The more I read about writing, the more I see that I’ve been doing it all wrong. Not that I’m thinking of changing. I’ve learned to embrace my wrong-ness.

Apparently, the way I’m supposed to write is to stat with an outline, compose a first draft, edit the draft, re-write, rinse and repeat as often as necessary. It seems I’ve managed to skip several steps in my attempt to charge toward a finished paper. My process is to jot down a few rough ideas, think about what I want to say related to my notes, then write my paper. I make a few corrections, run spell check, then out the door it goes.

I’m not trying to justify my amateurish fumbling. but my process has managed to get me through an undergraduate degree (I graduated with honors), a Masters degree, a job as a research assistant, and now a job as a freelance writer.

In reality, what I do isn’t that different from the way writing students are taught, it’s just that I compose my first draft in my head, making mental edits and adjustments before I start to put words on the screen. My first pass at writing has already gone through several edits.

My point isn’t that they are wrong or that I am right, I’m only trying to point out that we’re all wired differently. What works for the experts isn’t necessarily the way I do it, and the way I do it may not work for others. We take what the gurus have to teach us, and we adapt it to our own personal preferences.

What is your process?

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