My Writing Process

1. What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?
My method of writing definitely falls under the "Heavy Planner" category. Which is weird, considering that I almost never did the obligatory "essay outline" from about 6th to 11th grade. But over the past couple of years I've definitely understood the importance of drafting an outline, getting your ideas on paper as a solid skeleton to go on. I've conditioned myself to generate ideas and think about my writing regardless of the time or place- which helps tremendously when you think of all the time I could be sitting at a desk counting sheep until one of those sheep veers off course and missiles into my face with a good thesis. Not saying that doesn't happen, though.

2. Does your writing process include several of the above approaches?
I think you can sprinkle a bit of "Sequential Composer" in there. I reread and reword strenuously as I write my first draft. I'm not afraid to make the process drawn out in order to ensure a finely-crafted product. That being said, I hate rewriting with a fiery passion, so almost all of my revision comes during the process, rather than after. Anything I do afterwords is related to form or word polishing.

3. Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?
I thank God for my style of thinking because I enjoy it more than anything else I've seen. I'm damn proud of my writing process, and how I have the capacity to generate more ideas than the paper is ready for. I've been somewhat athletic throughout my life and I apply the same principles of planning as I do here. You need to work out, get your cardio in and study the game hard. And this gets me more than ready to write something freaking awesome. Of course there are instances when my creativity high gets to me and my work isn't really freaking awesome, so I suppose my sort of lack of proper revising can be disadvantageous at times.

4. Do you think it would be beneficial for you to try a different approach?
No. My creative process in intrinsically constructive and my memory is intrinsically anterograde, and the more time I spend on post-production the more I'll start to hate what I wrote and then I'll become a grumpy old man who thinks he wasted his time and curses the apathy that has cheated him of even a smidge of happiness. No one wants that.

WorldIslandInfo.com "Planning session" 12/9/2006 via Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic- www.futuristmovies.com