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
So here’s a weird story for you: a famous author (who ended up being kind of a bad person in real life, so I'm withholding his name) keeps a notebook by his bathtub because he tends to do his best thinking during his soaks. Sounds strange, but studies have shown that when you aren’t actively focused on thinking, you can actually come up with some great ideas. You might be jogging around the Oval, trying to fall asleep at night, or even taking a shower, and the semi-relaxed state of your brain will produce some genius level ideas. Be like that famous author and have your notebook (or note taking app on your phone) handy (but don't be morally questionable like him).
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!
Personally, I think that in the actual process of writing itself, that creating a good introduction and conclusion is the most difficult part. After the bulk of the writing is done, I find revisions to be tedious.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree! I struggle way more with conclusions than I do introductions though. The body is where I really come to life!
DeleteI agree, a good hook is paramount to a high quality paper.
DeleteThe hardest part of writing for me is figuring out how to end a paragraph with a sentence that wraps it all together. Also, strangely enough, I find it difficult to come up with titles once I finish my work. Citations definitely are not fun either but at least there are format guides to follow. When writing, I usually just write what is on my mind and then go back and add and edit from there. That way makes it a lot easier for me to get some ideas down and then perfect it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with this too, I always have so many ideas in my head that ending the paragraph becomes harder than actually writing it.
DeleteI'm a little bit different that the hardestr part of wirting for me is starting a paragraph. But it is still a helpful suggestion that write what is on your mind and then go back to edit it!
DeleteThe hardest part of the writing process for me is coming up with an idea. It normally takes me multiple tries to actually create a question that can be answered through the collection of sources. I also don't like the process of gathering and citing sources as it can be tedious and difficult at times.
ReplyDeleteI agree, just coming up with the idea is tough. After I get an idea and gather the sources, then it gets easier.
DeleteFor me, the hardest part of writing is the very start. Often my perfectionism gets in the way of even getting started. If I’m not careful, I can spend hours mulling over the perfect way to word my ideas or structure a paragraph. To combat this, I’ve recently started to treat my first draft as a sort of brain dump. The writing doesn’t have to be eloquent or even grammatically correct, it just serves as a way to organize my thoughts and get them out of my head and onto the page.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand where you are coming from. I typically struggle with this sort of thing and it becomes a waste of time for me. Your method to fix this is most interesting and I'll definitely give it a shot the next time I write something.
DeleteGetting over that first block is a great skill learned over time, thats for sure.
DeleteFor me my favorite part of the writing process is when i am writing the meat of my paragraphs. usually at this point i know what I am going to say or at least have a general idea about what I am going to say so writing in this part is usually pretty easy and usually flows well for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the body is easy as you just spit out what you've already thought about in your head.
DeleteFor me the hardest part is allowing myself to write without stressing out about style and grammar details. I tend to be fairly flexible with my writing process, starting where I have the most cohesive ideas and building from there. The problem is that my favorite part of writing is editing because it allows me to focus on the abstract tones of writing rather than the mechanics. I enjoy thinking about how a post will sound and what words, phrases, and punctuation will best produce the reaction I want in my listener. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to attempt to do this before the piece is even written. I must work on patience.
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ReplyDeleteI think the beginning of writing a passage is hardest for me thoughout the entire writing. It is not easy to come up with innovative ideas, but when the writing is actually started it becomes enjoyable. Once I've set up the main idea of writing, words comes naturally and smoothly. Just like expressing what comes in my brain, this is the charm of writing to me.
ReplyDeleteI can't agree more! i hate getting started, it is too difficult to figure out which topic is the best one !
DeleteFor me, the hardest part about writing is actually sitting down and getting started. I enjoy giving examples when I'm writing, like random facts I've picked up from somewhere. I stress about grammar and spelling sometimes, and I try to check if my sentence makes sense or not, but once I get into the groove, I really enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I really hate getting started as there are so many options for me to write while I really don’t know which can be a better one. I still remember when I get started to work on my homework last year in English class 1902. I spent 10 minutes coming up with 10 different topics and took a week to choose which topic is a better idea. Opposite to getting started, I really like analyzing data and collected materials which make me free to give my own opinions!
