It's linear, right? | The Writing Process

"Writing and learning and thinking are the same process." —William Zinsser

As with most things, it would be nice if the process of writing could be divided so neatly into a linear process with such discrete steps.

As Jill Singleton (Writers at Work), though, puts it:

“Life is messy. It doesn’t happen step by step. The process of writing is the same way. Good writers move forward and backward between the steps. For example, when you are writing your [draft], you may think of a better way to organize your ideas. That’s good! That is how experienced writers really write.”¹

Thus what we have is a process that gradually moves from Step 1 toward Step 5. But you can and will loop back at various points, able to take your ideas and assignments to new heights as you build on the work you've done before.

Continue to Step 1

1. Singleton, Jill, Writers at Work: The Paragraph. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011, pp. 3-4. Print.)

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