The Process of Writing -- Growing

This article made me shake my head "yes" so many times I was getting whiplash. More so because how many times have I had the experience of sitting down to write and all I can think about is how I need to write, but nothing comes out. So many times I have felt like screaming because I need to say something (a paper that is due or a journal entry that I need to complete).

Sometimes too, I just want to write & again nothing comes & I hear nothing except this tinny laughter, could be my muse, could be me...who knows.

But it really made me think about my own process of writing. I use to wait until I wanted to write, but this semester I have so much due quickly and on a rolling basis that if I wait I may never get an assignment done. What has been working for me is just to sit down & write about the subject. What am I thinking? Even if it's not relevant, it doesn't necessarily matter I just want to make sure I can say something about it.

I can definitely relate when the author says that sometimes we have to discard something we think is good, but not relevant.

I know for me I will write and write & there will be this sentence that I really like. But then I realize that it really has nothing to do what I am writing about or there is nothing to build off from that sentence. I can't bear to erase it. So I created a file where I save these sentence islands in case one day I want to use it later.

I also relate to the idea that it can be daunting and confusing trying to explain to someone what they need to do to begin writing or to improve their writing. When I use to tutor, I found myself helping students by making writing procedural. Often times, it was people who did not like writing & it helped for them to be formulaic. I on the other hand, find different ways of approaching writing helps me. I write based on what kind of writing I am going to do. If I am writing scientifically, I find the more procedural writing helps me to generate ideas and organize more efficiently. When it comes to writing creative research or analysis, I find that structured free-writing helps. Start writing whatever I can related to the subject at hand.

After reading the article, what I realized is that it is a good idea to talk to your students about their writing experiences so that you can help them to find out what will work for them, what will make writing easier, less painful, more productive, etc...I think just as in a lot of things in life, students must understand themselves so they can find a method or way that works. In this way they can create more authentic work that represents at the very least what they are trying to say.