Discovering The Concept Of The Writing Process

"Teach writing as a process, not a product." - Donald Murray

    Sometimes, the shortest quotes are the most effective. Murray's quote, above, is one that has been stuck in my head for quite a while. It reminds me of my own writing process throughout my years in school. Back then, writing was taught in one way: Zero errors created a masterpiece. There should be no grammatical errors, no spelling errors, no confusion, no missing ideas, no this, no that. There was a major emphasis on creating an unblemished piece. This 'perfect piece,' however, was only perfect in one way. It is true that there were no errors, but there was no voice. There was no personality and individuality in the work. Students aimed to please their assessors, rather than to express their minds. They didn't care about the process - they cared about the product. They were pushed into a box that was created by many of their teachers. "Three body paragraphs is all you need. Always start with a hook. There should be a comma there..." and blah, blah, blah. I don't completely disagree with some of these ideas; there should be proper writing techniques, and some are more effective than others, but there should also be wiggle room. Students should be able to find what fits their own style best in order to create their finest work. Their process should overpower their product.

    I have developed my own process over many years. When I first started, I would jump straight into the work. There was no forethought - just writing what came to my mind. After reading and rereading the paragraphs as I went on, I would give the piece a once-over. That was the only revision I had. This process, admittedly worked for a very long time. Why did it work so well? Because I knew how to tailor my pieces towards my assessors. I knew what my teachers were looking for, so that's what I would write. I find that many students tend to do this when they are still exploring their writing process. They don't care about the journey in writing their piece - they just want a good grade. My process has slowly transgressed past this mindset through many different experiences. I now start with brainstorming. I don't just use the first idea that comes to my head - I sit and think and reconsider and start all over again. After that, I start an outline. I begin to think about what I want to discuss and important points to include. Then, I add the meat. I revise as I go, but I also spew whatever words flow through my fingers. At the end, everything looks like a big mess - and that's okay! Because looking at this big mess, I have a ton of great ideas that I might not have found without gushing my words. I start to revise after this. As Spandel puts it, "A writer may rework a draft for publication three or four times, put it away for a while, and then rework it three or four more" (Spandel 68). This is exactly what I do. Revise, start again, revise, start again, revise, etc. It's an endless circle! 

    I have noticed that the mode of my writing will change my writing process. I still draft and redraft as well as revise and then revise again. However, when on paper, for example, I do not redraft as much. It is much more difficult and I find myself getting tired of it easily. I'm so used to being online and typing so quickly, that writing feels slow. If I am creating a video or writing a blog or whatever other modes, the process generally stays the same.