My Writing Process

I've never taken the time to reflect on my own writing style because I didn't think I had a particular "style." Once I read the descriptions of the categories, I was surprised that I could quickly narrow down which ones I could relate to, and which ones definitely weren't me.

1.  If I'm being completely honest with myself, the best way I can describe my writing style is "bombastic", which pretty much means fancy words you don't need. If I'm about to write an essay, I can guarantee you that the thesaurus will be up before I type a single word. And I totally got the word bombastic off a thesaurus. As far as my habits, I tend to wait until the last minute to do anything, but I refuse to start without a plan.

2. I don't think I necessarily fall into one of the categories fully, but as I mentioned above, I usually procrastinate then plan. I think if I had to choose two categories I would combine the "Sequential Composer" and "Procrastinator" categories. The two categories are pretty contradictory, since sequential composers spend time planning and procrastinators procrastinate. I have been well-known to wait until the ultimate, very last, last, LAST minute to do anything, especially writing. But I also can't just open up a Word document or pick up a pencil and start writing without a tentative plan. The description of a sequential composer includes a bit about written notes and structure to their ideas, which is completely me. I was taught in high school that a bubble diagram with main ideas and sub-ideas is a good way to map out an essay, and it has been my essay writing Bible ever since.

Odessa, Cs. "Bubble-Diagram-Employment-Policy-Direction." 4/23/2014 via Wikimedia Commons.
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3. My writing process is generally successful. I usually get good grades on my essays and have never turned in anything that I consider to be an awful or illiterate. I've always been told that my writing has a good flow to it and that I'm good at tying in all my ideas to the thesis (which I completely owe to my blessed bubble diagrams). I believe that most of my weaknesses have to do with how much I procrastinate. In a desperation to finish on time, I usually don't revise very much and have a notorious streak for run on sentences.

4. My writing process could benefit if I could leave my procrastinating side behind and pick up more of the habits from the sequential composer side of me. I'm satisfied with the way I plan my essays, but if I gave myself more time to plan them, write them, and actually revise for once, the outcomes of my essays would definitely improve.

Looking back and reading this post makes it seem like I have my writing process down but I honestly never know what I'm doing :) Does anyone else use the bubble diagrams though? Because those bubbles and lines have saved me.