Process vs Product
Another sample from my future book the Holistic Writing Method:
There are 3 types of writers - those who enjoy the process of writing, those who enjoy the end product and those who fall in the middle.
But not to worry, while there are some pitfalls there are also benefits for each one:
If you enjoy the process of writing you may never want to finish a project because that means the process part is over. Starting a new process from scratch may seem like a daunting task and it's much easier to keep on tweeking the project you have instead. If this is the case the benefit is that you are probably a writer who can multi task well, you just need to start multi tasking a bit sooner on in the process. Once you get part way through your MS, jot down a few ideas for the next project, nothing too big so you don't take time away from finishing the current one. This way you can get into the 'process', slowly, for the next project and will be more apt to finish the current project.
If you enjoy the end product you may rush through a project just so you can see those words typed at the end of the MS "The End". Your work may suffer for it though. The thought of rewriting is painful and you just want to move on and get to "The End" on the next project ASAP. What you need to do is learn how to get to "The End" in an outline first, then see every chapter as a new opportunity to get to "The End" of that chapter. You can be very productive if you plan ahead by doing an outline first.
Those in the middle need to make sure they do both suggestions! Yes you have both pitfalls but also both benefits! You may enjoy the process of writing but also rush a bit to get to the end and don't want to rewrite, yet feel compelled to keep working on the project. You can write outlines for several stories, one after the other, getting to "The End" of each before moving on. Then do a first draft on each one. Then go back and rewrite each one. This way you never spend too much consecutive time working on any one story.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Where do you think you fit in?
There are 3 types of writers - those who enjoy the process of writing, those who enjoy the end product and those who fall in the middle.
But not to worry, while there are some pitfalls there are also benefits for each one:
If you enjoy the process of writing you may never want to finish a project because that means the process part is over. Starting a new process from scratch may seem like a daunting task and it's much easier to keep on tweeking the project you have instead. If this is the case the benefit is that you are probably a writer who can multi task well, you just need to start multi tasking a bit sooner on in the process. Once you get part way through your MS, jot down a few ideas for the next project, nothing too big so you don't take time away from finishing the current one. This way you can get into the 'process', slowly, for the next project and will be more apt to finish the current project.
If you enjoy the end product you may rush through a project just so you can see those words typed at the end of the MS "The End". Your work may suffer for it though. The thought of rewriting is painful and you just want to move on and get to "The End" on the next project ASAP. What you need to do is learn how to get to "The End" in an outline first, then see every chapter as a new opportunity to get to "The End" of that chapter. You can be very productive if you plan ahead by doing an outline first.
Those in the middle need to make sure they do both suggestions! Yes you have both pitfalls but also both benefits! You may enjoy the process of writing but also rush a bit to get to the end and don't want to rewrite, yet feel compelled to keep working on the project. You can write outlines for several stories, one after the other, getting to "The End" of each before moving on. Then do a first draft on each one. Then go back and rewrite each one. This way you never spend too much consecutive time working on any one story.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Where do you think you fit in?
posted by Victoria at 10:08 AM
4 Comments:
I probably lean toward the product side, with a bit of the process side in me (a 75/25 split, perhaps). I do tend to rush sometimes to get done. But I can also tinker with a story forever and never send it out.
An interesting post. I look forward to seeing more about your writing approach.
I'm definitely someone who enjoys the process side. I can spend forever on a story so your advice to make notes on the next project is advice I plan to take.
I'm someone who loves revising and editing. I find the first draft very hard, I'm usually cryptic and it tends to be a bit basic. It's only when I start the second... third... um..not saying just how many...drafts that I really feel I'm getting to the heart of what I'm trying to express. I'm also learning a lot about writing and when I read back some of my earlier work, even in the novel I'm working on at the moment I can see mistakes and things that need improving. (Yes I am a perfectionist...!)
I am aware that there has to be an end somewhere! I do identify with the point about not wanting to leave what's being worked on, the characters and story etc.. It's so easy to get attached to them. It's also a case I think of being a bit reluctant to let go of it and show it to other people... I have the excuse at the moment, 'it's not finished'!
But it has to be finished. And I'm determined to get there!
I definitely lean toward the product side, although my taste for revision is improving.
The topic of revisions -- along with a proposed new vehicle for improvisation -- is also featured in this month's Poets and Writers magazine.
I only bring that up because that article challenged me to reconsider my attitude toward revising in the context of my dual role as writer and jazz pianist.
On the one hand, jazz improvisation is a LOT more disciplined -- and structured -- than a lot of people realize. Also, since over time you're likely to pay a piece several times, each solo can be interpreted as a rewrite of a predecessor solo.
On the other hand, the immediacy of jazz improvisation can serve as a deterrent to "paralysis by analysis," which remains the unfortunate downside of the revision impulse.
After he formed his famous "second" quintet in the mid-sixties, Miles Davis told his band members, "I am paying you to practice in front of the people." A terrified Herbie Hancock's response was, "I want to be perfect in front of the people."
In the "holistic" approach you are now formulating, I wonder if "process" and "product" might in fact intertwine and even dance together in a manner reminiscent of the "yin and yang" they taught us in Tai Chi.
Jazz-Law Bear of California (difficulty posting under my JLBC Blogger ID)
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