Understand Writing as a Process

If a writer declares no process exists during composition, they are either unaware, truly gifted, unpublished, or lying.

Genuine writers understand that writing evolves through a process and when one is established, writing becomes tolerable, for many rewarding and when we are lucky, exhilarating for the writer and the reader.

It is commonly accepted that the process of dressing requires socks to be put on first and then shoes; defendants are not sentenced until they are provided due process, and politicians would not dare raising taxes without following the correct procedures. We apply a formula to solve math problems, the scientific method for investigations, and blueprints guide the construction of a building. Why would we not apply a procedure to produce a piece of writing?

Every writer’s process is unique, but in my experience, as a writer and teacher of writing, six components remain consistent: prewrite, write, revise, edit, and publish, and each serves a specific purpose.

Prewriting

Prewriting creates an opportunity to ward of writer’s block. It involves the actions before the first draft when research, brainstorming, thinking, talking, watching and reading inspire lists and ideas form.

Daily journaling never worked for me because I repeatedly found myself delivering a personal rant or recording a list of daily events. Neither provided much fodder for future writing. Personally, I work from pictures on my phone. In the course of a day, I capture memories with picture. When I sit down to write, I browse the photo album on my phone until a picture sparks my interest. Last week a snapshot of a tree painted in fall colors, half gold - half orange, inspired a poem titled, “Nature’s Bipolarity” .

“If you work out with weights for fifteen minutes a day over a course of ten years, you’re gonna get muscles. If you write for an hour and a half a day for ten years, you’re gonna turn into a good writer.” — Stephen King

Writing

When I move from the prewrite to writing, the paper begins to take a narrative form: sentences and paragraphs. Both organization and logical development begin. It is amazing how often after reading the words on the page (the ones I wrote) new information emerges and insight evolves. Sometimes, publishable material jumps up and lays down on the page before me, but I must admit often words flow to the page reside and die never to be revisited.

If I really want to know how I feel about a thing, I write about it. I can’t lie when I start to write. I can’t fudge or hedge.”

-Maya Angelou

Revising

Revision means making changes. Revision can be the most intimidating stage of the process, but it can be the most rewarding. As I sit contemplating a jumble of words and ideas, excitement emerges. Some writers fill with frustration but for me this is the point where the writing comes alive, gains a personality, a voice, and really commences.

Revision is when the artistic elements of carving, molding, cutting, shading, and blending occur. Strategies available at this stage of the process provide the material for volumes of books.

The goal is to rewrite the text so that is captivating, has a unique style, and engages the readers.

“Writers are born at the moment they write what they do not expect and find a potential significance in what is on the page. They add a word or two, cut a few, move the others around, and watch the potential meaning come clear.” -Donald M. Murray

With a revised draft (probably several drafts after the original) editing begins. This is the stage in the process when the writer adds final touches to ensure a reader’s comprehension — not before.

In the initial stages, writing should be a natural flow of ideas and editing too early stifles ideas. I am notorious for initiating my own writer’s block because I edit in mid-thought. For instance, the perfect ideas are flying from my fingers, onto the keyboard an appearing on the page but I notice a problem, a spelling error, a misplaced modifier, or a missing comma. Of course, corrections are necessary, so I erase, change and then resume my writing only to discover the energy’s dissolved. The ingenious ideas were stolen by my editing.

Editing

Save editing for after the creativity. Don’t stifle the flow. Then get out the dictionary, thesaurus, grammar book and clean up the mess. But not until the art is created do you smooth off the rough edges and blend the colors into a cohesive piece.

Publishing

The final stage of the process is when the writer proudly displays the finished product. How many essays, stories, letters, poems do you have in a drawer, filing cabinet or stacked beside your coffee table? Writing is meant to be read. With technology, publishing is easier than ever before. Mail it to a friend, post on Facebook, send to a publisher, share on Reddit or Medium. (By the way, I love Medium.) All is for naught if a writer doesn’t celebrate.

“Writing takes all your courage — to stand by your work and see it through to publication — courage and luck (and discipline, discipline, discipline).” -Alma Luz Villanueva

A final word on reclusiveness. Writers should understand the recursive nature of the process; writing is not a linear.

Writers struggling with their draft in the write stage may need more prewriting to gather ideas to narrow or expand the topic. While revising writers may discover they do not have enough content to effectively apply description, so they return to the write or even the prewrite stage.

For many, the writing may never be finished, publish it anyway. If you wait until it is perfect, the day will never come. Perfect is an idealism that is not attainable. Many find themselves returning to polish the rough edges, update, or add corrections based on new information because writing is never finished.

Writing is alive; words breathe ideas, and the process is never ending.