Exercise
One of the takeaways from research on writer’s composing processes is that we’re all special snowflakes: we each have our unique processes for prewriting, inventing, researching, collaborating, planning, organizing, designing, drafting, rereading, revising, editing, proofreading, and sharing or publishing documents.
Reflecting on your writing process means being aware of how you approach writing tasks, how you generate ideas, and how you draft, revise, and polish your work. It’s about understanding what strategies work best for you and identifying areas where you might need to develop new strategies or skills.
By examining and understanding your own thought processes and behaviors, you can gain deeper insights into your own practices, learning what works well for you and what doesn’t. For instance, by reflecting on how you generate ideas, you might discover that you are more creative in the morning, or that brainstorming works better for you than outlining. Or, by reflecting on their revision practices, you might realize that you need to take more time between drafting and revising, or that reading aloud helps you identify awkward sentences and transitions.
To gain some insight into your own writing processes, why not draw it?
- Get your crayons out or whatever writing tools you use to draw.
- Draft your own vision of the writing process.
- Write a narrative that explains your drawing.
