The Writing Process

I can completely agree with Anne Lamott when she says, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” Before I even begin to write a paper, a story, a written response, whatever it may be, I try to tell myself that could be bad and in most cases never that pretty, but you have to get it over with. However, in the end, I see my work as horrid and seek the nearest Writing Center for advice.

My writing process is pretty basic: become acquainted with the assignment, make notes, write all you can, and review/revise until you are happy with your work. Usually discussion in class can help me become quite comfortable with whatever it is that I have to do. If not, I read over the assignment sheet to give my brain time to focus in on the task at hand and think of all the things that relate to it. I never want to waste my time when I finally sit down to get the work done, so before my fingers ever hit the keys, I make sure I’m as ready as possible to talk about whatever I choose.

Once I know what I am doing, I make notes on all the stuff that I know I can write down, whether it is random facts or simply the organization and flow of what I anticipate the paper to have. This usually takes the least of my time during the writing process because I use so much time simply getting my basic thoughts together before I put them down.

Finally I begin writing the paper. I tend to be one of those Put-It-All-Out-There-At-Once kind of writers, so I allot myself a certain amount of time, briefly review my notes, and go from beginning to end attempting to cover as much as I can before I panic about what is actually in front of me. In the end, I end up having a million grammatical errors, some issues with sentence structure, but usually a pretty solid foundation for what the final paper becomes.

The main issue I have with my writing is my confidence. Every other instructor that I have had in the past either loves or hates my work. My style is very different and almost weird for a student, but after learning about such intriguing writers such as Poe, I want my writing to be totally and completely me. I feel that as long as I have the content correct I should be fine, but something always tells me that I need to please the audience not the assignment. Hopefully, I will learn to get over this as I enter my first college writing course. I plan on continuing seeking the help of other peers, professors, and the Writing Center once I finish my own shitty first draft, but not lack as much confidence in what I place in front of them.