A Brief Reflection on Process Writing

In my experience, the process of writing is faintly different for every piece. Changes in subject matter, style, formatting requirements, season, and personal growth all amount to a different approach, or at least a different feel, to every story I write. This was obvious over the course of this spring. From writing about myself, to my neighborhood, to my friends and their passions, the process was never quite the same – and never easy.

Early in the spring I found myself leaping headfirst into my writing. I would tell myself to just get something down without thinking about the arc or direction of my narrative. It quickly became apparent that this approach didn’t always yield a good story, but it was valuable to practice pushing myself to produce. As the spring went on, revision and restructuring became my focus. As scope and scene grew to be primary challenges I ran up against snags that I had not anticipated or faced in the past. Waiting on interview appointments, picture collection, and development of a sense of place all slowed the writing and revision process at one point or another. But I was not to be stopped. By the writing of my final piece I had noticeably improved my interview technique, tone, and flow to a degree that yielded markedly higher quality material.

For me, this spring has been about adaptability and awareness informing my authorship. This ten week venture into a new genre at a higher level of review has galvanized my attention to process and the importance of changing my strategies to allow for advances to occur. Whether it means applying another writer’s formatting to my own work, outlining in a new way, chugging a pot of coffee, or interviewing someone a second or third time, shaking up the process leads to breakthroughs in story writing – for me at least. This course has taught me how to interview, how to analyze the news, how to workshop more effectively, and how to apply what I read to how I write. But, perhaps more importantly, this course has taught me that writing helps me create home and helps me stay present in and connected to my environment.