Overview of the Writing Process

The first two may surprise you, but they fit into the idea of “attitude” addressed in the glossary.

1. FAILURE
   • Unable to write, frustrated (you think “I can’t write”)
   • This leads to quitting before even starting – a self-fulfilling prophecy.
2. LEARNING FROM FAILURE
   • How did I get stuck in writing? (“what makes me think I can’t write?”)
   • What can I learn from this experience? (“do I need more time thinking? Drafting? Organizing?”)
3. MAKING A MESS
   • Just go with whatever comes to mind – let it flow; just write, write, write. . .
4. CREATING AND CRITICIZING
   • Be creative, generative, put lots of ideas down on paper.
   • Be critical of what you’ve written: question, look at from other points of view
5. WHEN THE LIGHTENING TRAIN STRIKES, BE A CONDUCTOR
   • Whenever an idea, question, sentence, hits you, jot it down: if you wait, you lose.
6. FREE WRITING: A VOYAGE INTO THE UNKNOWN
   • When you’re stuck, write without stopping for 15-20 minutes
   • Write to the other side of what’s on your mind
7. AN AUDIENCE: THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFT
   • Honest readers: people who will be honest and frank about your writing (and who you will both love and hate [well, maybe not hate but wish they were less honest . . . until you get your grade]): bake these people cookies and write nice letters about them to their employers.
   • Peers: mixed bag – the best thing is to ask them to strive for the above
   • Allies: most friends, some parents. Think everything you write is “Okay” – or worse “Good.”  Great for your ego; not-so-great for realistic criticism . . . or good grades
8. FOUR KINDS OF AUDIENCE RESPONSE
   • Private writing with no response – just yourself
   • Shared writing – giving it to someone but with no response
   • Response but no evaluation – questions such as “what does this mean?” “What do you get out of it?” – not “is it any good?”
9. REVISING
   • Throw away everything but the best – no matter how difficult it was to write in the first place!
   • Be open to any new ideas that emerge and develop them
10. VOICE AND POWER IN WRITING
    • Finding your voice means putting words on paper that powerfully express how you feel and think about something.
11. WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM – (WRITING FOR OTHER COURSES)
    • Forget formality; concentrate on content – get your thoughts down first – find your own voice.
    • Try to construct a specific argument or focus essay around a VERY specific point (remember, a deep well is better than a bunch of shallow wells that run dry).
    • Now revise what you’ve written with your audience in mind; focus on the form and style of the piece.
12. GRAMMAR AND SPELLING
    • Forgit ‘bout grammer and spelling in thf first drauft.
    • Fix errors and clarify wording in later drafts.
13. WRITING FOR LIFE
    • Writing can be an important part of your life far beyond school.  It is a means of being in touch with what is going on in your head.  It allows you to have a conversation with yourself.  It keeps you company.

This list of items can be broken down into about five parts (definitions can be found in the Glossary)

1. Pre-writing
2. Organization
3. Drafting
4. Revision
5. Proofreading

This process is recursive – in other words, you might not follow these steps in order.  Instead, you might follow steps 1, 2, 3, then realize your essay needs more work, so go back to 1, 2, etc.

This information is adapted from Peter Elbow’s On Writing.