My Writing Process: The Four Types of Composition

Gibson, Matt. "Time Lost" 2/15/09 via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial Generic License

     Everyone that puts pen to paper or takes the time to put words on a screen falls within spectrum of writing called your writing process. While there are extremes of people who are strictly one of the four main types of writing composers: heavy planners, heavy revisers, sequential composers, and procrastinators, most people are a mixture of the above heavy types. Below is a summary of my own writing process. Answer the questions for yourself and compare them to mine. Where do you fall on the spectrum?

1.      1. What type of writer do you consider yourself to be? 

      Looking at the description of the four main types of writers, I identify most closely with being a procrastinator. The majority of the time, I start writing projects last minute, leaving little time or space for myself to take one of the major steps of writing, revision. As this happens so often, I have grown into the habit of procrastinating and I often only start writing a final draft, skipping essential steps such as draft copies or proofreading. I do not normally try to justify these actions however, preferring to accept that my lack of time management and strength to say no to new ideas pull me away from key responsibilities in finished homework in a timely manner. 

2.      2. Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? Is so, which ones? 

     While the plurality of my writing process stems from being a procrastinator, I have also tried to develop and work my way into new strategies as I face harder and more arduous assignments, requiring more time and making more of an impact of my life. Over the past few years I have incorporated a sequential composer approach into my writing style, not starting tremendously early but slowly revising as I go so I do not have to revise at the end of my draft. This fits in well with my primarily procrastinating habits, as I only start a few days earlier, still only finish close to the deadline, and have somewhat revised my draft. 

3.      3. Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are your strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

    I have seen moderate success with my writing process. While I have never been met with utter fairly in English, it is definitely not my strong suite, and I feel like one of the main aspects holding back my advancement in English is what type of writer I am. Starting late on writing projects doesn’t give me enough time to receive feedback or work on my own writing approach. My approach does force me to be decisive and concise with my writing, as I don’t have time to revise over and over, which can be an issue for some. Also, I have become effective at creating an efficient organizational structure in order to shape the writing correctly the first time. 

4.      4. Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

     I think it would be immensely beneficial for me to try a different approach. I would like to continue pushing towards a more sequential composer approach, taking an average amount of time to work my way through essay, revising along the way. This method seems like a good balance for procrastinators to work towards, especially as assignments become more difficult in college. This type of composition would be beneficial because it would give me more time to create better quality work, but also allow me to develop as a better writer.