I haven’t taken much time to post to this blog this quarter. Things have been pretty hectic, but I thought, since I have 45 minutes until my next meeting, I’d take some time to write about my writing process, as prompted by the book The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, a book that I’m partially enjoying, partially wading through because it’s regurgitation of what I’ve heard and read before. But it’s a good book overall. I’m sorry that I haven’t gotten through it further; as I’ve said, things have been hectic.
Anyway, so how do I go about writing? This is a question that I’m beginning to figure out for myself. I think my writing process has changed, and I’ve become a little more dependent on research and other people’s opinions. I almost write better with something to react to (either agree with, question, or oppose), like research, an essay, or a very thought provoking prompt. I guess arguably, we’re always writing in reaction to something (emotions, thoughts, problems, etc.), but recently I’ve noticed that when I do start writing, I might do some prewriting, and then I have to delve into research for research papers (if that’s what I’m working on). Of course, I feel that I have a different writing process for different genres, so nailing down one process for me is impossible (and even with genres of writing, there is a different process for each act).
What do I write, I suppose, is a place to start. I mostly write: research papers, reactions to essays and readings for class, emails to friends, poems, blog posts. I think for the purpose of this journal, writing about my process for research papers might be most helpful. I guess I am right when I stated above that I first do a lot of research. I think I steep myself in research too much, sometimes, because that’s what I need to do to get started, because there are so many views out there that I want to be aware of. I suppose this is, much like other students, a fear of not having enough authority in my writing.
Before and while researching, though, I tend to do some notetaking and freewriting. This blog has facilitated that greatly, as I now have a place that I can keep my freewriting that really fits my style of researching. It also lets me link and work ideas together and in contrast to each other.
I usually sit down and write a draft or half a draft in a day and then go back and add bits and pieces or a conclusion. I then proofread and make minor changes in higher order concerns. This is a detriment to my writing, as I have, in Vicki Tolar Burton’s words, a “That’s All Folks” conclusion to my papers. I usually put off writing papers so long (because of fear, because I’m researching because I want to know it all) that the conclusion is often the weakest part of my papers. This has actually always been the case with my writing; I spend too little time on Revision that my conclusions are weak and things aren’t as tight as they should be.
And I know this is the case with a lot of other writers. Who wants to put the effort in to revise. “I’ve already written the paper! Why would I want to revise it?” I feel like such a hypocrite sometimes when I ask my students to revise a paper and I know that I haven’t done heavy-duty revision (I mean, really reworking a paper) more than a couple times in my life.
It doesn’t help that this type of activity gets reinforced. I guess I’m a good enough writer (to my constant amazement) that teachers don’t often note that my writing needs a lot of work. So, when my un-revised work receives A’s, it’s no wonder I don’t put in the effort to revise more. Ah, my laziness is being positively reinforced (Not that I’m asking for poor grades).
So, I guess writing this has helped me think about the revision process a bit, knowing that it’s going to be as hard for writing center students as it is for me (if not harder; well, probably harder). I revel in helping students brainstorm when they’re willing; wow, is it so much fun to come up with ideas, to hold discussions over topics that students are intensely interested in. Of course, this can happen at the revision stage, and perhaps needs to happen often because papers need revised because they lack ideas, and talking out those ideas can help students out a lot.
Hi again, Michael,
Here’s a quick comment on reading and posting on your blog. I actually type more easily and quickly than I hand write, so I like that. What I just realized, though, is that I’m reading your entries in reverse chronological order. I guess if I’d thought about it I could have read them in the order you wrote them, but I’d have had to move around differently in your blog.
I appreciate your comments on revision, and your fear that you’re a hypocrite because you ask your students to revise when you don’t revise all that substantially. But let’s get a little common sense here. Is there anyone who wants to revise for revision’s sake? Wouldn’t we all like to write drafts that are pretty darn good.
Just FYI my friend and coauthor Andrea Lunsford despises revision. She’s a heavy planner (more on that later) and often works out both major and minor details of essays and book chapters in her head before dictating. Her graduate students at Ohio State were very aware of her and used to refer to her as “Andrea–product, not process–Lunsford.”
It is important to be aware of your proclivities as a writer and to know their strengths and limitations. For the first edition of my textbook Work in Progress–I’m working on the 7th ed. now–I developed three categories of writers:
Heavy planners–they do most of their work in their heads. Andrea’s a classic example.
Heavy revisers–they have to do huge amounts of writing before they even have a vague sense of what they want to do/say. Chris Anderson is a classic example of this.
Sequential compoesers–they have to have more of a sense of direction and control than heavy revisers, but they can’t work as much out in their heads as heavy planners. I put myself in this category, and you may be in it too.
There’s a copy of my textbook in the Writing Center, and there’s a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each general composing preference–and believe me they each have advantages and disadvantages.
Lisa