La Vortex, c'est moi.

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Neither one has even started writing yet! It's due in one week!

yeah, that would have been me.

Me too. I never had to write a 20-page paper in college, but I regularly wrote 10 page papers the night before they were due, sitting at the computer with a pile of sources all around me. With 20 pages, I'd probably give myself the weekend.

Of course, that was before I had a full-time job and a child. When I'm in draft mode with my fiction, I shoot for 20-25 pages per week, which means four pages per day, at least five days per week. Under pressure, like when my agent made me rewrite the ending of my last manuscript before she'd submit it to editors, I can push to 40-50 pages per week, but that involves making a deal with DH that he'll handle my share of childcare and housework for the duration.

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Every time, I would do the research, mark passages, perhaps even a rough outline ahead of time. I would swear that I would not be up all night the night before. Sometimes, I'd even get 5 or 6 pages written. And then, the night before, I'd be writing the damn thing until 6AM.

Sadly, this will probably be me this semester. I have three 15 page papers to write before the end of the semester. YAY! The research is done...outlines are written...now I just have to write the damn things.

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I don't think I have ever started writing a paper more than two days before it was due.

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I regularly wrote 10-page papers the night before they were due on a manual typewriter. Then I turned them in during snowstorms. It was uphill both ways.

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I have SO much more to say, but since I only have a second right now:

SNOW DAY!!!

One of the perks of teaching,

...in places where it snows.

Not complaining AT ALL about the weather in LA, but I do miss snow days.

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Not complaining AT ALL about the weather in LA, but I do miss snow days.

I was just thinking this yesterday, since I could tell I was getting sick but didn't want to not go in.

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I did miss snow days last year. The school division, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to end the day an hour early. Nothing has been said yet about what we should do about the last two classes -- one hour early means abut four minutes into the second-to-last. Too bad, as I really like my last class.

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I don't think I have ever started writing a paper more than two days before it was due.

yep. I college, if it was 10 pages or fewer, I'd count myself lucky if I started before midnight. I once wrote a 8-10 page paper in less than three hours. I was going to turn it in late, but the professor said that he wouldn't take any late papers, so I had to turn it in before 5. He said this after class ended at 1:15. My BFF said "you can do it, you can do it". I turned to her and said "I need to get some lunch." She stared at me and said "okay". so, I had some lunch and chilled and thought and calmed down. Walked into the computer lab at 2pm, finished at quarter 'til 5. Didn't even read it over, left my backpack and everything in the the lab and FloJoed it across grounds. I fell into the department office gasping at 4:57. I got a C+. Which was pretty good considering that I had little to no paragraph transition and multiple tense changes in the same sentences.

Of course, the next class, the professor said that he only received 45 out of 90 papers on time, and late papers would be be heavily penalized. I demanded a rewrite because he told me that I couldn't turn it in late. I did the rewrite, only did simple edits and got an A-

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Oh, yeah, I was wondering if the Red Invasion was about to hit me. I've got the warning twinges, and now the psychosis is beginning to drift in. Thankfully I have tomorrow off while I go to the doctor to see if my knees need work. Not happy, but at least not dealing with customers.

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