How do
you think writing happens?
Many people
imagine that a good writer writes a work smoothly from beginning to end.
However, most writing almost never happens this way. Writing is often a
choppy process of starts and stops, writing and re-writing. It's
a recursive process. This recursive process of generating words, placing
them on paper, and then re-writing and editing those same words can sometimes
seem like moving two steps forward and one step back. However, there are
methods to make the writing process easier. One way is to think of the
writing process as involving a series of steps.
These steps
can be simplified as:
1.
pre-writing (generating ideas and information),
2. writing,
and
3. post writing
(editing).
|
Before we begin
a draft, we have to have a subject. There are methods to help the
writer discover what she/he is passionate about and to delve into a subject
and invent ideas.
When you watch
to see HOW you write, you'll begin to notice that you write in specific
ways. A pattern will emerge for the way in which you write. For example,
when I write, I notice that I write, I scatter sentences all over the page
and leave big gaps which I later fill in with more information. This pattern
is different for each person and there is no “correct” way. It's a personal
matter. However, there are certain necessary structures and forms that
comprise a well developed work. We'll delve further into these a little
later...
Here's the part
that most people neglect. It consists of editing for grammar, spelling,
and punctuation. Believe it or not, these little touches make the difference
between muddled writing and something a writer can be proud of.
|
