What does it mean to talk about writing as a process?
A typical 'process model' envisages the writer working through various stages from 'invention' to 'product'. The concept of a 'draft' and 'drafting' is central to the structuring of these stages, as is usually 'feedback' (from a peer or a teacher) and 'revision'.
The flow of events may look something like this, here involving two drafts:
Invention
Brainstorming
First Draft
Feedback
Revision > > >
Second draft
Feedback
Editing
Proof-reading
Product
In practice a writer is unlikely to consciously follow 'stages' like this in any writing event. One criticism of such models is that they tend to 'over-structure' writing and give the impression that there is a 'right' way to write. They can be too linear. Different situations will call for different processes, often depending on the time available (think, for example, of how you write when you have a tight deadline), the needs of the audience, and whether the writer has prior experience in the genre. So presenting a process model as an obligatory sequence of steps in classroom writing can be counter-productive.
However, process models - if flexible and adaptable in practice - can offer useful ways into writing. They can help the writer plan his or her writing and take away the pressure, often a feature of traditional approaches, that writing is a skill where you have to be correct and articulate straight away and where the product is everything.
Process approaches - despite accusations that they they can be too individualised - can also be used to encourage collaboration during writing events in the classroom. Feedback protocols such as 'peer response', either in pairs or in small groups, and 'conferencing' with the teacher are often features of good process writing pedagogies.
The idea of a 'writing workshop', now popular and widely used outside schools as well as in them, makes use of the idea that writing is a creative process, one of exploration rather than arrival. The workshop approach provides opportunities for people to share work in progress and get critical feedback in a supportive environment.
