Writing takes a lot of brain work. It requires you to use your imagination and your thinking to put words together in a sensible and impactful way. Unlike with speaking, a writer does not have the luxury of explaining himself if he suspects that his audience do not understand him. He does not have the luxury of using hand gestures and facial expressions. He just has to write in a way that would be clear enough for everyone to understand.

To effectively write something good, writers have to go through a process. These writing processes are fairly common, but they are not compulsory for every writer. You can always work out your own process. The most important thing is the result.

Usually, the process follows the thinking phase, into the writing phase, into the rewriting phase and then the editing phase. These are the major processes involved in writing, but they are not limited to this, nor do they have to follow this pattern.

In this post, the form of writing that would be used as an instance is creative writing – story writing, in particular. So join me as I briefly run you through the different processes.

There are 4 phases:

The thinking phase

This is usually the first step in writing for most people. This phase involves the thinking and creation of what you want your writing to look like. It is like drawing a blueprint of what you are writing about. In this phase, you would sit down to think about different characters and their roles and the possible twists that you want to have in the book before you go into writing it.

The writing phase

This is the second phase where you begin to bring your ideas to life. After writing out the blueprint, you start writing. You give life to the characters.

The rewriting phase

This third phase is where writers take a break to review what they have written. They stop to reread and rewrite if need be so that the storyline can be preserved.

The editing phase

This is usually the final phase. After the book has been completed, you need to re-read, edit and proofread. You should also give it to someone else to do the same.

The Takeaway

These steps can be interchanged anytime. There are times when you just suddenly get inspiration about something and then you begin to write without thinking too much. Then suddenly, you edit or take a break to think before continuing. Other times, you start writing and then decide to do the editing in phases so you won’t have a pile of editing to do and then continue writing.

There are also times when, even after thinking and coming up with a blueprint, you change your mind along the way and rewrite some parts of the book before reaching the end. You can also have people review your work midway into the writing of the book.

All this is to say that when it comes to writing and the processes involved in writing, there is no need to be rigid about it. Understand the different parts and what they entail and then write in a way that would suit you and not cause you to get tired along the way.

For example, as a ghostwriter writer, after being given a contract to write in some thousands of words and then told to submit in bits along the line, you may be wondering why. It is in order to avoid unnecessary stress.

When you send the work in batches to your employer, he is able to read through and make corrections that would guide you in writing the other parts of the story, rather than writing till the end and doing a complete overhauling of the book.

Conclusion

While these writing processes are not set in stone, they are important and serve as a kind of guide for you when writing. If you pay attention to them, you will have a seamless experience while writing.

Olamide Omolawal is an avid research enthusiast with an interest in creative and content writing.