The+Writing+Process

"To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph." - Mark Twain

Even the greatest of writers will admit writing can be a struggle, but it is the perseverance and pride in one's work that will bring the best rewards. Here are the seven steps in the writing process we have discussed in class. No matter what genre you are trying to write in, these steps should successfully guide you in the right direction.

Read through these steps, they are important. You should also read the research case study attached here and the summary I completed for it, then click on the discussion tab up top and respond to the question I have posted there. Most of us don't read scientific articles like this, but I want you to see how the authors of a professional research journal use the Writing Process, and how I used it myself to write a summary of their work. The Writing Process is universal!






 * __Step 1__**: Think before you write: This step should just involve you "racking your brain" for ideas, especially when the assignment is personal or a free write. Make lists of experiences; look through newspapers or magazines for inspiration; flip through old photo albums; look through your writer's notebook or simply search the web for any and all ideas that may inspire you to write for your topic.


 * __Step 2:__** Brainstorm: Now you can start writing a few things down based on what inspired you in your thinking, or front-loading step. Maybe make a brief outline, or notes to show how ideas will flow, quotes you want to include or whatever makes sense to you! This is the part where you get to take a piece of notebook paper (or type it out) and write all your ideas out a bit more, draw those haphazard arrows to connect ideas, jot down random sentences that are "prize-worthy", circle important parts and scratch off ideas that didn't make the cut. After this step you should have an idea of where you want to start your paper, where you want it to end, and some idea of how you are going to get it there.

__**Step 3**__: Write, Write, Write!!!: Now that you think you know what your paper will be about, and you may even have a good plan of attack figured out, start writing for real. Construct your introduction; develop your voice; start paying attention to word choice; make smooth transitions into new ideas; and just keep writing. In this step, although it is only step 3, write your piece as if you only get one shot at crafting a masterpiece, although your work is certainly far from over.


 * __Step 4:__** Revise, Revise Revise!!! Now you are thinking, "WOW! Look what I just wrote! Phenomenal!" Take a step back. Go for a run, get some lunch, put the paper in a drawer for three days, just take a break from it! When you return to it really look at it. Did you really say what you wanted to? Can you hear your voice in it? Is this organization the way you want it to be? Play around with your piece on the larger scale and see what changes to its flow, style and overall craftsmanship could do to the piece. This is not the part where you get nit-picky just yet; you need to make sure the whole thing works before you start fine-tuning. This step could be repeated multiple times, but it is always important to take time away from your piece before revisiting it.


 * __Step 5:__** Edit: OK now you are truly at that WOW! stage with your piece. Perhaps you have nixed the intro or made a single sentence paragraph for a more dramatic effect, whatever the past revisions, you are now happy with your work. Let's make that ecstatic instead. Now you get to be nit-picky. Look at spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and word choice. If an editor looked at this would he want to publish it? Consult your grammar text book or look at past pieces to make sure you haven't made any of the same mistakes.


 * __Step 6:__** Final Copy: Triple and quadruple check to make sure this truly is the final piece. Some people in the writing world may not include this sixth step because they assume when step 5 is complete the writer has reached the final product, but I like an extra check point for myself. At this point there should be nothing you want to change about it and should contain absolutely no conventional errors. When you have reached step six, congratulations, but the most important part of this whole thing is the last step ->


 * __Step 7:__** Share: Take pride in your work and share what you have crafted. You can share it with your family; email it to some friends; publish it in the school paper; post it on a forum online; submit it to a magazine or mail it to a publishing corporation. Whatever you choose to do with it is up to you, but just make sure you do share your work somehow.