tips for tim

Schedule regular breaks (say every 30-45 minutes) while writing a paper that will take longer than an hour. If you don't, you'll lose focus and it will take three times longer than it would if you'd taken the time to get oxygen to your brain.

Don't eat terrible things during finals. Just don't. You won't be happy, the people around you won't be happy, and your body won't be happy.

Don't wash dishes in dim lighting.

Unconventional doesn't have to equate with being wrong.

Newton was a genius. But really. The only thing is that he knew it too.

When working on a long-term writing piece, have a particular time of day that you work on it for a limited amount of time. Say, from 12-2 every day...or every Monday Wednesday Friday. It allows the piece to percolate, it keeps you focused, and it lessens stress while not working on it.

Anne Lamott. Bird by Bird. You should read it, especially as you yourself are also writing a novel.

Another book recommendation: A Syllable of Water ed. Emilie Griffin. Christians writing out of their faith about writing. Not a lamentable "Christian perspective," but rather Christians wrestling with the brokenness of the world, themselves, and the pieces they are writing.