The Thought Process of Writing

This humorous poster is more fact than fiction. We spend a great deal of time thinking about writing. There is seldom a time when the idea erupts like a fountain, we sit down immediatley and write that first draft. 

Instead, I find that a seed of an idea pops up, but I spend a lot of time letting that kernel take root in my mind. As it begins to grow leaves, I feel stronger about actually writing the story or essay or poem. My urge to begin typing that first draft is pushing me straight to my computer. 

What else does it take to get to the actual typing phase? Jotting down notes of the bits and pieces I've come up with while in the thought process. I don't want to lose any of those golden nuggets before the writing begins. 

If you give yourself some time for that all-important thinking process, you're going to find additions to what you thought about when the idea came to you in the first place. Your 'good idea' can very well become a better one. Instead of the center only, you'll find off-shoots that will make your writing better. 

We don't always want to do this because, once we have an inspiration for a new writing project, we're itching to get started. Practice one of my keywords for writers--patience. In the long run, you'll have a better piece of writing. 

When you're at a writer's conference, look around you at your fellow-writiers. A good many of them are writing in their mind, just not typing. Some are jotting down notes to be used later in a new story. If you pass a writer in the grocery store aisle, they may be taking things off the shelf but writing mentally as they move from the cereal aisle to the soups on the next one. 

When you get that first ping! of an idea, let it simmer in your mind for days, even weeks, before you begin the typing phase. By the time you have covered all areas mentally, you'll be able to zip through that first draft. The material is all there in your head and your notepad. 

Am I suggesting you should never start typing as soon as you have an idea? No. You can do it, but after writing that first draft, let it sit, allow your mind to keep working on it so that you will have more to add when you do the first editing and revising. Don't ever write the first draft immediately and call it done. Keyword here is first! That's what brand new writers do. The more we write, the more we know that the writing process is one of many steps. It's not fast. It's not easy. It's not perfect. 

So, the little guy in the poster is right. He's writing, just not ready to type yet. 

NOTE:  Do I draw out the process like this when I write a blog post? No. It's a different kind of writing. If I used the process I am promoting above, there could never be a posting five days a week. There are exceptions to the rule in all things. This is only one of them!