Blog Ten

Invention Writing: Normally, I tend to procrastinate until the very last day or so before my paper is due to even start it. Prior to that, I guess since I have a guilty conscience and all, the paper or essay or whatever writing it is, is constantly on my mind. I come up with ideas regarding the piece and turn those into sentences in my head, but regardless how far ahead I get with the process in my head, I don't write it down. This process continues until I finally am forced to sit down and confront the piece, head on.

Prewriting: I used to pre-write when I had an assignment due in a class where the teacher wasn't dumb enough to realize I wrote without planning it out ahead. However, I realize, I actually like making outlines when I finally decide to write, because it really does help my ideas get organized. Depending what I'm writing about, I tend to make a pro/con list, arguing both sides and trying to decide which side can I go into the most detail. I actually never started to pre-write until my freshmen year of college when I had to write a 13-page paper for my Western Civ class. I had to figure out if history repeated ourselves given the material we covered over the course of the course. I remember sitting in the library for a good amount of hours making a pro/con list an creating an outline with the specific points to make up my thesis. I ended up changing my thesis a few times, but I always had this sheet of paper as a reference. From then on, I continued to make outlines and organized (really, all depending how important the class is or how much writing is emphasized in the class). I pre-write for clarity purposes. Seeing things on print - visually, makes it easier me to figure out what to write.

Drafting/Writing: When I finally decide to write, I spend hours and hours just trying to think of a good intro. Sometimes, it comes naturally, and other times, it can take a few hours. If I'm completely satisfied with my intro, I'm able to write the rest of my paper in one shot. Last semester, I had a paper due in World Lit about the Individual v. Society in the novels, The Stranger and The Death of Ivan Ilych. I knew exactly what I wanted to argue in the body of the paper, but it really took me several hours to even find a good first sentence for the introduction. To me, I feel like the beginning is everything - it sets the tone for you paper and states the most important part: your thesis. If your intro isn't right, pretty much, the rest of the paper won't be - so, I'm pretty hesitant about writing anything that has a crappy start. For me, I get to show off my writing style and voice in the intro (especially in academic writing), because the body is just filled with facts and supporting evidence. Also, when I write and really hit a stride, there is no turning back. I don't stop to overthink what I write (surprisingly) I just go with whatever pops in my head and type away. However, this rarely happens, seeing I have a rather small attention span. When I hit a speed bump, I stop writing altogether and wait until the time is right again. I'd either take a nap or wait until the middle of the night, before I continue writing. I just know when the momentum is lost, the moment is gone and all I really do is wait for it to come back.

Revising: This used to be my favorite part of the writing process, because I (freakishly) love correcting and editing papers. I realized with the literacy narrative, I'm not totally on top of this, but I'm still learning. When I revise, I read the paper/essay over and if I like it, it'll keep it, but if not, there's a good chance I'll toss it. I remember writing a paper, actually in my freshmen English Comp class about typical male movies and absolutely hating it. I basically did my first draft just to get it done and I wasn't proud with what I did at all. Eventually, I settled down, rewrote the entire paper and got an A. (Dr. Chandler: Do you remember this paper? This is actually one of my favorite papers I wrote). If I don't have the time to rewrite it, I follow a basic routine I've made for the past few years. First, I read, grammatical corrections, reread, get rid of sentences that don't make sense or aren't necessary, replace them with ones that do, reread, reorganize (if necessary), and repeat. I've learned that revision is an endless stage, but it needs to end somewhere eventually.