A Word on the Writing Process

"The first step of the writing process is...to write."

The famous line spoken by Sean Connery as William Forrester from the now probably unknown movie Finding Forrester resonates even further with me now as I shuffle through mountains and mountains of research articles and attempt to form my own academic research papers.  For me, that line defines my writing style: write exactly what comes to you at the moment.  Let the passion and emotion play itself out onto the document.  Don't worry about who's going to read it or whether it's good enough to be an A paper; write what you want, and do it like you mean it!  I once heard another similar line in one of my classes in grade school that said, "Writing is easy. Just sit down in front of a typewriter and open a vein."  I will address the first part of that quote.  Although the typewriter is obsolete in our world today, the beauty in modern media is that everyone has virtually full access to expressing their thoughts and opinions through writing in just about any context.  If I'm on top of Imperial Mountain at Breckenridge, I can take a picture of my view, then post it on my blog through my smartphone and then boom!  The whole world can see it.  Pretty simple in this day and age.  Regarding the second half of that quote, the thought that all ideas and content come directly from the writer is a pretty important one.  As writers, we are the ones who make this art what it is.  We're getting to a point now where technology is making the process easier, but it's not controlling us...yet.  The writer will always be the one in control, and the only limits are what is self-imposed.  There might be a great talent inside of you; you just need to discover it and embrace it.  It's in your blood - share it with the world.

Now when it comes to the rest of the process, hehe... when you get to a point where you're uttering Herman Cain's famous line, "I don't have the facts to back this up," a little research of sources of knowledge might be required.  It is the legal and moral thing to do when it comes to giving credit to those who said it before you, as well as to make sure you're not speaking crazy thoughts that only make sense to you (unless you're the only one reading it).  Other things like audience analysis and proofreading continue the writing process, and will eventually make your product a more complete and presentable one.  However, the most important thing is to write.  When you find yourself staring at a blank white page and you don't know what to do next, open your veins and "punch the goddamned keys!"  Let yourself go, and see where it takes you.

"You're the man now, dawg!" (this line probably led to his retirement)