The Stages of Writing
Ok, so we've talked about developing our writing voice, writing, style, and we looked at the different styles of writing available to help us develop that voice. But there is still one looming question:
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Exactly how do you go about actually writing something? What are the steps and how do you go through all the steps, how do you know when you're done, and will you still have a life left after you spend all your time in this class writing, writing and writing? |
I'm not going to touch the life that's left question, but I can tackle the rest.
Since you just learned about using metaphor in writing, I'll use one here: I see the writing process as analogous to the waxing of the moon. Let me explain.
As the moon moves through its cycle, it changes from a new moon, a time of conception and beginning which is a state of total darkness, to a full moon, a time of fruition and fullness, a state of total light. This movement is called waxing and quite simply, it means that the moon is moving out of shadow into increasing light. Then after the full moon, it begins to wane through its quarters back to the darkness, where the process starts all over again.
Now, think about a time when you looked up into the sky and saw that thumbnail moon against the darkness, that tiny beginning of something greater. When you saw that thumbnail, did you also remember seeing the outline of the whole moon, a white circle around a dark center (See the picture above)? Now think of it as a metaphor for writing - the first idea that is connected to the whole. Even in the idea, the whole is still there, but it needs to go through the developmental process. You can't rush the waxing of the moon and you can't rush your paper either. It has to move slowly from the darkness to the light.
So, you think, great. I've got a new moon on my hands. What do I do now?
Look for the thumbnail.
Every semester, students line the hall outside my office with the same old question: "What do I write about Ms. Smith? Can you give me an idea?"
I give them all the same answer: "Write about something that matters a great deal to you. Write about what you know. Write about your life."
They look at me blankly, scratch their heads, and stumble down the hall. They were hoping for a "What I did on my summer vacation" assignment. They didn't expect me to ask them to look at their life. They wanted me to do the work for them, to give them an idea. But honestly, how could I give you an idea for your writing? If the writing is to be of any worth, it has to come from you. It has to struggle from you, if that is the case; you must discover your own subject.
"How?" you say. "Where it is?"
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