Choosing the Best Writing Process
When it comes to writing, finding an effective process can be more time consuming than coming up with what to write about. Different people have different opinions on what the best way to write is, which can leave others confused as to which process to adapt. Some writing requires more drafts than others. Various mediums such as notepads, sheets of paper, or typing on a computer may be used in the writing process. There are infinite choices one can make when writing; no single set of which may be universally defined as the best. What factors can be taken into account in the writing process? What processes do different writers use?
In “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, the author speaks about the process of writing a draft. She describes first drafts as something childlike and undeveloped. Lamott says that in the first draft, anything goes, no matter how horrible or incoherent it may sound. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” (Lamott para. 10) By writing out everything that comes to mind, an author will be able to pick bits and pieces that they do like from the draft to add into the next version.
In “The Maker’s Eye” by Donald Murray, the author speaks about the process of developing and improving a draft. The author of a draft is spoken about as the number one critic of their own work. Murray compares amateur and professional writers. He describes amateur writers as more detail oriented when improving a draft and professional writers as writers that look at the written work as a whole and not piece by piece. Murray mentioned the seven main topics he reviews when improving a draft (subject, audience, form, structure, development, dimension, and tone) and how he may alter a written work. He describes writing as something that is never finished. “The maker's eye is never satisfied, for he knows that each word in his copy is tentative.” (Murray pg. 4)
In both articles by Murray and Lamott, the authors describe the writing process as something that must be perfected and tuned. The first draft will never be the cleanest or perfect. The first draft is the necessary starting point that will be crafted into something better. Lammot described the draft process as only going through a few stages, whereas Murray described it as being more detailed and thorough in what the author is changing and looking out for in their writing.
Both Murray and Lamott present interesting perspectives on what it takes to write a draft. I felt that Lamott described a process that was most similar to my own. I felt comfortable with the idea that the first draft will always be terrible and that it takes a few drafts before the quality of the content reaches its full potential. When Murray described the author as never being satisfied, I agreed to a certain extent. I like to review my work and present the best possible writing. I do not however, feel the need to obsess over my writing either. I feel that despite being an amateur writer, I don’t focus solely on the small details in my writing. The part that Murray brought forward that I liked most was the use of the seven main topics (subject, audience, form, structure, development, dimension, and tone). I feel that these are all aspects that I consider when writing and help improve my drafts.
In an interview conducted by The New York Times, Jerry Seinfeld describes his process of writing jokes. Seinfeld describes his writing process as something random. He conceptualizes different ideas for jokes and then tries to make connections between them so that they can flow well. Seinfeld stated that he is always “ looking for the connective tissue that gives me that really tight, smooth link, like a jigsaw puzzle link”. Seinfeld also mentions that he often likes to joke about “nothing”, or seemingly ordinary item. He prefers to write down his jokes on yellow notepads with specific pens and not type them. When writing, Seinfeld stated that the “wronger” something felt, the “righter” it was.
In a similar interview conducted by Fuse, rapper J Cole detailed his process of lyric writing. J Cole described much of his writing process as working on improvement. He prefers to write in solitude, because there is less pressure. In order to improve his writing, he freehands 3 pages a day in the mornings. On the topic of writing medium, Cole says that he prefers to write on paper over typing out his thoughts. He says “there’s something more intimate about writing it down”. When compiling his album, Cole focused on starting from scratch to put forward something cohesive instead of piecing songs together.
J Cole and Seinfeld both expressed a preference for writing on paper over typing.They both described a need for having a connection throughout their writing. In Seinfeld’s case, he tries to maintain connections between jokes whereas J Cole tries to make all of the songs in his albums connected. Seinfeld gets his inspiration from random things around him, while J Cole just lets his thoughts flow and finds inspiration from that.
Much like both J Cole and Seinfeld, I prefer writing on paper as opposed to typing. I feel that writing my thoughts and ideas down on paper gives me a stronger connection to what I’m producing. I personally would not have the dedication to write 3 pages every morning. I liked Seinfeld’s approach of talking about nothing. I feel that this makes his jokes more relatable and that this technique could be applied to many more forms of writing.
When it comes to my own writing, I have adopted a technique similar to that discussed by Lamott. I allow all my thoughts to flow and produce something totally messy and unrefined. I like to type all of my ideas and create an outline before I go and fill in the spaces with details. I prefer typing to writing down my ideas because I am able to make as many changes as I want on the same page. I don’t like to review what I write over and over, so after the first draft, I try and make as many changes as I can without spending too much time on it. I like to work quickly while keeping everything connected and presenting my thoughts in a clear way.
Overall, I believe that every author has their own unique approach to writing. There is no universally correct way to write, and no one technique will work for all writers. While Seinfeld may like to come up with random ideas and then find connections afterwards, others may prefer to have a central idea and then come up with points that relate to it. Some authors may try to make their first draft as perfect as possible, and not messy like those of Lamott. Writers like J Cole practice every morning, whereas others may write only when inspiration strikes them. Where authors like Murray may strive for perfection, others may be satisfied after only a few drafts. The writing process for any work has many forms. No matter what path an author may take, there is always a reason behind their chosen process. What works best is always up to the author.
