Finding Your Writing Process

Ever heard of the term “writing process”? It’s the different steps we work through while completing writing assignments. Before you can tackle the writing process, you need to find your personal writer process.  Discovering your process is much like preparing to surf. It takes practice. There are different ways to tackle it, but your final goal is to catch a wave. To reach that goal, you have to try different techniques to find the one that suits you best.

Learning to Surf:

Surfboard – longboard or short board? Rent or buy?

Wet Suit – full body or shorts?

Surf Wax – which one? So many different brands.

Leash – What style? You don’t want to lose the board.

Finding your Writer Process:

Where—at home alone? At a coffee shop? On the Fourth?

How—very quiet? With music? Handwritten? Typed?

When—first thing in the morning? Late at night? Middle of the afternoon?

Equipment—colored pen? Favorite pencil? Tablet and tunes?

Every surfer has a signature style shredding the waves. Every writer has a customized method of composing ideas. Part of the fun of learning the craft (surfing or writing) is discovering our own personal style.     

You may discover that when you allow yourself to write the way you want to, writing becomes fun! It will also become easier. Remember Roxy Readers, your writer process is fluid. It ebbs and flows like the ocean tides and you’ll find a method that works for you.

Here is a great link from the National Council of Teachersof English (NCTE) to help you get started on your path to self-discovery.

Ultimately, you’ll be up and out on that wave writing, revising, and editing.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!