The Writing Process...

The writing process is very interesting. Many people state that they need outlines and have to know exactly what they want to say before they can get it on the page... but somehow, that has never worked for me. Every paper or writing assignment that I've ever tried to rigidly outline has failed miserably.

Many people rave that constraint ties their creative force back, but I disagree. I just seem to require different boundaries. General plots, rather than detailed plans, so to speak. I definitely have to narrow down the ideas or images that I want to get out in my writing, but if I try to put them in order, they rebel. I have to let part of that control go in order to bring the soul forward. It's kind of like the old adage about bringing a horse to water. You can bring everything necessary to the location, but at some point you have to use a little bit of finesse. Half of it comes from reading the situation and responding accordingly instead of trying to force something.

Forced writing is painful writing. It's not a bad thing to have deadlines; many of us, trained as we have been by the Kalamazoo system, require some sort of impetus or driving force to kick us into production mode. But somehow in there the writing has to become something you want to do; otherwise, it remains sub-par, low quality work. Apathy shows through your writing and unless it is apathy that you are trying to convey, you have to find the "it" that makes the writing worth it for you.

Writing gives voice to a part of me that usually remains private. It allows me to grapple with concepts and images that I often internally struggle with, and it allows me to become some sort of entity in this vast world. When I write I can be something more than a fledgling medical professional. I can be more than just a theology student. I can be who I am, with all of my analysis flowing from my life experience and my knowledge. My writing allows me to escape the box that I have had my share in creating; it frees me to say what I think, rather than what I think people want to hear.

It's not a process as much as it is a journey. And like any good travel, it isn't any fun if you don't trip along the way and come back with scars to remind you of what happened. That's what I think writing is. It is the canvas of scars gained throughout life; each person has a different set, lending a different picture. But even though it can be ugly sometimes, it is still fascinating.