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| Sagdejev, Ildar, "A Ballpoint Pen in Use" 2/29/04 via Wikapedia, Creative Commons License |
I consider myself to be a sequential composer. I am one who is known to "work as I go", and most certainly, go in order. I am not an incredibly heavy planner, nor am I a heavy revisor; instead, I try to find a happy medium of both.
My writing does include several approaches. While I am a sequential composer, I also have (unfortunate) elements of a procrastinator. Most of my procrastination in terms of writing stems from my frustration in separating rough and final drafts. As a sequential composer, I like to revise and plan as I write, so the need to scribble out a "bad" draft just to make a better one simply doesn't exist.
For the most part, my writing style is successful. It's biggest strength is that my writing usually comes together coherently and it is easy to follow my "written path". However, it has its detriments as well, such as the length of the process, as well as the lack of great revision.
It may be beneficial for me to try the "heavy revision" technique, as this could help me improve my writing overall. By looking back over my work afterwards, I can find mistakes that may have been missed as I wrote.
After reading Betsie's post, as well as Lauren's, I understand the thoughts behind the other writing styles better. At first, it seemed completely foreign to me to waste hours on end planning ahead of time, or hours on end revising after writing something. However, upon seeing different perspectives and how they manage their styles, I understand how it can be done. I think I could benefit from using Lauren's style more, as revising is not my strong suit.
The "work as you go" method is a great skill to have, and as a writer, it can make you very successful. Procrastination is a universal struggle, especially among students, but accompanied with your "sequential composer" characteristic, you will most likely be able to overcome it. Instead of putting assignments off until the last minute, you can attempt to work on a piece a little each day. Also, in your writing process, you can incorporate some of the "heavy reviser" methods into your own practice, but just stick with what works for you.
ReplyDeleteWhile I consider myself to be a heavy planner as I like to every all of my ideas mapped out I definitely will work as I go because sometimes the words just don't come to me. I feel the same on procrastinating when getting frustrated. Writing has never been a strong skill for me so I can get frustrated often. I agree for myself that the heavy reviser approach could be beneficial because I am not a strong reviser. I'm on the same page as you that following a written path is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteHi Chloe,
ReplyDeleteSome questions:
1. You said above that you don't usually plan things out in advance very much. Was that true for English 109H this semester? If, so did it work out well?
2. You mentioned being frustrated by the drafting process. Did that play out during our three major projects?
3. Did you wind up trying to do more heavy revision this semester? If so, how did that go? If not, why not?