Advice from Hayden: The Start of the Process

 Every writer—and yes, I do mean every writer ever—has trouble with starting the writing process. Whether it’s due to a lack of information, understanding, or willingness, beginning to write those essays for class can be exhausting. In many of my consultations this semester and even last year, students will schedule appointments and say something like, “I’m not sure where to start,” or “I have no idea what I’m doing.” Pre-writing can be difficult, but there are several ways to minimize the pain and agony associated with starting an essay.

The first thing you should do as you approach an essay is examine the assignment sheet. It’s important that you not only answer the prompt but that you answer it in its entirety. Oftentimes, professors will not simply ask you to answer one basic question in an essay; it will be a much larger, broader topic that you will have to come to some sort of conclusion about. Reading over the assignment sheet can help you figure out what it is that you want to write about. What comes to mind when you think about the assigned topic? It’s important to believe in what you’re writing. The first thing that comes to your mind is often something that you feel strongly about or have considerable feelings towards. It’s always easier to write about things we feel strongly about, so go do it!

When you find something you feel strongly about, the best thing you can do is to just start writing. Forget all the rules (just for now) and write down everything you know and feel about the topic. This is a great way to formulate your thesis. Kansas University’s Writing Center provides great techniques that writers can use when faced with pre-writing: http://writing.ku.edu/prewriting-strategies. A thesis is a statement that is your opinion and how you can prove that opinion to an audience. When you just sit down and write, you’ll find that the evidence to prove your point is already in your head, just not on paper.

The great thing about writing is that, although it’s never easy, we all have the ability to do it and do it well. All it takes is a bit of willingness to start.

-Hayden

Thinking about the Process

Timelapse Writing of a Research Paper

Last time I wrote, I blogged about being in process. You should know three things about the writing process if you don't already:

1. The writing process occurs in stages. 

Those stages include all the things you do in preparation to write, all the things you do as you write the lines/sentences, and all the things you do after you've written to tidy up and polish the work.

Earlier Stages                               Middle-ish Stages               Later Stages
Prewriting                                      Drafting                                 Revising/moving sections
Free writing                                   Filling out the outline               Proofreading
Outlining                                       Integrating evidence                Editing
Researching topic/audience            Peer review                            Fact-checking
Peer review                                                                                 Peer review

2. The writing process is not linear, which is to say that it doesn't happen one separate activity at a time. 

It's more cyclical, more messy.

For example, sometimes while I'm attempting to fill out my rough outline, I realize I need to do more research, so I return to that stage. Or, sometimes as I'm integrating evidence, I'll realize that my argument is just not working and needs to be tweaked, so I turn to free writing, prewriting, or outlining again to help me re-organize or re-think my argument.

3. Everyone's process is different. 

Every single writer's process is different. From the tasks that they find most helpful and rely on, to the environment and media they prefer to write in, to the order that they perform the tasks in, to their back-up plan if the regular process does not work--

every. writer's. writing. process. is. different.

Here's what good writers do: every good writer thinks about his/her writing process and makes an effort to figure out what works best. Good writers experiment with different writing activities.

Good writers aren't always the people with the natural talent for writing--more often, they are the people who think about their habits, who are conscious about what works and what doesn't.

Looking back at that last blog entry, I notice that my particular writing process is heavy up front. I spend most of my composing time gathering information and cycling between outlining and researching, as well as prewriting my thesis and topic sentences. I have to do these tasks together to do them efficiently. (This is me thinking about my writing habits.)

Happy writing,
Sara

In Process

Hi, all,

Are you working on any summer writing projects? I've got several going, and two of them are essays for a collection about teaching with children's literature. One is focused on teaching with Anna Sewell's 1877 Black Beauty and the other on teaching with Keiron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, et al.'s 2013-2014 reboot of the Young Avengers.

As I work on these projects, I'm reminded how very important a conscious and reflective writing process is. Without it, I'd be doomed to a terror and shame spiral--it's very easy to get caught up in the pressure and ever-expanding challenges of every major writing task. These essays are not really that long (2500-4000) words, but it's not really the length that determines the amount of fear. Instead, it's the challenge of purpose and audience.

Why am I writing, really?

What is it about this topic that is compelling?

For whom am I writing?

What does the audience know about my topic?

I've gathered all my familiar aids. My favorite way of taking notes, music to get me pumped up about writing after I've taken a break and lost momentum, friends to talk to about my ideas, all that stuff.

Something I learned about recently (from a student who came in for a Writing Center appointment this Spring!) is the information that MS Word stores about how many revisions/edits you've done and how many hours you've worked on a document. Check this out:

I'm only in the note-taking,outlining, and prewriting stage and already I'm on my 95th revision! Neat.

Happy writing,
Sara

Everyday Thoughts from the Writing Center: Go with Your Gut

Free writing is beautiful. Brainstorming is beautiful. Collecting your thoughts and reflecting on them is one of a kind. 

Many writers think that they can just write without critically thinking. However, I have had many great teachers tell me otherwise. That is why I love free writing. Free writing is when you sit down for about ten minutes and write continuously without concentrating on proper grammar or even the topic itself. I have had to make lists and tiny paragraphs on post-it notes in the past when ideas about a topic or assignment came out of the blue. Physically writing down your thoughts or typing them makes a huge impact compared to keeping it only in your head. Free writing or any prewriting activities help collect your thoughts and, in my case, ease my anxiety before starting a paper. I go with my gut feelings when I free write and I find that it makes the whole writing process less painful in the long run.

-Devon