The pen might actually be the sword

        Recently, I was asked to reflect on the process of writing a substantial paper. At first my mind was flooded with thoughts like "what a chore this will be," "what sort of vale could anyone derive from reading this," and my personal favorite, "I have trouble seeing the merit in taking action." The last one could be thought of as my philosophy that guides most of my action, or the lack thereof. It comes as no surprise, then, that the manner in which I churn out a piece of original writing is rooted in my inherent laziness.
        When do I start writing? There are several cases. The first is when my brain decides that the consequences of not writing are dire, as with the rhetorical analysis second draft. The next, less prevalent case is when I decide, for no particular reason, that writing would be fun. I relish the chance to make myself seem smart, and writing can be an enjoyable experience when an appropriate audience is involved. I began writing this blog post for a combination of both of the above reasons.
        The location where I write is hugely important. My personal experience has told me that any attempt to write something meaningful in a crowded or public area would be completely futile. Even in my own house, I am not free to write anywhere. In any location where it is possible that someone could be looking over my shoulder, I  do not feel safe writing. I strictly limit myself to trying to write things from the safety and comfort of my own bed. The following cliche is definitely overused, but it fits well here: I form my own personal "sanctuary" when deeply involved in the writing process. I attempt to shut out all outside influences and focus on drudging meaning from the thoughts in my head and the emotions in my heart. If the piece I'm writing is strictly persuasive, I try to balance the two impulses, knowing fully that my audience consists of other people.
        There is actually only one place where I actually feel free to say what's on my mind. On internet forums, while I don't believe that I'm free from having my writing be judged aggressively, there is something very different, and very good, about the writing process while posting on anonymous forums. The internet is a place where you can let your inhibitions run wild, and say whatever the **** you want. But only a part of the internet allows this. For example, I blatantly censored the word **c* back there. There is something very therapeutic about writing blindly to an unknown audience, it allows all of the emotions that society wants you to bottle up to escape and prevent pressure failure. When everyone is anonymous, you begin to see other posters as facets of a greater community rather than strictly individual adversaries.
       While writing with conviction is important, in order to appear strictly logical you must find a way to prevent damaging emotions from surfacing in your writing. Being involved in an online forum is like having a convenient and ever-accessible pressure-release valve on the heavy metal tanks of emotion. Therefore, before every large writing project, I allow myself at least one hour of free browsing and commenting time on a forum which will not be named here. The need to write at top mental condition is great, so I think this is fair.