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Writing Process, prewrite, draft, revise, edit, publish

NYBookworm View Member Profile	Mar 20 2008, 10:57 AM Post #1
Slug & Jigger's Bezoar Collector Posts: 4,643 Joined: 3:58pm June 14, 2005 Location: New York, NY	The Writing Process (to the best of my understanding) consists of 5 steps: Prewriting Research, notetaking, brainstorming, outlining, .... Drafting Writing Revising Adding, Removing, Moving, Changing major parts such as whole sentences, paragraphs or chapters Editing checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, captilization, ... Publishing Make the work public in some way Do you use any of this process in your writing? If so, which parts do you use? How do you use them? How do they help you to be an effective writer? If not, which parts don't you use? Why do you find them unhelpful? What do you do instead? -------------------- Not-so-proud member of P.C.A.A.: acceptance is the first step to recovery. Vote in the new Wizarding Wireless poll What's Your Favorite New Series This Season?

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matilda View Member Profile	Mar 20 2008, 01:53 PM Post #2
Daily Prophet Photographer Posts: 866 Joined: 7:26pm June 10, 2005 Location: Curled up on the sofa with coffee, my dog, and Harry Potter	I use all of those steps to some extent. I definitely spend the most time prewriting, especially outlining. I outline the heck out of anything I write! It helps me organize my ideas, plan where I want everything to go, and keep different sections balanced. If I'm writing something that has a page-count or word-count, I note how long each part should be on the outline, otherwise I can get carried away. Usually, by the time the outline is finished, whatever-it-is feels practically done. As for revising, I have a tendency to over-write, so most of my revision is just slicing away the extraneous bits. It's a far cry from highschool, when I was shamelessly padding every paper, and slyly changing the margins to make them seem longer. The most helpful editing is the kind that someone else does. It's hard to edit one's own work! --------------------

wordsaremagic View Member Profile	Mar 20 2008, 03:38 PM Post #3
Knight MacMod The Great Protecting The Memory Of Sense Posts: 2,430 Joined: 7:17pm February 17, 2006 Location: 3rd door on the left, Hogsmeade	QUOTE(NYBookworm @ Mar 20 2008, 08:57 AM) The Writing Process (to the best of my understanding) consists of 5 steps: Prewriting Research, notetaking, brainstorming, outlining, .... Drafting Writing Revising Adding, Removing, Moving, Changing major parts such as whole sentences, paragraphs or chapters Editing checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, captilization, ... Publishing Make the work public in some way Do you use any of this process in your writing? If so, which parts do you use? How do you use them? How do they help you to be an effective writer? If not, which parts don't you use? Why do you find them unhelpful? What do you do instead? As a teacher of writing, I try my best to include all of those steps in each assignment I give the students. I require annotations of texts, outlines and summaries of assigned readings. I walk them through various techniques of "discovery" (brainstorming, use of traditional lists of common topics, questioning techniques, etc.) They write drafts and review each others drafts. Then they write. Then I review and evaluate. When I am through, they may revise and rewrite again. The whole process is exhausting for them and for me, but I do not know any other way to convey what it means to read, write, and think critically. -------------------- click the Q "And, if there is need to speak in brief summary of this power, we shall find that none of the things which are done with intelligence take place without the help of speech, but that in all our actions as well as in all our thoughts speech is our guide, . . ." Isocrates, Antidosis

Overcast View Member Profile	Mar 22 2008, 02:09 AM Post #4
Severus Snape's Personal Assistant Posts: 2,269 Joined: 11:44pm November 29, 2005 Location: In the Hogwarts kitchen eating cookies.	My problem, even though i know better, is that I sometimes do all of those steps (except for publishing) all at once. I have a problem with letting it flow. I always have to edit and move around things. The story I'm working on now I'm actually doing in steps. I'm in the pre-writing/drafting stage. I figure that's better than doing all four at the same time, lol. -------------------- W.L.Y.J. We love you Jo

DorisTLC View Member Profile	Mar 22 2008, 10:38 AM Post #5
Waiting for Wednesdays Posts: 9,150 Joined: 7:57am January 28, 2005 Location: Hiding from Hurricanes	QUOTE(Overcast @ Mar 22 2008, 02:09 AM) My problem, even though i know better, is that I sometimes do all of those steps (except for publishing) all at once. I have a problem with letting it flow. I always have to edit and move around things. The story I'm working on now I'm actually doing in steps. I'm in the pre-writing/drafting stage. I figure that's better than doing all four at the same time, lol. Philip Pullman has said that writing is like fishing, sometimes it just happens. and sometimes it takes a little planning. I find that ideas flow, but then after I must pull back and plan. So the idea comes first, then I plan the organization of the idea after I write a first draft and before a redraft. -------------------- avatar by The Rockin Leaky Staff, WWDD icon by JeffHPFan Tell us what Dumbledore has taught you!

