Writing Cycle

Shape Materials

Exploratory Drafting

Your exploratory writing is probably messy and unshaped; once you have something on the page, think about what form or structure best suits the content.

Don't start with "what" you are trying to say, or how a piece will end. Instead, freewrite or write rough drafts to discover what you want to write through the writing itself.

The Writing Cycle

Generative Revision

Gather Materials

Rather than replacing a draft, the revision coexists with it, offering expansions, alternatives, and offspring that enrich the original work.

Observe, read, take notes, jot down bits of image and language, general ideas.

Rest

Put what you've written aside. Later, read it pretending you've never read it before.

Let Your Ideas Ferment

Good ideas don't just come to us fully formed. One key part of the writing cycle is letting the work rest. During this rest time, our minds keep working on some of the knottier problems, and we return to the work with a fresh eye. This quiet time is key in creating art!

Fermentation as metaphor

Getting Started

It can be hard to begin without a really clear idea of what you'll be writing. But writers don't tend to have the finished product in their head when they begin. It is more like grasping in the dark and seeing what you come up with. Here are some ideas to get you started if you are terrified of the blank page. Freewriting and word lists tend to be my go-to tactics, but I've done all of these at different points in time.

Author Stephen King talks about the importance of discovering the story as you write.

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