Understanding Your Writing Process

Greetings fellow writers! Were you challenged by Ha Jin's advice for writers that Kent shared? I was. It brought to mind our ongoing discussion on the development of our craft. That is to say we are analyzing our own writing processes to see what we can tighten. It's one thing to write. It's another to study how you write and then use that information to become more effective.

Step 1 - Analysis

I have found that I write best in grocery stores. Funny? Yes. But true. The other day I wrote the first decent thing in months… at the Shop ‘N Save bread aisle.

I’m still not sure how it started. I was driving to the grocery store and from some untraceable train of random thoughts wound up at a particularly unique aspect of my upbringing. I was having a conversation with myself while trying to find the least-icy parking spot. During this challenge, one of the lines in my head really captured me: “Whoa. That would make a great opening line to a short story.”

And that’s how it started. I fished for an ink pen in my purse—I write best with the cheapest of cheap ballpoints (another part of my writing process)—and found a flat surface on the bread rack, right inside the first aisle of Shop ‘N Save. I can’t say everything poured out, but gradually I pieced together an opening first page to my story on the back of a fundraising letter I'd been working on. Not great, but after not having written anything in a long time, it was a breath of fresh air--to borrow from the cliche.

Studying Methodology
This is not the first time this has happened. I took a writing workshop class while in grad school. I honestly wouldn't have had the nerve to take a creative writing course (sounds so scary! What if I can't think of any ideas to write about?) but a friend wanted to take it badly and begged me to join her. It fit an elective, and the rest is history.

One huge assignment was to analyze our writing process and figure out where/when/how we wrote, what motivated us, and so on. For the first time, I had to keep a writing log. You're probably thinking what's the big deal? Isn't it just a journal? Not so. Instead of writing about a random topic, you write about your writing. Much like dieters keep a journal of the foods they eat and when, we had to log how much we wrote, when we did our writing, and what led us to our ideas, etc. And that's when I realized that if I have a big idea in mind I'm trying to process, it usually plays out when I'm wandering the aisles of a grocery store or Dollar Tree. I don't know why, but the point is I know that about myself and can use it to my advantage now.

Which leads to Step 2 - Putting Your Process to Work

In my case, I need to make more trips to the grocery store. When you discover what fertile fields best motivate and empower you to write, take advantage of it. While writing ultimately takes discipline, you also need to cater to what you know better motivates you to action.

Step 3 - Hold Yourself Accountable

So you understand your process, and you've vowed to put it to work. Now share it with someone else so they can ask you if you're doing it. I've confessed my grocery store adventures, so now when friends from the blog ask if I've been to the grocery store lately, that's my check-up on how diligently I've been writing.

Do the steps work? Well, I'm not there yet. But I know the path to follow. Shop 'N Save, here I come.