Simple is poetry when sentences sense make none.
Step 1: I usually start my writing by staring blankly at a wall for a couple of minutes or hours. Hopefully in this time a subject comes to me. If not, well, I stare at a different wall. Something usually comes to me within a week.
A true genius at work
Step 2: Now is when I start to visualize my paper. I can draw a very clear picture of what I want it to look like. I like it to be on paper, usually rectangular and white. It might have some words, maybe a few paragraphs, and a couple pages in length.
Step 3: Here is where I start writing, and this is my no joke process. I scribble out phrases and sentences in my notebooks in class. This works out great because it looks like I am taking notes. Most of the time my paper will have a basic structure by the time I transfer it to a computer.
Step 4: This is the time where the scattered and random scribbling of sentences is typed out. About 100% of the time it will make no sense. So there it sits with one page of nonsense and it is time to try and connect these seemingly meaningless thoughts into a coherent story.
Step 5: My nonsense will finally make sense and I have at least half of the paper written.
Step 6: I change my topic, always (keep in mind, this is totally serious). This takes me back to step one.
Step 7: Finally, I have a topic I am happy with and can write my paper in full. Step seven is accomplished the night before the paper is due.
Moments before he puts his fist through his computer...
I know that feeling all too well.
Step 8: The rough draft is reviewed by two or more proofreaders. Come 11:00p.m. my paper will finally be finished, but I will not be satisfied with it.
Step 9: I continue to revisit the paper and correct things I'm not happy with (I have honestly corrected papers from Freshman year, three years later). This blog post will be edited at least five times. Step nine is never finished.
Well, that is my writing process. It is a long and very unorganized one, but it gets the job done. I think that the fact I am never satisfied with my papers can both be helpful and pretty terrible. I always strive to be the best writer I can, which is a good trait, or so I am told. But, what kind of normal human being corrects papers that nobody will ever read again and have already been graded? None. None normal humans do that. It feels good to get this off my chest. Now teachers can see why I hate doing formal outlines and completely developed rough drafts.
My memoir took me a while to get started, it was mainly trying to find a topic. A lot of things that have happened in my life are either too vague to remember or too boring to write about. Once I figured out what to write about, it was hard to be very descriptive. I am the kind of writer that likes to get straight to the point and cut out all the frilly details, so adding all the little descriptions and emotions was hard for me. This paper followed my exact writing process, but it involved typing a bare narrative first and then going back through to add details. An example would be my sentence of getting dressed for work going from "I put on my new uniform and was set to work" to an entire paragraph of descriptions like "[My uniform] Neatly pressed, a bold black color, a conspicuous lack of stains, and that fresh classic Tide smell that I love. Hair immaculately disheveled, facial hair cleanly shaved, teeth white as fluorescent lights, two squirts of The Buckle brand cologne, and three swipes of Old Spice Sport deodorant." Maybe it is a bit over detailed, but it helps paint a vivid picture of what I may have looked like.
What I looked like? Lookin' good.
Once I got going on this memoir, the rest of the story kind of fell into place. It was one of those things where I just kept writing without stopping. Even though it was a challenge for me, I did like writing the memoir because it exposed me to a different style of writing.
This is an awesome description of your writing process! The images really help move your post along - entertaining and educational!
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