My Writing Process

Ogez,Emilie. "Procrastination Meter" 7/29/15 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Att License. 

1   What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?
I am most definitely a strong procrastinator with almost any kind of work, particularly in English. I am both proud and ashamed to admit how often I was able to turn out an essay quickly.

But I also consider myself to be a sequential composer with some qualities of a heavy reviser. Outlines are a lifesaver in writing for me. And when I do start writing at a reasonable time, I love printing out drafts and marking up the paper, especially with purple and green ink.

2    Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?
My writing process resembles a sequential composer the most. For me, the hardest part of writing is always starting. So I typically skip the introduction and make notes on what I want to put in the body of my composition. I also rely on outlines, where I can jot down different elements as I think of them, and then when I begin to put an essay together I’ve already started the planning.

However, I am also a procrastinator and at times I can be a heavy reviser. I can think of many times where I leave the writing to the very last minute. And it always takes longer than expected.

On essays where I do start early enough to write several drafts, I find I make one draft just to get all my ideas on paper. Then I revise and edit and change. I think sometimes stopping to think about if the wording is awkward interrupts the flow of my writing and I forget what I wanted to say. So I use the revisions to make my writing easier to read once everything has been recorded.

3    Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?
I have had some success in my writing when I take the time to make outlines, and revise copy after copy. A strength in my favor is I really enjoy revising. In my opinion it makes a big difference when you take a break between edits

After saying that, I’m still a big procrastinator and that is a huge weakness to my approach. But I’m writing this, and it’s not Saturday so maybe I am getting better already.

4.     Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?
I would really enjoy trying to write as a heavy planner. I typically try to plan everything in my everyday life and it may transfer to my writing really well. Also, I think it would be more time efficient to write fewer, better drafts than a lot of drafts that need a lot of work.

The structure of this class where we get the assignment way in advance of the due date, would work really well if I can adopt characteristics of a heavy planner. Being able to look at the prompts on like Sunday and then thinking about them for a couple of days before writing would make the Saturday deadlines easier to keep. 

Reflection 

From reading about my classmates’ writing processes, I realized that there are many different processes that can produce successful writing. After reading about the different writing processes, I believed that I could really benefit from including some characteristics of the heavy planners. 

Reading about Brain’s writing process, really emphasized how much planning before writing could help the quality of work.

Also, from Alyssa’s writing process I understand how broad these writing processes are. Both us identified slightly as sequential composers, but in varying ways. I personally rely heavily on outlines, but Alyssa does not.

Overall, I enjoyed seeing how differently my classmates and I are in our writing. I think that many of my classmates use strategies that are incredibly effective and may help improve my own writing.