The Writing Process: Let's Process This Together, Shall We?
Sometimes the hardest part about writing is getting started. So let's talk tips on how to get your brilliant thoughts from your brain to the page.
Pre-Writing
There are a lot of different methods you can use for
pre-writing. We’ll be doing some pre-writing as a part of our course work, like
the Notice and Focus Exercise and the Process Posts. If you just can’t get
enough pre-writing, you can try working up an outline to organize your
thoughts. (I personally prefer to write first and organize through outlining
after I already have a draft, but you do you). Free writing, where you have a
general idea, set a time for 5-10 minutes, and write continuously until the
timer goes off, just letting the writing flow, can also be a good way to get your
creativity a-flowin’.
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| This is EXACTLY what free writing looks like |
Start Wherever Makes Sense
Confession: I always write my introduction last. I start by
with paragraph topics and then weave them together in a way that makes sense to
me, and THEN I go back and write my introduction and conclusion. If you want to
start writing in the middle, do it. Want to start at the beginning with your
title then your intro? Go for it! Don’t get hung up on working your way from
Point A to Point B when Point C might actually be a good place to dive in.
Obviously order matters when it comes to your finished draft, but the writing
process can be a bit more fluid.
Put your Subconscious to Work
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| Bathtub Genius! |
Suspend Judgment
This is more for the revision
phase, but at some point, you are going to read what you wrote and hate EVERY.
SINGLE. WORD. When that happens and you want to start hitting the delete button
until you have a blank document, take a breath. Open a new document and save it
as “YOURTITLE—scraps.” Whatever you want to cut, should be pasted in there.
That way if you end up needing some content, you can dip into your scrap
document. You might not use it at all. You might use it for a future project.
Or you might just be glad that you have some already written content that you
can access if you’re up against a deadline and are experiencing deleters
remorse.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Grammar, sentence structure, and
spelling are all important, but those are issues that you can worry about when
your draft is in its final stages, ready to be polished and submitted.
Stressing about grammar and smaller order issues during the drafting stages
will just stunt your writing progress. Let your writing flow, and worry about
the clean up later.
For your comments: What part of the Writing Process is the hardest/least fun for you? Getting started? Revising? Peer Review? Citations? Or is there a part of the Writing Process that's your favorite? Either post a comment OR respond to at least two classmates.
Happy Writing, Y'all!
The hardest part of the writing process for me is definitely the introduction and conclusion. I think that both are similar because you have to try and summarize everything you have or will write. I find it hard to write them without it sounding too much like a list and being very boring to read. I end up rewriting my introduction and conclusion many times throughout my writing.
ReplyDeleteMy thesis within my papers always needs several revisions. So I may take up this idea to write my introduction last. It really does make the most sense in hindsight because you don't always write exactly as you had originally planned out.
ReplyDeleteI honestly can never start an introduction and whenever I do it's either too boring or doesn't make any sense. I really like the idea of having all the work you wanted to delete placed in a different document. There's been many time where I need the work that I already deleted and couldn't get back.
ReplyDelete^^ Romeo Walker
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really enjoy reading your blog, Professor Angela! Personally speaking, citation is the least fun part for me. Because we need to follow the rules and formats strictly and we can easily make some mistakes. Also, after getting lots of ideas in my mind, it’s kind of difficult for me to put all my thoughts into words. Sometimes I just can’t find words which can describe and express my ideas properly and thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteCatlin Deng
Honestly I hate writing as a whole, I would never describe a part of the writing process as something I enjoy doing. However, my least favorite part has got to be revising, the part of the reading about wanting to delete everything you just wrote, yep that's me every time I write anything. Even if I'm told it's good, I still feel like It could be better and I just want to start over. However, the idea of a scrap document for the deleted items is something that I never thought of and I will for sure be trying it out.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Kiracofe
The one thing I really despise about writing is the introduction and conclusion (especially the thesis). I have a hard time getting all of my words out and put into sentences. I like the idea of focusing on the middle first and then summarizing and editing afterwards.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I really despise about writing is the introduction and conclusion (especially the thesis). I have a hard time getting all of my words out and put into sentences. I like the idea of focusing on the middle first and then summarizing and editing afterwards.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell, the hardest part for me is starting. I constantly have difficulties on coming up with a idea. I usually take a long time to think about my theme and how to develop it. Sometimes I will have several awesome ideas, then I will have difficulties to choose the best one. I do not like citation as much because I do not like deal with links and chapters, anything like that.
