My Writing Process "Overthunk"

I was recently asked to characterize my process as a writer; and low and behold, I found myself among the infamous “procrastinators.”  Determined to prove that this was entirely untrue, I began to evaluate why I (like possibly many of you) fit this description more times than we would care to admit.  After some reflection, I came to understand my "last minute" writing process and how I might get away from the pressure that comes with procrastinating.

Montersino, Giorgio. "Wall of post-it notes" via Flickr.
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According to Dr. Lisa Ede, I, as a writer (and many other things), am considered a “procrastinator.”  However, I realized that the reason I begin so late to start writing is my tendency to overthink my thoughts.  Before I put words on the paper, I contemplate my ideas, obsess over my word choice, and rethink every sentence structure until it is perfect.  My desire to have a first draft free of flaws keeps me from starting my writing until the last minute, when I am finally forced to put something down in words. 

My work comes out nicely with a clear purpose and intention, as I have spent many hours refining what I want to say.  Unfortunately, it is often unpolished and contains errors and slight confusion, as I have had little time to revise and add clarity or detail.  Thus is the downfall of a procrastinator.

However, my reasons for working under pressure stem from my quality as a “heavy planner.”  Although, nothing ends up on paper, I make bullet points, maps, and outlines in my head and envision my paper all in intangible thoughts.  This allows my first draft to be composed of thought-out, organized ideas; but results in sloppy conventions and lacking word choice.

Through this style, I often succeed in creating a piece that is original.  I have spent many hours finding either an idea or angle that is unique and completely mine.  I am thoroughly satisfied with the direction of my paper and know that it is a piece I am passionate about.  When I eventually do jump into the writing process, I am fired up about my topic.  I am thrilled to see if my paper will become as beautiful on paper as it was in my head.

On the other hand, my writing fails to be complete.  My paper may have fascinating content, but missed opportunities for expansion or interpretation.  My paper may open with a great hook, but the body is underdeveloped.  My paper may draw some interesting conclusions, but leave the reader unclear as to what exactly I was trying to say.

So what exactly am I trying to say?  Procrastination has its setbacks.  As much as many of us would like to believe that we have come to deal just fine with working under pressure, I have discovered that my writing (and everything else I procrastinate on) suffers. 

I plan on challenging my current writing process.  As I would eventually like to have a good balance of planning, writing, and revising; I know taking on this process would only frustrate me.  I plan to start by simply taking my drawn-out thinking process and turning it into small phrases that I jot down on my napkin or text myself on my smartphone.

Hopefully, by taking it one step at a time, I will be able to transform my process as a writer into something that creates literature masterpieces, or at least gets me an A.  So here’s to no more procrastinating and no more writing that is overthinked… overthoughted… overthunk.



Reflection

After reading my classmates posts on their writing process and experiencing their point of view, I learned a lot about where to take my writing from here.  Grace Mahan presented her side of a "heavy reviser," which is the farthest group from me.  It actually frustrated me that some people can so easy write something that is most likely going to get thrown out or completely revised.  However, her post challenged me to get over my fear of writing something that is potentially "bad" and just get my ideas flowing.

Aaron West's post showed me a different side to writing.  His process was very similar to mine but also provided me with some suggestions that could greatly benefit my writing,  It was very comforting to know that other people also do much of their planning in their head before they ever hit paper.  However, I learned that if I could only improve on the procrastinating part of my process, I would be able to have a solid revision process.  His post made me see that I might not need to change my planning process (as it is what works well for me) but simply give more time to my revision process.