Works Cited:
Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts
https://wrd.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/1-Shitty%20First%20Drafts.pdf
Murray, Donald. The Maker's Eye.
https://nabuckler.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-makers-eye.pdf
“Jerry Seinfeld Interview: How to Write a Joke | The New York Times.” 20 Dec. 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWxXyCfW5s&t=167s
“J Cole Talks “Born Sinner” Writing Process” 28 May, 2013,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQDjS5K1fU&t=65s
In “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, the author speaks about the process of writing a draft. She describes first drafts as something childlike and undeveloped. Lamott says that in the first draft, anything goes, no matter how horrible or incoherent it may sound. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” (Lamott para. 10) By writing out everything that comes to mind, an author will be able to pick bits and pieces that they do like from the draft to add into the next version.
In “The Maker’s Eye” by Donald Murray, the author speaks about the process of developing and improving a draft. The author of a draft is spoken about as the number one critic of their own work. Murray compares amateur and professional writers. He describes amateur writers as more detail oriented when improving a draft and professional writers as writers that look at the written work as a whole and not piece by piece. Murray mentioned the seven main topics he reviews when improving a draft (subject, audience, form, structure, development, dimension, and tone) and how he may alter a written work. He describes writing as something that is never finished. “The maker's eye is never satisfied, for he knows that each word in his copy is tentative.” (Murray pg. 4)
In both articles by Murray and Lamott, the authors describe the writing process as something that must be perfected and tuned. The first draft will never be the cleanest or perfect. The first draft is the necessary starting point that will be crafted into something better. Lammot described the draft process as only going through a few stages, whereas Murray described it as being more detailed and thorough in what the author is changing and looking out for in their writing.
Both Murray and Lamott present interesting perspectives on what it takes to write a draft. I felt that Lamott described a process that was most similar to my own. I felt comfortable with the idea that the first draft will always be terrible and that it takes a few drafts before the quality of the content reaches its full potential. When Murray described the author as never being satisfied, I agreed to a certain extent. I like to review my work and present the best possible writing. I do not however, feel the need to obsess over my writing either. I feel that despite being an amateur writer, I don’t focus solely on the small details in my writing. The part that Murray brought forward that I liked most was the use of the seven main topics (subject, audience, form, structure, development, dimension, and tone). I feel that these are all aspects that I consider when writing and help improve my drafts.
In an interview conducted by The New York Times, Jerry Seinfeld describes his process of writing jokes. Seinfeld describes his writing process as something random. He conceptualizes different ideas for jokes and then tries to make connections between them so that they can flow well. Seinfeld stated that he is always “ looking for the connective tissue that gives me that really tight, smooth link, like a jigsaw puzzle link”. Seinfeld also mentions that he often likes to joke about “nothing”, or seemingly ordinary item. He prefers to write down his jokes on yellow notepads with specific pens and not type them. When writing, Seinfeld stated that the “wronger” something felt, the “righter” it was.
In a similar interview conducted by Fuse, rapper J Cole detailed his process of lyric writing. J Cole described much of his writing process as working on improvement. He prefers to write in solitude, because there is less pressure. In order to improve his writing, he freehands 3 pages a day in the mornings. On the topic of writing medium, Cole says that he prefers to write on paper over typing out his thoughts. He says “there’s something more intimate about writing it down”. When compiling his album, Cole focused on starting from scratch to put forward something cohesive instead of piecing songs together.
J Cole and Seinfeld both expressed a preference for writing on paper over typing.They both described a need for having a connection throughout their writing. In Seinfeld’s case, he tries to maintain connections between jokes whereas J Cole tries to make all of the songs in his albums connected. Seinfeld gets his inspiration from random things around him, while J Cole just lets his thoughts flow and finds inspiration from that.
Much like both J Cole and Seinfeld, I prefer writing on paper as opposed to typing. I feel that writing my thoughts and ideas down on paper gives me a stronger connection to what I’m producing. I personally would not have the dedication to write 3 pages every morning. I liked Seinfeld’s approach of talking about nothing. I feel that this makes his jokes more relatable and that this technique could be applied to many more forms of writing.
When it comes to my own writing, I have adopted a technique similar to that discussed by Lamott. I allow all my thoughts to flow and produce something totally messy and unrefined. I like to type all of my ideas and create an outline before I go and fill in the spaces with details. I prefer typing to writing down my ideas because I am able to make as many changes as I want on the same page. I don’t like to review what I write over and over, so after the first draft, I try and make as many changes as I can without spending too much time on it. I like to work quickly while keeping everything connected and presenting my thoughts in a clear way.
Overall, I believe that every author has their own unique approach to writing. There is no universally correct way to write, and no one technique will work for all writers. While Seinfeld may like to come up with random ideas and then find connections afterwards, others may prefer to have a central idea and then come up with points that relate to it. Some authors may try to make their first draft as perfect as possible, and not messy like those of Lamott. Writers like J Cole practice every morning, whereas others may write only when inspiration strikes them. Where authors like Murray may strive for perfection, others may be satisfied after only a few drafts. The writing process for any work has many forms. No matter what path an author may take, there is always a reason behind their chosen process. What works best is always up to the author.
Works Cited:
Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts
https://wrd.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/1-Shitty%20First%20Drafts.pdf
Murray, Donald. The Maker's Eye.
https://nabuckler.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-makers-eye.pdf
“Jerry Seinfeld Interview: How to Write a Joke | The New York Times.” 20 Dec. 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWxXyCfW5s&t=167s
“J Cole Talks “Born Sinner” Writing Process” 28 May, 2013,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQDjS5K1fU&t=65s