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DeleteI so appreciate these tips! I haven't written in years, but I remember my high school teachers scolding me for jumping around and not following their formats. I like that you said I can start where ever I feel comfortable. I always hated writing introductions and conclusions. I always wanted to start with the "meat" of the essay and let the ideas flow from there. I always felt like my ideas were more cohesive if I wrote that way. I kind of enjoy editing weirdly enough. I like going back and making revisions usually, whether that be checking spelling or cracking open a thesaurus.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest portion of the writing process is tie between my introduction and conclusion. I have tried to help this by doing as you said and writing different sections first, but it leaves me feeling like I don't have a solid structure to base my body paragraphs on, or it makes my transitions between them weaker. It's difficult to summarize an essay because you have to restate yourself and restructure sentences in order to avoid sounding repetitive.
ReplyDelete-Bryan Hagedorn
The hardest portion of the writing process is tie between my introduction and conclusion. I have tried to help this by doing as you said and writing different sections first, but it leaves me feeling like I don't have a solid structure to base my body paragraphs on, or it makes my transitions between them weaker. It's difficult to summarize an essay because you have to restate yourself and restructure sentences in order to avoid sounding repetitive.
ReplyDelete-Bryan Hagedorn
My least favorite part of writing is either forming outlines before writing or creating citations. I don't like writing with strict rules or regulations. With this being said, I love just free writing my papers. I almost always start with an introduction, which I find helpful. It allows me to determine what I want to focus on before I actually start writing. This actually helps streamline my writing, which for many does not work.
ReplyDelete-Catie Mitchell
Citation is hardest part for me. Sometimes, when I am writing essay or some other stuffs, I easily forget to cite. I think that citation is important part for reliance. The citation make readers think that writing is not based on writers' imagination and assumption. However, sometimes, I usually find out that I forget to cite every sources at the end, and I go back to read my writing again and find address of sources.
ReplyDelete- Sunghyun Jo (jo.96) -
My least favorite part of the writing process is a tie between the outline and the citation. For the outline I feel as if I spend to much time trying to actually think and write my paper than just outlining to make it easier. For the citations, I always seem to make silly little mistakes that will have ended with me missing points. Another problem I have had with the citations was that I would have so many places to cite that I would accidentally forget one or two when I do my citation last.
ReplyDelete-Brandon Chong (chong.119)
The hardest part of writing for me has ALWAYS been the "getting started" phase. The first thing I come up with is the general idea for my thesis statement for the end of the introduction. Then creating an attention grabber to start the introduction (as I was taught to do in high school) comes as more of a challenge to me. Because of that, I get frustrated and stall the whole paper until I have a solid introduction paragraph. But thanks to your tips, I do think that this semester I will try to start my creative process with the body paragraphs instead! That might give me more creative ideas to go back and finish my introduction later!
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth Ogbonna
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ReplyDeleteMy least favorite part about writing is actually getting it started. Once I know what I want to write about I'm able to organize my thoughts and get my paper going. I prefer when the teacher is specific about what they want me to write about. When the topic is broad I honestly struggle with narrowing down what my paper will be focusing on.
ReplyDelete-Mana Kassa (kassa.10)
The writing process that is the hardest for me is revising the document after the rough draft. My drafts are usually a scrambled mess and it is very frustrating trying to mend the chaos. A unique, concise, and proper introduction is also very hard for me to create. I do not mind writing as much once I get into the zone, but getting there is the hard part.
