My Writing Process

Okay, first things first. Do I have something to drink? (Preferably diet pop, although I’ve found alcohol to be an excellent catalyst in the writing process, although something of a deterrent in the revision process.) Check.

Do I have a good writing utensil? Pen or pencil, whatever the writing muse is calling for (usually pencil for poetry, pen for everything else.) Or, better yet, a computer—that way there is at least a chance my hands will keep up with my brain (oh, how many witty lines, brilliant flashes, original transitions, and (insert clever describing word here) descriptions have been lost due to the Cramped Hand Syndrome?) So, writing utensil? Check.

Is there a thesaurus available? Without this, my word choices are distracting and second-rate. In fact, before consulting the thesaurus, I used the word “although” twice in the first paragraph and I am still missing an adjective to describe ‘descriptions’ in the second paragraph. Thank God for preinstalled thesauri on my laptop! No thesaurus = Rixie's writing is repetitive and choppy and sometimes missing (re: second paragraph). But, one must soldier on anyway.

Am I ready to identify the tone of this piece? Academic? Dry and witty ala Agatha Christie? Flat out hilarious ala David Sedaris? Wordy and full of dialogue ala Jennifer Crusie? Character drive ala F. Scott Fitzgerald or even Janet Evanovich? Decisions, decisions. And in the end, pointless, as whatever I write never comes out as I intended it to—a fat I rely on or else my writing wouldn’t be mine, but the product of a wannabe.

I like my writing to have a conversational feel. I love dialogue. Whenever possible, I try to have people talking instead of describing something. Doesn’t matter what kind of writing it is—fiction, nonfictions, emails, etc. As Mark Twain said, “Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream!”

I read something somewhere once upon a time about a girl who was looking at her 20-year-old journals from high school and wishing she had written more transcripts of daily conversations, poignant or humorous or significant or run-of-the-mill—didn’t matter. I really took that to heart and try to emulate that now.

I need the perfect location! It must be quiet—or at least crowded and busy enough that I feel I am alone with my thoughts. My favorite place to write was the IMU at the University of Iowa (while eating breadsticks or a sub sandwich from the food court, of course). There was so much life around me—people laughing, talking, reading the newspaper, watching the big-screened TV, promoting clubs and activities at tables. So much to look at in so little time.

Next step: the actual writing. I usually write fast and hard. If it’s an academic paper, I write the intro, but leave the thesis for last. I write the paper based around quotes I have already picked out from whatever novel or article I’m analyzing or critiquing. When finished, I read what I’ve written and write a thesis, then do my best to tie the conclusion back to the intro. I then abandon the paper and never look at it again.

If it’s for fun, I many times try to outline my thoughts so they flow chronologically onto paper. I so want my thoughts to be organized, but they never are. The outline rarely works. Usually I start with points A and B, but by point C, I’ve abandoned all pretenses of jotting notes into an outline and am scribbling my actual material and just use letters D, E, and so on at the beginning of each paragraph to make myself feel better about abandoning the outline idea.

Once I have abandoned the outline idea, I usually skip ahead to the part I’m most looking forward to writing about. I then have to rearrange the paper around it. For example, in this paper, the first thing I wrote was the list coming up.

Almost as much as I love writing dialogue, I love writing lists!! For example, here are the types of writing I love to do:

1. Personal narratives

2. Journaling to get strong emotions (usually anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, etc.)

3. Emails!! My best friends live in Chicago and Paris respectively, so emailing is key. I hate “here’s what I’ve been up to” emails, but I love what my best friend and I call “nonsense emails.” Nonsense emails consist of things like, “I was watching TV last night and there was a TV movie about a woman trapped in an elevator and it reminded me of when you and I got stuck on the Death Elevator and were stuck until the janitor let us out.”

4. Academic paper (I know—I’m a freak) if it’s on a topic I enjoy.

5. Transcripts of humorous or amusing conversations I’ve had or overheard.


Once I have finished writing the part I was looking forward to the most, I then go back and start at the beginning and try to forge through till the end. Usually, however, I end up getting bored about halfway through and think to myself, I’ll finish this later. Today—just for something new—I think I’ll try wrapping this up instead.

I just realized that throughout my analysis of my writing process, I haven’t addressed the issue of audience. Audience is (obviously) something I don’t consciously consider. Usually, I am my audience. Despite this, I always write as if there’s someone reading over my shoulder. In other words, I write to entertain. This should be its own paragraph.

My main purpose in writing is ultimately, unfailingly, always to entertain. Even if it’s only me. Especially if it’s only me.