Write On!

Because my time is limited and there is much I need to accomplish today, I've decided to write a quick blog about writing a blog... or a term paper... or an article... or whatever else.  By nature, I'm a perfectionist, and as I write, I'm constantly in edit mode.  Producing quality, error-free copy is important, so I'm anxious to uncover how I write, why I write, and what steps I take to produce copy which I'm proud to pass onto my readership.

Writing has always been relatively painless for me.  For the most part, I scribe with ease and enjoy all that goes along with it, particularly the research aspects.  But for others, it's a much different story.  Less gifted writers often struggle with the task and tend to produce copy in need of organization, strength of voice, a dictionary or grammatical guidance.  The good news for the less gifted is process writing -- a five-step procedure which involves 1.) brainstorming/pre-writing; 2.) composing a rough draft; 3.) revising that rough draft; 4.) editing as a precursor to producing the perfect copy; and 5.) finally publishing that finished product. 

As a writer, I've rarely had to rely upon the process writing model in its proper form, although I do use some version of it as I write.  I certainly brainstorm before beginning a blog, and God knows I'm constantly editing and revising prior to clicking the "Publish Post" button here on Blogspot.  I'm not much of a rough draft person, though.  I'd rather just write and revise as I go along, which has been my preferred method for decades.  As an elementary school student mastering the process of writing, I could never see the point in writing a rough draft and then rewriting the entire piece over in an attempt to right the first go-round.  It seemed pointless.  So I'm a huge fan of editing and revising my first attempt, which will eventually become my final masterpiece.  However, complete overhauls and I are not friends.

Perhaps I should consider embracing the complete overhaul.  It could be helpful, and I'm sure it would give my copy fabulous wings with which to fly.  But I remain reluctant, viewing its absence as wise time-management on my part.  Interestingly enough, in some fashion, I probably have performed extensive, Joan Rivers-style plastic surgery on my writing, but just the same, I remain in deep denial over the probable existence of any rough draft spawned from either my pen or my keyboard.  So the rough draft continues to receive the cold shoulder treatment and probably will as I continue to write on.