My Theory of Writing
My Theory of Writing: An Inside Look into the Writing Process
I’ve come to view writing as a form of dance, a complex interplay between the writer and their surroundings in order to compose a unique piece. Each draft and deletion is just as important to the dance as the piece itself. By this I mean to emphasize the worth in the process of writing. Throughout my time in WRD 103, my theory of writing has changed quite a bit. With every lesson I learn, my theory adapts, and it will continue to adapt with every piece that I write throughout my life. At this point in time, I believe that writing is an interaction between a writer and outside influences that, through reflection and revision, allows for limitless growth.
Writing and I have a complex history: a history full of resentment, procrastination, and stress over the ‘final product’. I often wouldn’t start writing until the last minute because I was so terrified of not being able to compose the perfect piece that my unrealistic standards had outlined in my head. I continue to struggle with this, but through my WRD 103 class I’ve been able to begin breaking this cycle by placing the same amount of value on my writing process that I do my completed piece. A Rhetorical Analysis paper that I completed in this class was a major contributor to my new-found value in the process of writing. For this paper, I composed multiple drafts with changes made based on feedback that I received. My final piece became something that I was proud of as I was able to compose it in a manner that reflected the assignment prompt and clearly conveyed my message, something I wouldn’t have been able to do as efficiently without feedback from my peers and revision.
Key Terms
At the beginning of the course, the key terms that I used to describe writing tended to focus on the final product. I would use terms such as “clear, purposeful, and individual”. I now find fault with the terms that I was so confident accurately defined writing. The accumulation of these terms focus on what a final piece of writing should accomplish, but does not address the multiple drafts and revisions that go into that final piece, along with the multiple sources writers interact with to create it. Are those discarded and workshopped ideas not still writing? After reflecting on what I’ve learned in my first year writing course, I’ve come up with a new set of key terms that I believe more accurately describe writing.
Brainstorming, Audience, Purpose, Communication, Revision, Feedback and Process
These terms allow for more to fall into the realm of writing. Although I will continue to expand on these terms until the day I am unable to write and think about writing anymore, I believe these are an accurate representation of what writing means to me at this point in my life. All of these terms go hand in hand, it is very difficult to have one without the other. The connecting arrows in the image of my current key terms aim to symbolize how each of the terms interact with each other throughout the process.
What does this look like?
To begin introducing what my key terms of writing look like in a typical paper, I would first like to provide some context as to how I go about starting a piece. I often have trouble finding a starting point. I have all of these ideas in my head but have trouble visualizing them in completed form. In high school, I believed that writing was ‘supposed’ to be done from start to finish, but I am learning that it is perfectly okay to skip around, perhaps starting with a conclusion or even a body paragraph before the introduction. This was, and still is, a difficult concept for me to grasp as I have had this start to finish mentality ingrained in me throughout my schooling. This creates a conflict in my head that leads me to procrastination. My brain tells me “this isn’t right” or “you’re doing this wrong”, and so I get trapped in this confusion of not knowing what ‘correct’ writing should look like, so I decide to quit and put it off for another day desperately hoping that I’ll figure it out. Throughout my time in WRD 103, I’ve learned that there is no correct way to write, but there are some strategies that can help me focus my writing on what I wish to complete. In fancy writing terms, this is called the RHETORICAL SITUATION.
“A rhetorical situation is a situation where a speaker or writer sees a need to change reality and sees that the change may be effected through rhetorical discourse” Grant-Davie, WAW
Discourse is essentially the communication that occurs between the writer and the reader. So, in other words, a rhetorical situation helps to fix a problem or serve as some sort of change through a piece of writing. In my WRD 103 class, we were assigned multiple readings, reading responses, and papers to help us get a more solid understanding of rhetorical situation. To fully address the rhetorical situation, I like to compose a sort of checklist that helps to guide one’s writing by taking a step back and thinking about the overall purpose of a piece. So what does this checklist look like? Below I will define a couple key terms that I’ve learned throughout my first year writing course and how they can be thought about and implemented into writing.
Exigence: What is the purpose of your paper? What prompted this piece and what do you aim to accomplish in your writing?
Audience: Who do you intend to read this piece? What are their values and beliefs and how can you craft your writing in order to most effectively communicate with these people?
Constraints: What restrictions do you face in your writing? This can be restrictions related to your audience, the writing platform that you’re using, the time that you have to complete a piece, etc.
Genre: What layout is best suited for the goals of your piece? In picking a genre, it is helpful to understand who your audience is and what method would be most effective in communicating your intended message.
Keeping the concepts above in mind, I am able to compose a first draft, also known as a rough draft, but am still far from finished. After completing my rough draft, I then ask for feedback from my peers and professor. This is extremely helpful to the writing process as it allows a fresh set of eyes to view to view your paper and give you tips on how to make it more clear and efficient. The people reviewing your paper serve as your first audience. Reviewing other people’s writing also helps to strengthen one’s own writing. By reading another person’s piece, one can learn what seems to work in writing and what doesn’t, and then implement similar concepts into their own piece. So what is good feedback? Commentary on someone’s work should address the content of the piece, and stray away from focusing on grammatical errors, as that is something that the writer can fix themselves later in the process. Some particularly good feedback that I’ve received has offered suggestions, or pointed out when something wasn’t clear or in accordance with the rest of my paper.
After having my paper reviewed by others, I then continue to the phase of revision. I alter parts of my piece in order to best convey my message by considering the suggestions that I’ve received and remembering the purpose of my paper. After revising, I then have my second draft, which I, again, have peer reviewed. This draft and review stage can go on for as long as you’d like, and you may even choose to have a draft 4 or 5 peer reviewed. When I feel that my piece is most effective, I then have my final draft or finished product.
This writing process shouldn’t just be used in specific genres; I believe that all forms of writing can benefit from this. I’ve learned a lot from my WRD 103 class, and I’m excited to continue expanding on my theory of writing for the rest of my life. Writing is a process that never ends, there is always more that can be improved upon. This may seem daunting to some, but I find this idea comforting. Every writer is forever learning and improving their skill, whether that writer be a college freshman, like myself, or a best selling novelist. Nobody is a perfect writer, and everybody has the capability to improve. I feel that this creates a universality in writers, we are all writing students in our own way.
