The 8-Step Writing Process
Posted on Monday, October 29, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Is your writing process cheating your readers?
By Peter
P. Jacobi
I've been thinking about process.
A number
of you, along with those who create copy for you, probably practice the
"rush" process, at least some of the time. I know I do.
Rush
results from one or the other of two emotional approaches to writing.
One approach is to avoid writing your story by putting the task off
until the last possible moment, which leads to your completing the
assignment in a rush to meet the deadline. The other is to get the
writing done as quickly as possible because you want to get it out of
the way, leading you to rush the task, thereby freeing you to get on to
other tasks.
Both approaches result from a non-desire to write.
Both suggest writing is an obligation, a chore, rather than an
opportunity, a welcomed activity. Both get in the way of effective
writing.
I can understand the problem, because writing is an
endeavor difficult to like because it's hard. For most of us, it's
demanding, even grinding. So, we tell ourselves, "Just let me get it
done as painlessly as possible" or "Let me put it off until tomorrow and
not have to face the issue today."
I've done both, from time
to time, because -- to be honest -- I don't like to write. I really,
truly don't.
Instead, fortunately, across the years, I've come to
love writing, a feeling that compels me to head for the notepad or
typewriter or computer. Still, I falter. There are days and/or there are
assignments that cause me to tell myself, "I really don't want to do
this," which -- because I have to -- brings on the rush, either the
get-it-done kind or the I'll-wait-to-get-it-done-tomorrow.
Either
way, what we're doing is cheating ourselves and cheating our readers.
We're probably doing a lousier job, which may take more editing and
leave us dissatisfied, thus cheating ourselves. We're probably doing a
lousier job, shaping a story that lacks completeness and refinement,
thus cheating our readers.
All of the above occurs because either
we momentarily forget or momentarily ignore what we know about writing:
It's a process. A process requires time. It requires care and method.
The writing process comes in eight parts, none of which should be
overlooked.
Step 1
Idea
You need an idea, a subject that you feel needs to be
done or that, for a legitimate reason, you want to do. Have an idea
clearly in your mind before you move forward. Everything that follows
will be easier because the right idea sets the right course.
Step
2
Think
Think carefully about your reader and how, to best
serve him or her, you should apply the idea and have it come to fruitful
life. Make sure the idea fits the wants and/or needs of your reader.
Step
3
Tie Idea and Reader
Take an additional step; strive to tie
idea and reader together, this by fashioning a concept, meaning a more
specific subject, an idea narrowed into a circumscribed and focused
topic, one you think is tailor-made for that reader of yours.
Step
4
Gather Information
Do your information gathering, your
reporting, your researching, your observing, your experiencing, your
interviewing. The more thoughtfully and thoroughly you gather, the more
useful information you'll have to choose from, thereby potentially
giving the reader a better, richer, more complete product.
Step
5
Study
Study the material you've gathered. Determine
content. Decide what to use and how to use it. Select in what's
interesting and important and will develop the story's purpose. Select
out what's not and won't.
Step 6
Design
Design your article-to-be. Give it an architecture,
a form, a shape, a structure. Work for sense of direction and
informational flow.
Step 7
Write
Only then at that point, write.
Step 8
Edit
Test what you've written for correctness, clarity,
concision, cohesion, completeness, and communicative comfort. Test it
with eyes and ears. Help yourself by reading the copy aloud, that way to
better catch what's wrong or weak.
The process consists of eight
steps.
--Don't skip.
--Don't shortchange.
--Don't
rush.
Peter P. Jacobi is a Professor Emeritus at Indiana
University. He is a writing and editing consultant for numerous
associations and magazines, speech coach, and workshop leader for
various institutions and corporations. He can be reached at
812-334-0063.
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