I have found that writing just to write has helped me to write some of my best materials. That is why I particularly enjoy our writing activities in class: you have only a few minutes, a topic, and all you have to do is write. I am golden. It may not be the best writing, but it gets my brain flowing and the ideas start running. When I really struggle is when I have no ideas and someone just tells me to write something(personally, I could not get any ideas generated for the first workshopped essay). I also struggle to write fiction: to me, it seems like everything has been "done", why would someone want to read my story, and how can I possibly add some interesting twist? Never seems to work out for me, I usually end up sitting in frustration. But, in class, when we can just let our minds wander and write, I seem to generate more material and actually see the writing style that I want to incorporate into my formal writing come out. Maybe it is that I am being too self conscious when I actually sit down to write, but I cannot seem to get those juices flowing. If someone told me to write a 7 page paper about a specific situation, it would be done. No problem. Give me a blank canvas and I am like a deer in headlights. What do I do? I guess I need to just find some free time to sit down and write. Ah, a writer's dream, to have ample amounts of time to write. It will be great when that happens.