Good writing rarely happens in a single, solitary stretch of time. While many people wish their brilliant ideas could coherently, fluidly come together all at once, the first time, as they sit behind their computer screens, good writing doesn’t really happen that way. Rather, writing done right should be seen as an iterative, progressive process that happens over multiple stages.
The Writing Process: Overview
The writing process, if done correctly, should be conceived as three separate phases: 1) prewriting; 2) writing and revising; and 3) editing. Each of these phases should be broken into multiple parts, with emphasis placed in different areas.
The greatest mistake writers most often make is spending the majority of their time writing a first draft without putting any time or emphasis into prewriting, revising, or editing. If done correctly, the first draft should only take about 20% of the total time spent on the entire project (that percentage is an estimate, of course, and shouldn’t be taken entirely literally). The rest of the process should entail prewriting activities (developing ideas, researching the topic, defining a problem, developing a thesis, and outlining); feedback and revision (repeating the process to refine ideas); and formatting and editing.
Holistically, the process should look something like the diagram I developed below. While the percentages and emphases may change a bit depending on your particular project, they should give you some idea about how much time and emphasis should be placed in each step of the process.
(Click on image to enlarge.)
As you work through these three phases, you’ll gain greater control of your document and writing, whether it be in a report, an essay, an article, a book, or anything else. Most writing projects will benefit from following the writing process as it allows you to mold your thoughts into coherent, logical, and connected ideas. Note that needing to revise a document doesn’t mean you are a poor writing. Quite the opposite, actually. Pretty much all good writers will spend the majority of their time revising, seeking feedback, and editing.
It’s all part of the process.
Phase 1: Prewriting
- Develop Idea. Start by exploring your topic ideas. Understand your project parameters, your audience, and your purpose. Is this a good idea to write about? Will anybody care? What will they want to know?
- Research & Discover. Spend a significant about of time reading. Get to know your topic. Study data and findings. Know your topic well and what others are saying about it. Fit your ideas into that discussion.
- Define Problem & Thesis. Identify where the problems, controversies, or issues are. Take a position (even if research-driven), and state your position as a thesis statement.
- Organize & Outline. Take your ideas and organize them into an outline, using headings and subheadings. Construct a logical, coherent progression of ideas that connects your thesis/problem to a cohesive conclusion.
Phase 2: Writing & Revising
- Write First Draft. Follow your outline and fill in the blanks. It’s likely, as you develop your content, the outline may shift a bit. But keep it focused and just get your ideas down in a completed draft.
- Receive Feedback. Solicit feedback from teachers, supervisors, or peers. While you’ll want to play close attention to the feedback, your actual time spent reviewing feedback shouldn’t take long.
- Revise. This is the most important and most time-consuming part of writing projects. Plan in advance to go through multiple iterations and drafts of your work. Be responsive to feedback and know that the best writers rarely get a perfect document the first time. You can also search for affordable book editors to make the process smoother. Revise, resubmit, revise, and repeat.
- Receive More Feedback. The revision process is cyclical and shouldn’t be seen as a linear process. You may have to revise multiple times to get your document where it needs to be. Seek feedback as often as it takes.
Phase 3: Editing
- Format, Design, & Edit. Know which style guide, if any, you are supposed to use and format it appropriately. Work your information design to work with fonts and colors and add any headings, bullets, tables, figures, columns, or other design elements to help your reader. Conduct a micro-edit of all punctuation, grammar, page numbers, citations, and other important details.
- Receive Feedback. Once again, solicit feedback, this time on the design, formatting, punctuation, mechanics, grammar, and details of your document.
- Revise & Polish. Do one last final edit of your document. At this part of Phase 3, while it may not take you much time to revise (it’s mostly surface-level edits at this point), you will want your greatest emphasis on revision, making sure that your document is polished and professional in every way.