4.m Writing Process

There is nothing like writing an essay, a paper or even a blog for English class. They always follow the same basic writing process for me, a lot of procrastination, and a little writing. This probably has a lot to do with the environment that I am writing in. Right now, for instance, I am at the desk in my dorm, with the door open to hear everything that’s happening down the hall. In a minute, my roommate will probably turn on Sportscenter, adding to the numerous distractions. And then of course, I am writing on my computer, which connects me to the time drainer we know as Facebook. Sure, I could probably find a nice, quiet study lounge and write my various papers and essays with no distractions, but then all my paper would be is me droning on and on about who knows what.
One of my strategies for writing is by getting ideas from these distractions. I guess I just need constant breaks to think about what I am writing. The ideas that I do come up with I write down on a piece of paper. I would not consider this to be an outline though. An outline implies order, which is the opposite of this jumble of ideas. For my draft, I try and write down these ideas in an order that makes sense and fits the purpose of the paper. Then there is the sometimes lengthy process of revision. I revise differently for long and short papers. For something like this blog, I will just read it over two or three times. Usually all the points are in the right place and I am just looking for typos, grammar and spelling mistakes. I am horrible when it comes to making and correcting these mistakes, so this part of writing can get annoying. For long papers, I read them over a bunch of times, same thing as small papers, looking closer at the main points this time. I then try to make one or two of my friends read it over. All my friends actually know how to spell and use grammar well, so this is a big plus. I have no problems with my writing circumstances, so the way I write now is ideal. As for workshopping, usually the people that look over my draft are pretty good. People usually realize that the more critical they are of your paper, the more it is going to benefit me, just as my corrections will benefit them.