My Writing Process

Yasmine Banks

Neuffer

English 5 MW 3:00

16 February 2015

My Writing Process

For every paper I write my writing process, or the steps I take to complete my piece of writing is different. One thing that has always stayed constant in my writing process is brainstorming. When I am brainstorming I think about all of the things that I want to say in my paper. Unfortunately I can’t just sit down and write out my ideas like most people, so my most effective thinking comes from procrastinating.  When I have too much time to work on an essay I can’t really take the assignment seriously, so I wait 1 or 2 days until the paper is due to actually start writing it. I do this because I work better when I am under pressure, and there isn’t anything that puts a college student under pressure like a deadline for an essay. Most people think of procrastination as a horrible thing to do when having to write a paper but it actually helps me out the most when it comes to writing. When doing things like taking a shower, cleaning up, or falling asleep I like to think about the prompt of the upcoming assignment, and shape ideas in my mind of what I’m going to put in my paper or how I want it to sound. During this time is when I come up with most of the ideas for what I’m going to write.

 Now when I actually do get around to writing the paper things get a little more complicated. In order start writing the paper I loosely model it after the five-paragraph method which is my introductory paragraph containing my main points, my body paragraphs that summarize my main points, and my conclusion that restates my thesis and wraps up the whole essay. According to Marie Foley author of “Unteaching the Five-Paragraph Essay” the five-paragraph method is not preferred when teaching students how to write. Foley gives examples of why the five-paragraph method alienates students, and even gives a couple of alternatives to the method. Now keep in mind that I only use this method to start an essay, and don’t find it an acceptable method to use when writing a paper. I like to use it as sort of a basis for my paper, and then add to it as I go on. Kind of like the Journey Metaphor described as an alternative to the five-paragraph essay. Foley explains the Journey Metaphor as looking at writing like it’s a journey and that it should “move forward in a purposeful way with a logical starting and ending point and a rationale for the sequence of stops along the route.” (233). When looking at my writing process a lot of comparisons can be made between some of the strategies I use while writing, and the strategies that I read in the articles “Freewriting” by Peter Elbow and “Shitty First Drafts” by Ann Lamott.

In the article “Freewriting” by Peter Elbow freewriting is described as the most effective way to improve your writing. The exercise is done by simply writing for a set amount of time without stopping to correct your grammar or spelling. Elbow claims that this exercise is effective because it overwrites our natural instinct to edit while we write. I completely agree with him. I ran into a situation in my senior year while applying to a UC. I had to write a personal statement of 1000 words that describes who I am and where I come from and also an accomplishment that I was proud of. It seemed like every time I tried to start my paper the words were just all wrong, so I spent about two hours typing up and then deleting my first paragraph. Finally I got so mad that I spent about 30 minutes typing up a really honest and inappropriate 3 page essay. While I was typing I noticed that some of the things I was saying could actually be used in my statement. All I had to do was delete most of it and polish a few key points and it was perfect. From that time on whenever I can’t figure out what to say I always go into about a 10 minute rant or “freewriting exercise” on paper, just rambling on about all of the things I can say on my topic.

The article “Shitty First Drafts” by Ann Lamott can also be applied to this story. In the article Lamott explains how no writer just sits down and finishes their piece in one draft.  Lamott also discloses that by writing a horrible first draft we “let the childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions that come through onto the page” (23). She’s basically saying to write the “shitty first draft” and then revise or edit it into a more presentable piece. That’s exactly what I did when I was angrily venting while trying to write my personal statement. I just started writing honest things about my life knowing that I wasn’t going to actually turn in that version of the essay, and from that horrible draft came ideas that I could really use to write my statement. Even though I didn’t know at the time that freewriting or writing bad first drafts were acceptable strategies to use for writing, reading about how professional writers use these steps to better their writing makes me feel more confident that these strategies can help me.