared to, considering my grades.

The second thing I noticed was far more irritating than the first. Indeed, I discovered that, whilst working on projects, I would become a nocturnal creature! This is not so much of an issue these days as I am blessed with quite a few days off so if I wish to spend the night writing, I can. However, I was still doing swimming training twice a day while I was studying. So, if I stayed up all night working, then went training at 7am, I would be exhausted. Nevertheless, try as I might, I never got any inspiration until after 8/9pm!

Finally, I am a very calm person. Outwardly, at least! Even with scary deadlines, I make it look like I do not have a care in the world. This tends to terrify everyone around me, making them assume I am set to fail or about to have a massive panic or cramming session. This is never the case: I am always able to casually submit most things, with days to spare!