Writing Process

My writing process is generally slow and tedious. I write about things that have happened to me or things that I've heard about or seen. To start out I usually sit down in front of a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen and I start writing or typing. I prefer handwriting things like poetry and letters, but for essays and longer pieces I use the computer. Usually I write and revise at the same time which makes things messy and sometimes means I have to go back and rewrite what I wrote originally because the revision is worse. On occasion (like this one) I don't revise after I write. I just write and revise simultaneously and then I'm done with it. Those are the pieces I don't like to go back and read once I'm done because I know I'll find errors. The writing will make me feel like I could have done better; a self perpetuated slap in the face. When I'm writing poetry I revise, a lot. I'll write something and then take out lines and rearrange them. Poetry is like a puzzle to me. You have to find the right words to fit the emotion and then you've also got to arrange them in the right way. I think words matter more in poetry than they do in other forms of writing. If I am writing an essay or something that takes more work I usually sit down to write with some sort of outline. I start to write and inevitably get stuck, so I pad up to the freezer and get a bowl of ice cream. I stand there and think about what to do. Sometimes I'll go do other things: weed the flower bed, walk the dogs, clean the house, do laundry, talk with Shaun or someone else, etc. Then I'll come back to my piece and finish it. I usually never talk about what I write unless I really need help with it or I want someone to revise it. All of the creative writing that I do, though, I don't show anyone. I always write in private at my desk or in a carol at school. I don't usually like to talk to anyone when I'm writing unless I'm really stuck. If I'm really focused on what I'm writing, the world falls away and it's like the paper or the computer is just an extension of my brain. I'm so centered. I am writing. That's when I'm really successful and prolific, but I need clean and quiet. I need my own space both physically and mentally. When I'm done it's like waking up from a dream. Everything feels a little bit fuzzy and distant. I feel separated from the world, like the writing has drawn a line between me and everything else. I move through the world and everything feels just a little bit different.