Four writing strategies
The science fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote over 500 books in his lifetime. He’s known to be able to compose an entire novel in a single pass (typing at a speed of 90 words per minute!).
While Asimov’s writing process sounds ideal, in practice, relatively few people can write in this way.
How people write
In his research, linguist Daniel Chandler identified that people use four main strategies for writing. He referred to them as architectural, bricklaying, oil painting, and water-colour.
Architectural
Architects typically start with a detailed outline. They define sections, subsections, and headings to guide the composition. This method is also known as a “plan-write-edit” strategy, and it is traditionally taught in schools.
Architects:
- plan before writing, then write, then review
- tend to write sequentially
- take a pragmatic approach to writing
Bricklaying
Bricklayers tend to approach writing sentence-by-sentence. They polish each paragraph to get it just right before they move to the next one. Bricklayers often write slowly and rewrite as they go along.
Bricklayers:
- tend to see each sentence as a foundation upon which they build the following sentences
- don’t usually complete a draft in a single session
- find it helpful to leave a piece of writing and to return to it later
- have a clear idea of what they want to say (rather than writing to think)
- typically produce one complete draft
Oil painting
Oil painters often start by exploring several trains of thought, jotting down new ideas as they occur. For them, writing isn’t linear and typically comes in pieces and clusters. Just like in oil painting, their drafts can be reworked again and again, and so oil painters revise and rewrite extensively.
Oil painters:
- write to understand better what they think
- don’t work sequentially
- produce multiple drafts and revise extensively
- don’t mind talking about work in progress
- find it helpful to leave a piece of writing and to return to it later
- tend to preview their text on a printout, rather than a screen
- delete a large quantity of the content they generate
- enjoy open-ended exploration
Water-colour
Finally, water-colourists tend to write sequentially in one continuous flow. Ideas are first incubated in the writer’s mind for some time. When it’s time to write them down, such writers can produce a draft quickly and with minimum revision. Isaac Asimov was perhaps an archetypal water-colourist in Chandler’s typification of writing strategies.
Water-colourists:
- can form complete texts in their mind
- don’t do a great deal of revision
- write sequentially
- prefer not to discuss work in progress
- don’t like ambiguity and tend not to do a lot of exploration in writing
- want to “get it out” as soon as possible
Writing tools
Many of today’s word processors, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, are based on a concept inspired by a typewriter. The idea is familiar and straightforward; however, it is optimised for a sequential writing process. Traditional word processors may suit writers with a water-colour strategy, but they can be limiting for writers with other approaches.
Tilio and the four writing strategies
When creating Tilio, we wanted it to support all four writing strategies.
Architects can begin by building up a document structure with sections and subsections. As their document starts taking shape, they can switch between the Structured and Document views to work through the details.
Bricklayers can benefit from a modular presentation of the text, focusing on one unit of thought at the time.
Tilio can work especially well for oil painters, who like writing in small bursts when inspiration strikes. Using Tilio’s horizontal sections and subsections writers can explore multiple trains of thought in parallel. They can write in a non-linear way, jumping between parts of the text and rearranging notes and thought blocks quickly.
Being able to organize their ideas spatially, using the entire screen as a canvas, can give writers a lot of control of their document. For writers with the oil painting strategy, working in Tilio can feel more natural than traditional word processors.
Arguably, Tilio wouldn’t be as beneficial for water-colourists, who like to write sequentially. Still, Tilio can provide a robust tool for taking notes and organising research materials.
What is your writing strategy?
At Tilio, we love talking to writers and learning how they work. Did you recognize yourself using one or more of these strategies? Drop us a note on Twitter or email hello@tilio.app — we’d love to learn more about different ways people write.
Further resources
For a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of writing styles, processes, and strategies see How We Write: Writing As Creative Design by Mike Sharples.