ReplyDeleteI usually have no problem getting started. I definitely write my introduction first to try to guide myself, but I always end up rewriting it mostly or entirely. The one thing that gets me is revising my self. I feel like when I read my own work I'm questioning the grammar of every single sentence. I just find it painful to know what I was trying to say but reading how I decided to write it.
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ReplyDeleteThe start of a writing for me is always difficult because I want to choose a topic that I know that I can back up enough, but sometimes I second guess myself and find myself just staring at the computer not knowing how to start the writing. Once I do get past the intro paragraph, it is quite free flowing for me the rest of the way until the conclusion. I usually take a while on the conclusion because I try to stay away from repeating what I said in the intro already. I try to attempt to conclude the writing in several ways and then just choose the best one that fits the writing.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! I also want to choose a topic which I am familiar when I start to write something. It would make writing much easier if you are interested in or familiar with the topic!
DeleteI always struggle to start like the introduction. I really could do all my essay and go back to my introduction and change all of it. Pretty much everything else is easy to do. Also when i read my work i think i catch few mistakes but not as many as someone else would when they read it. The citation parts just gets on my nerves because i get lost and it's pretty confusing how it's suppose to be done. I really enjoying writing though.
ReplyDeletePersonally, getting started is always difficult for me. Because it's very important to choose a title, which is the key word of the whole writing. After choosing a title, writing a good introduction is also a hard part for me. Besides, choosing proper words sometimes also makes me confused. It might because that I cannot quite make out the use of a word and I am trying to solve the problem under the help of dictionary.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the hardest part is getting started. I tend to want to start with a solid plan and not just start writing. I need to work on being less critical of myself and not over-thinking things. I always like revising the best, either my work or others. Revising will make me feel accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI actually really enjoy reviewing my paper after I've written it. First off, I know that I've gotten the bulk of the work out of the way but at the same time I get to go through and make sure that everything flows well together. It's rewarding to see all the work pay off.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! Once you’re finished the writing, I get a huge sense of accomplishment and it kind of motivates me to do more work in the day now that I got the larger assignment out of the way.
DeleteThe two hardest things for me when writing are first getting started and knowing what I want to write about. I have always started writing my introduction first but when reading this I liked the idea of starting in the middle as I feel like that would help in writing my intro. The second thing I struggle with is revision. I hate revising my work because I always feel as when I am reading it over it does not sound how I wanted and this makes me extremely frustrated and sometimes makes me wanna redo the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI think that getting started is the hardest for me. To start writing, i need to determine the topic of this paper and try to fine some sources to support my argument. But sometime during searching sources, I think my original topic is not very good, and I will change it again and again. It hard for me to choose a good topic.
ReplyDeleteI too am very indecisive about everything when trying to write a paper. I almost have to force myself into picking a topic and sticking to it no matter what happens. But that doesn’t always work out for me.
DeleteWhen I begin to write a paper, I usually confused about the introduction because I cannot make a good outline. After I get a good point, I still need more materials to prepare my writing. I have confidence to write an academic paper with critical thinking and good analyze. I think the reference part and citation is the most complicated part but I am sure I can do this well.
ReplyDelete"Start Wherever Makes Sense" is a very helpful suggestion for me because I'm always coufused about how to set up a good beginning. It sounds great that I should wrire down my ideas when I have some thoughts about my body paragraphs!
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult part of writing for me is transitions. I can never write a good transition from one paragraph to the other without it looking forced and I feel that ruins the reading for whoever is reading it because it shows that i am not a good writer. I also struggle with conclusions. I have a hard time making a conclusion that isn't just a bunch of repeated sentences from earlier in the writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so confused about how to start the paper. There are so many preparations before starting writing. For example, finding a topic, collecting resources, coming up with ideas, and starting the first paragraph. There are a lot of work that I haven't mentioned. Sometimes I just need a rainstrom.
ReplyDeleteThis post covers many problems I have and, thus, really helps me a lot. I am the one who always struggle on starting the writing and continually rewrite sentences. Therefore the advices in the post such as "starting from where you can" and "making backups before deleting sentences" are exactly what I need.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult thing for me is getting all my thoughts into one place and making coherent sentences. I also have a hard time closing out a paper with the conclusion. Another problem I have is finding out where to start on a huge paper.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult part of the Writing Process for me is the pre-writing because I have a habit of just starting my paper and doing more "winging it". This usually leads to issues staying focused and fading away from what the main topic of the paper is. I definitely will benefit from using tools for pre-writing, such as outlines, to make sure I cover all the topics I would want to in my paper.
