Final Semester Reflection

Battle

Brian Bolinger, college freshman

Everyone has a different writing process in one way or another. My writing process is easier to talk about than to actually do, but I have developed a process that enables me to write successful essays. I believe if you keep your writing process simple and basic, you can use most of your energy developing good content for your paper. When I receive a writing assignment, I know that from that moment until I turn in the final copy I am not going to be the most rational guy in the world. In other words, I do not like the thought of fighting the assignment because in my case I think the process of writing a paper is a war, me against the assignment. Even though writing seems to be a struggle for me, I have developed a process within my first three months of college that helps me win the dreaded battle.

When I receive the writing assignment, I start by rounding up all of the needed equipment to fight the battle. I look at this part of the process as if I were gathering up troops. I write down the assignment on a blank piece of paper with about twelve additional blank sheets stacked underneath. The paper is just the ordinary white paper with blue lines on it; in addition to the paper, I lay out my favorite black Uni-ball pen, my handy Webster’s dictionary, and occasionally my grammar book.

Even though I get out all my equipment, I do not always start right away. I procrastinate the actual writing but use the extra time to my advantage—I think over and over about the topic. I cannot start putting my ideas on paper until everything is just right. That is another reason I look at writing as a war because before a country invades another, everything has to be perfect. And everything is perfect for me only when I have at least four hours of free time, my thoughts are focused on the assignment, I am not tired or hungry, and there is no other alternative activity going on.

Once I am ready to dive into the battle, I grab my writing equipment and head to the stairwell in my dorm. I go down two flights of stairs to get to the study room on the quiet floor of the building. The closer I get, with every step, I become more nervous. I finally reach the quiet floor door, I grab the door knob, I feel a force pushing me away, I fight it by pulling the door open, and then I feel as if I am being pulled into a wind tunnel. Once I am in the room, I feel the heat from the heat ducts, am blinded by the glare of the lights, and numbed from the ticking of my watch. I place my equipment on my favorite desk, and at the same time, I imbed my carcass in the chair.

When I am writing, there has to be complete silence in the room. My ears will pick up the softest sounds, so if I hear anything, my train of thought completely blows up. I envy people like my roommate, who has to write in a room with a blaring stereo or television. And at times he will even be talking at the same time he is writing. But I need quiet.

To begin with, I start getting some ideas on paper by making a brainstorming list. This list usually consists of short phrases, words, and sometimes sentences. I take the ideas from the brainstorming list and try a couple of good thesis sentences. Once I have chosen a thesis that best expresses my opinion on the topic, I rearrange my ideas in the order that I will try to follow throughout the process, but in most cases, I will end up with a different order than I originally planned. This changing and rearranging does not cause a problem because I keep my ideas on track with the thesis, or I change the thesis if I discover new ideas while writing.

As you can see, I am the kind of writer who likes to invent and revise a lot while I am drafting, instead of writing a draft straight through and then revising. The revising I do while drafting helps me discover what I know and want to say on the topic. I guess for me the writing process goes on all at once, rather than in steps, though I am aware of the invention, drafting, and revising as I am doing them.

Finally, I edit the paper, looking particularly for errors rather than worrying about content and organization because by this point they should be the way I want. I look at editing as dressing the wounds after the battle. Usually I read the paper three or four times when I edit. When I am satisfied that I have edited my paper as best as I can, I put it away until the next day. Then I type it, perhaps making minor changes. At last, I proofread the typed copy and make minor corrections, if needed, neatly with my black pen.

In this battle called writing, I am not alone. Knowing that other students struggle with the act of writing gives me comfort. I believe there is not a perfect writer in this world, so if you can’t perfect writing, all you can do is develop ways to make it easier to win the battle. And winning feels pretty good!