ReplyDelete-Brighton Kahrs(.5)
The hardest parts of the writing process to me is the conclusion and the revision between drafts. For me, it is difficult to elaborate my drafts into the next version. Once I start writing about a topic that I am interested in, it is difficult for me to stop. This usually results in a long and sloppy conclusion
ReplyDelete-chen.6457
The hardest part of writing for me is fixing my wording. When writing my thoughts become cluttered and I find most of the stuff that I write doesn't make sense. So the whole process of writing for me is quite frustrating. I also have trouble organizing my thoughts when writing.
ReplyDelete-Billy Leeman
For me, the hardest part of writing is revising and conclusion. First, i think it is hard for everyone to find out their own mistake, so i am terrible about revising. In the most cases, i will miss my mistake several times until someone tells me. And talking about conclusion, i hold thay conclusion is the most important part in a writing, this is why i regard the conclusion as the hardest part of writing.
ReplyDelete--Zheyuan Ying
The hardest and least fun part of writing is definitely the intro. I waste too much time sitting at a blank screen and wondering where to start. Once I get started it's easier for me to continue and finish writing, but getting started is definitely the hardest part for me.
ReplyDelete-Isha Pomal
The most fun part of the writing process for me is getting started. I like getting started because that is when I can write down all of my ideas without worrying about what they sound like, how they mesh together, or whether or not they are placed in the appropriate order.
ReplyDelete-Henry Tokar
The most difficult part for me is getting start. Maybe I need to learn form your thought of this part.
DeleteThe hardest part of the Writing Process for me is the introduction paragraph. One of my biggest worries when I write my introduction is that it is too long or not interesting enough. A lot of my high school English teachers forced me to write an introduction before anything else. I was always told my theses and hooks could be better. I am looking forward to writing my paper in the order that makes more sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI do not necessarily have a favorite part of the Writing Process. Potentially revising and editing are the most fun for me, because my paper is at the point it is almost completed.
-Sierra Vahalik
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ReplyDeleteThe hardest part for me is getting started. I will always stuck at what I want to get start and waste plenty of time. I will always have many thought in my head but their just like fragment across my mind. Its hard to put them together. The best part of writing for me will be that I have lots of stuff to write. So I probably wont run out of idea.
ReplyDeleteWeibo Luo.771
We have the same confused part. I often do not know how to start.
Deletewang.9443
The hardest part for me is getting started. I guess many people have the same problem with me. Because I write the paper and do the research almost at the same time, sometimes my topic would changed during my research. On the other hand, it's hard for me to abstracting the main idea from what I am thinking. I always have many different thoughts and do not know which one should be chosen.
ReplyDeleteAnna Pei (Pei.93)
I feel like the hardest part of writing for me forming an interesting introduction and conclusion to hook the reader. I don't think I have a particular favorite part of the writing process but I do enjoy rewriting and revising my work or others.
ReplyDelete-Olivia Burkholder
-Olivia Burkholder
I think the hardest part for me is to choose topic to getting started. I always have many idea, But I don't know how to choose. And I worried about I were prone to writing overdone, run on, off topic sentences. Also, I should spend more time in grammar
ReplyDeleteHonestly, getting start of a writing is the most difficult part for me. There is too much information that I can reach from plenty of source, but the thing is that I have to organize all the source that I have and create an outline of my final paper. It's a tough process but a really important stage of writing.
ReplyDeleteOuyang Wang
wang.8756
Honestly none of the parts of the writing process mentioned are enjoyable to me. I struggle differently in each step and writing as a whole does not come naturally to me. I am able to pour out information once I have gotten started but then editing and revising becomes a challenge.
ReplyDeleteSam Tufts
tufts.34
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ReplyDeleteOn my opinion, the hardest part is starting. I always spend a lot time thinking of outline. What is the topics and how could I express better. Peer review part attracts me. Not only I could know more creative ideas, but also I could improve my grammar according to revising others writing.
ReplyDeleteJingya Wang
wang.9443
I usually have an easy time writing the meat of whatever I am talking about, but the hardest part for me has to be writing the intro and conclusion. I also find myself being lazy and not wanting read over my work. The funnest part for me, is writing the body, because that's where I tend to hit my writer's stride and keep coming up with new ideas.
ReplyDeleteAbrahm Williams
williams.5508