My Writing Process: An Often Hair-Tearing Ordeal

     I consider myself to be a thorough, yet precise writer. Writing simply is essential for me, as the ideas I present tend to be multi-layered and complex by nature. It's very easy to become bogged down with too many words, I've found. Because of this, I relate to the writing archetypes of both "Heavy Planners" and "Sequential Composers". 

     As a heavy planner, I automatically look for new sources of ideas and inspiration throughout the day when I work on a piece. Once I spy something I'd like to (maybe) include in the work, I make a note of any information said thing will give me, like a web address. Then I check out the source to see if something grabs my interest, and if that happens, a more thorough examination follows. All this time I'm relating it to what I'm writing about and how it can fit into the presentation. 

     If a subject has a more limited amount of information, or if it is a narrow, specialized subject, I tend to use sequential composition as my process. A subject that is regularly updated, like the first few days of a public figure scandal, will be easier for me to write about if the entire writing sequence is accelerated, giving roughly the same amount of time to each step. Blog entries also come to mind.

     My writing process is successful. Until it isn't. It depends on many factors, including personal ones, but I find that my interest in the subject, and how much research it will entail, are the two main ones. Heavy planning reaps high quality, but requires a lot of time. Sequential composition is usually the method that will produce quicker results, especially if I don't have a particular point of view on the subject matter. 

     Changing my methods would be working against who I am as a person, and while a different way may result in higher volume, I believe the quality of the work would be compromised if I attempted it.

Leonid Pasternak "The Throes of Creation"

 2/19/13 via WikiMedia Commons Public Domain Dedication License