I'm kind of repeating myself here, but I feel I should do this anyways...
I recently wrote my Eglish exam, where I had to do a lot of on-the-spot analysis and essay writing in a relatively short time period. I think that I managed to finish it in time only because I had so much practice arguing one point or another and/or analyzing stuff here on the Downs. It got me into the habbit of reading something and replying coherently right away, without spending time on planning the post out.
A coupe weeks ago my English teacher made a comment about some of my creative writing assignments that they could serve as the beginning of short stories or even novels. I would like to blame the Downs for that.