Smartaps_2 View Member Profile	Mar 22 2008, 11:32 AM Post #6
Gringotts Goblin Translator Posts: 1,208 Joined: 12:37pm July 27, 2006 Location: Inside Dumbledore's Pensieve	QUOTE(Overcast @ Mar 22 2008, 02:09 AM) My problem, even though i know better, is that I sometimes do all of those steps (except for publishing) all at once. I have a problem with letting it flow. I always have to edit and move around things. The story I'm working on now I'm actually doing in steps. I'm in the pre-writing/drafting stage. I figure that's better than doing all four at the same time, lol. Yes ... I jave a problem of 'excessive flowing' while I write. I start with nice small plot and then suddenly I'm overwhelmed by a storm of various ideas. One thing that helped me was noting down the idea galore that hit me. It made the work organized. And I liked what you said in your post DorisTLC . Helpful, really. And the steps I follow too much are editing and revising. I revise my story a million times. I get very,very critical while doing so. -------------------- Thanks to Azkaban Dietician for the chamber 29 sig!

Wicked_Lady View Member Profile	Mar 23 2008, 09:52 AM Post #7
Buying a Half-Kneazle Posts: 545 Joined: 7:56pm June 16, 2005	Now that I think about it, I don't really prewrite. I usually think over my ideas for days and everything gets really organized that after some time I can just sit down and start writing. -------------------- Picture Zutara will be Canon! ;) Am I Dreaming? ~~ LD4all.com

darksoul707 View Member Profile	Mar 28 2008, 05:47 PM Post #8
Perusing the Magical Menagerie Posts: 91 Joined: 9:37am March 5, 2008	QUOTE(NYBookworm @ Mar 20 2008, 10:57 AM) The Writing Process (to the best of my understanding) consists of 5 steps: Prewriting Research, notetaking, brainstorming, outlining, .... Drafting Writing Revising Adding, Removing, Moving, Changing major parts such as whole sentences, paragraphs or chapters Editing checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, captilization, ... Publishing Make the work public in some way Do you use any of this process in your writing? If so, which parts do you use? How do you use them? How do they help you to be an effective writer? If not, which parts don't you use? Why do you find them unhelpful? What do you do instead? I am still in the Prewriting phase on my first story. I can't wait to get a first draft ready. I have a feeling this one is going to be great.

Hazey View Member Profile	Mar 30 2008, 03:15 PM Post #9
Rat Tonic Bottler Posts: 1,121 Joined: 10:06am March 10, 2007 Location: Netherlands, Europe	I'm halfway in the drafting stage - still writing. I'm kind of apprehensive about the editing, though. With this story I've kind of made it up as I go along, so really every thing I've wrote before I 'discover' a certain plot point is a bit... outdated. Most parts probably don't need that much changing, but the whole beginning probably needs rewriting. And I don't even know how it's going to end yet! Not to mention correcting all the typos and bad sentences. Maybe it's best not to think about editing until after the story is finished.

twillick View Member Profile	Mar 30 2008, 06:15 PM Post #10
Hiding in the Iron Maiden at Borgin and Burkes Posts: 321 Joined: 8:01am August 4, 2007 Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada	I only write for myself. And I only write when the story has to be written down. If I didn't I wouldn't have enough room in my head for anything else. Writing is like my own version of a pensive. I need a place to store a story that has become to large to keep in my head. When I do start to write, the story and characters are pretty much set. I start a general outline of the time line of the story from start to finish. I then divide the story into chapters. The one I am writing now started with 23 chapters but I know there will be at least two more by the time I am finished. My first outline is always sparse. Usually less than 150 pages and about 20,000 or so words. Then I write a second outline. I expand on things like narrative, character traits and action. My second outline usually expands to six or seven pages per chapter, 350 plus words per page. Then I will put it away for at least a month before I start a third outline. When I take both outlines out again I will sit down an reread them both. This is my editing process. I will keep the parts of the story that I like then change or delete others. I also add on things as well. Just because I have set the story away for awhile doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it. As I write my third draft I check off each line of my first two drafts. Left side check mark: first copy. Right side check: second copy. Again I expand on the story, chapter by chapter. I suspect I will have over 350 pages with at least 300 words per page. The first two chapters of the book I am writing now have over twelve thousand words. But I imagine it won't be quite as much when I am finally finished. Writing for me is not a fast process. I write by hand and like to reread the chapters a lot to keep the story fresh in my mind. I am guessing it will be another two years before I can write The End on my final draft. As for publishing. It would take a lot for me to consider it. I like my simple laid back life too much.

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