ReplyDeleteRevising is the most difficult thing for me. I will always face two different kinds of situation. The first kind is I don't know how to revise it although my teacher have given me some advice or tips. Because when I change one of the sentences, the logic of the whole article will become not to make sense for me. The second type is that when I finishing writing a paper, I check it twice and found that I don't really know what I'm talking about. The sentences is in disorder.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I enjoy getting start of a paper. I really like to write introduction. But I have a bad habit that I always write the introduction too long.
Hello Yiwen
DeleteQuite opposite to you, revising is the relief part for me since all the main part of writing assignment is done. However, I agree with you on writing introduction could be the best part of the papar with coming up the main theme and connect it with relevant experiences is fun. If you found your revision is difficult, maybe you can try use Grammerly, or go to the writing to ask for helps.
The most difficult thing for me when writing is being straightforward. I tend to leave out things and only putting what I find necessary in. My favorite part is coming up with a topic. Being able to choose what we write about allows me to pick what I find the most interesting.
ReplyDeleteHey Brandon, I totally agree with you. Picking a topic is super fun and exciting. I love writing about science fiction books I've read.
DeleteFor me, the most difficult part of writing is using English words to make sentences. Considering that my vocabulary and sense of English are far inferior to my mother tongue, how to express what I want to express with the expression "will not make native speakers feel wrong" has become a big problem. This is particularly evident in academic writing because, in the context of academic writing, I often have to use some complex expressions that I am not sure I can use correctly.
ReplyDeleteHello Ziyi
DeleteI feel the same way as you do. It is also challenging for me to come up words to make up a sentence since I have limited vocabulary. I always worry about saying the wrong expression or confuse other people when I write long paper in English. Hope you can get batter after this course with all the practices.
The hardest part for me of writing is to come up with an idea and getting started. Once I grasp the main theme, all other branches are able to extend from the central idea. Also, a good beginning can catch readers’ interest, enable them to think that this article is worthing reading.
ReplyDeleteHi He! Getting started is really hard, that is an issue for me too. But once I start, it is hard for me to stop. And a good beginning is very important to keep the reader's interest captured.
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ReplyDeleteFor me, the hardest part about writing is actually sitting down and getting started. I enjoy giving examples when I'm writing, like random facts I've picked up from somewhere. I stress about grammar and spelling sometimes, and I try to check if my sentence makes sense or not, but once I get into the groove, I really enjoy it!
ReplyDelete-Megha Khelgi
The hardest part about writing for me is to the keep finding stuff to write about when it's a prompt. I'm a straight forward kind of writer and I like to get to the point of Who, What, When Where and Why. With such a direct writing style, I usually struggle to provide additional details to meet word counts for assignments.
ReplyDeleteI think for me the hardest part of writing is making revisions of our original work as many times as possible so it could become an effective tool to convince people. I feel that writing raw ideas is super interesting but the citations that we have to go through to make sure it is our original work is extremely exhausting.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part of the writing process for me is getting started. I will do anything and everything before having to sit down and write a paper. If I can force myself to stay focused for at least ten minutes looking at a blank Word document, then it will eventually come to me and I'll begin. My favorite part about writing is discovering connections, deeper meanings, metaphors, etc. in whatever I am writing about. When I find something I think is so intuitive or profound, I get really giddy and feel like a genius.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing for me to write is the introduction. I always start off with the body paragraphs and come back to my introduction last. The hardest part of the introduction for me is finding a good hook. Being able to start off a paper by grabbing the reader’s attention can help a paper’s effectiveness greatly. So I usually struggle figuring out what I want to use. The second hardest thing for me is either making the conclusion or thinking of a title.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the Writing Process is the creation phase. I love to be able to meld different creative elements together, and look for different ways to intertwine topics. Being creative makes writing interesting, and it can help make writing the final paper more enjoyable. With that being said, my least favorite part is when I have to revise the paper. Revision can be hard, because it involves organizing rough ideas into completely coherent thoughts.
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