Writing as a Process and not a Product

An American author known as Stephen King (n.d.), once stated "the scariest moment is always just before you start". This quote in its entirety speaks deeply to the fear that writers face just before attempting to write. It is often felt that making a mistake, not producing excellent work, or making errors during writing, would hinder writers from generating a good piece of writing. However, what must not be given a blind eye is that writing is a process and not a product. It can be fun, interactive and expressive using a wide range of genre that can be developed with repeated practice overtime. Hence, writers must understand that there is no ‘one shot’ in writing and they must go through and complete each stage before moving to the next stage.

Furthermore, writing can be defined as a process of using symbols to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form (Englishclub.com). It is the avenue to which expressive speech is captured on paper. Hence, it is in no doubt that writing is time-consuming and may be challenging; however, with constant practice, it can be an art developed into mastery. Teachers must therefore find creative and innovative ways to stimulate students into developing a love for writing; but it does not stop there. Moreover, to become a better writer, one must understand that writing does not stand alone. It goes hand-in-hand with speaking and reading. For example, individuals engaged in active reading can jot down ideas as they read which enhances their ability to write. In another instance, reading builds writers’ vocabulary as they encounter new words that can be used in their writing. Also, writers are able to view different writing patterns and structures presented by other writers which they can use within their writing.

In another view, teachers must provide students with a step-by-step guide as they move from one stage to another during the writing process. The process of writing starts with the prewriting stage. In this stage, students and teachers can work together to build ideas and thoughts through brainstorming to create the foundation from which writing begins. This can be done through use of prompts such as musicals, poetry, storytelling, dramatization and so much more, all in an effort to stimulate ideas and thoughts that can be useful when writing. In addition, prompts can be beneficial to students in providing them with background knowledge about a specific topic. For instance, a student given a story title “The Storm” who has never experienced such an event can look at a video presented by the teacher to gain background knowledge on what a storm is.

The second stage however, is called drafting and this is where students start putting their ideas together. At this stage, students can scrap their first draft to do another as they acquire more thoughts to develop their writing. This is certainly not a problem and should be encouraged among the writers. Furthermore, the third stage is revising and this is the stage where students can give the teacher their piece to review and obtain feedback. At this point, writers can revise and look over their piece, making the necessary adjustments by tweaking their words, adjusting sentence structure and ensuring that paragraphs are connected. The fourth stage however, is called editing and this is the stage where grammar, mechanics and spelling are checked. Finally, the publishing stage is where students are able to post and share their final piece with others.  As writers follow the path of this process, each stage can be revisited a number of times to ensure that all thoughts and ideas are captured and the final piece of writing to be published is perfected.

In conclusion, as an educator forging forward to develop better writers within my classroom, I must first model the writing process to my students. Also, I must engage my students in writing on a daily basis by using creative strategies to prompt writing. In addition, I must provide a rich literature environment to promote reading, thus fostering better writing products in my classroom.