2.1: A Writing Process for Every Writer

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Alexandra Glynn, Kelli Hallsten-Erickson & Amy Jo Swing
North Hennepin Community College & Lake Superior College

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I am terrible at astrophysics! I've just never been good at it.

Have you ever heard someone say this? Probably not. However, you've probably heard statements like these (maybe you've even said them yourself):

"I've never been good at grammer."

"Writing isn’t really my thing. I think I’m more left-brained.”

“I’m just not creative, so I can’t write well.”

These statements have echoed across classrooms all over the country and the response from most teachers of writing is the same: writing takes practice. No one ever woke up being good at astrophysics or mountain biking or piano playing. Even those who might pick up those activities easily had a foundation of skills and practice to build on and each came to mastery of their activity differently. This is true for writers, too. This is true for you!

Writing is a process, and although many writers follow a similar process, each writer is unique. Think of your writing process as your fingerprint. It has the same characteristics as most fingerprints, swirls and lines and patterns, but yours is unique to you. The key in writing well is to know your process and make it work for you.

So, what is a writing process?