Observations on the writing process
We’ve been reading about writing and the writing process recently and we thought it would be interesting to collect sentences that include the phrase “…writing is...”
The idea: A sentence centered on the words “…writing is…” is likely to contain a helpful definition, description, or metaphor about the writing process. And you’ll see the collection that follows sheds light on many different facets of the writing process.
We started with a few phrases from William Zinsser (author of On Writing Well). Then we branched out to statements by other authors, with a focus on nonfiction writing.
We weren’t sure how to organize this collection, so we just alphabetized what we found based on the word (or words) immediately following “writing is.”
If you find these observations half as interesting as we do, we’re in good shape. We’ve added a few takeaways at the end.
“...writing is a basic tool for getting through life.”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“Writing is a craft, and a writer is someone who goes to work every day with his tools, like a carpenter or the television repairman, no matter how he feels...”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“...writing is a form of thinking...”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“A life of writing is a life of learning.”
– Donald Murray “One Writer’s Secrets”
“Writing is a magical and mysterious process that makes it possible to think differently.” – Lynn Hunt “How Writing Leads to Thinking”
“...writing is a means of growth and … it should never be without elements of joy and wonder.” – William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“…writing is a process of discovery.”
– Donald Murray “How Writing Finds Its Own Meaning”
“Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking.”
– Deborah Dumaine Write to the Top
“Writing is a tool that enables people in every discipline to wrestle with facts and ideas.” – William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“Writing is, after all, a personal transaction between two people, even if it is conducted on paper, and the transaction will go well to the extent that it retains its humanity.”
– William Zinsser On Writing Well
“Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.” On Writing Well
“Writing is an act of recording or communicating and much more. Writing is a significant kind of thinking in which the symbols of language assume a purpose of their own and instruct the writer during the composing process.”
– Donald Murray “How Writing Finds Its Own Meaning”
“...an act of writing is an act of thinking...” – William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“All writing is experimental.”
– Donald Murray “Teach Writing as a Process Not Product”
“Good communications writing is five-tenths mental discipline, four-tenths willingness to rework first drafts, and one-tenth aptitude.”
– Marvin H. Swift “Clear Writing Means Clear Thinking Means…”
“Writing is hard work.” – William Zinsser On Writing Well
“Writing is improved speech. It is harder because it is better. It takes longer because it can carry more meaning. It requires more concentration because it carries more weight. It is more permanent because it is tested and refined. Writing is harder than talking because it counts for more, not less.”
– John Tagg “Thinking About Writing”
“…writing is, in some ways, inherently difficult. That is to say that the difficulty is caused by the very nature of the act of writing, so we will always encounter that difficulty. Writing, in this sense, is not like walking or talking or driving a car. These things become easy with practice. Writing is more like playing basketball or chess or the guitar. It will always remain difficult even after you have done it a lot, in the sense that just doing it well takes much effort and concentration.”
– John Tagg “Thinking About Writing”
“…the act of writing is inseparable from the act of reading.”
– Donald Murray “Teaching the Other Self (The Writer’s First Reader)”
“Good writing is lean and confident.” – William Zinsser On Writing Well
“…remember that writing is linear and sequential, that logic is the glue that holds it together, that tension and pace are crucial.”
– William Zinsser On Writing Well
“…the central act of writing is listening.”
– Donald Murray “Listening to Writing”
“Writing is luck but writers are especially lucky.”
– Donald Murray “Getting Under the Lightning”
“Writing is no respecter of blueprints—it’s too subjective a process, too full of surprises.” – William Zinsser On Writing Well
“Clear writing is not just talk put into ink. It has fewer false starts (they’ve been edited out), less meandering around the point, tighter structure.
– Jonathan Price Put That in Writing
“Writing is not unlike the schoolroom period called ‘show and tell.’ The writer should not only tell a story; he should try to make the reader see what he is writing about.”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“…the best writing is often unintended.”
– Donald Murray “Listening to Writing”
“...writing is primarily an exercise in logic and … words are just tools designed to do a specific job.”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“Writing is primarily not a matter of talent, of dedication, of vision, of vocabulary, of style, but simply a matter of sitting.”
– Donald Murray “Getting Under the Lightning”
“... the essence of writing is rewriting.”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“Writing is stressful.” – Lynn Hunt “How Writing Leads to Thinking”
“Good writing is the reflection of a mind well-equipped for thinking, decision making and problem solving.
– Mark James Miller “Writing, thinking: A critical connection”
“…the excitement of writing is the surprise of hearing what you did not expect to hear.” – Donald Murray “Listening to Writing”
“Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly—about any subject at all.”
– William Zinsser Writing to Learn
“Writing is time-consuming.”
– Lynn Hunt “How Writing Leads to Thinking”
“…the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.” – William Zinsser On Writing Well
A few themes worth noting
Writing and thinking are inextricably linked. When we write a first draft, we convert thoughts into text. The revision stage gives us a further opportunity to refine the way we express our ideas.
In order to write, we need to listen to ourselves. We need to get quiet enough to be able to hear our thoughts (and then move those thoughts to a computer or paper). There is a reason professional writers block time on their calendars and go to great lengths to shield that time from interruptions. This may also explain why many writers gravitate toward writing in the (quiet) early morning hours.
Discovery is part of the process. We can only hold a limited number of ideas in our heads at one time (similar to a computer’s random-access memory). Once we have transferred those ideas from mind to paper, we create room for new ideas to enter. As a result, we often find out what’s on our minds after we start writing.
Emotions can play a significant role the writing process. See, for instance, “Writing is stressful.”
In case there was any doubt, these quotes show that writing has many facets. Some aspects of writing are mechanical—setting down words with a pen or typing—and some a lot more subtle. The writing process requires creativity, listening, thinking, thinking some more and (for nonfiction writers) expressing those thoughts in as few words as possible.
Sources
Dumaine, Deborah. Write to the Top: Writing for Corporate Success. New York: Random House, 2004
Hunt, Lynn. “The Art of History: How Writing Leads to Thinking.” Perspectives on History 1 Feb. 2010
Miller, Mark James. “Writing, thinking: A critical connection.” 27 Sep. 2013. Santa Maria Times
Murray, Donald, Newkirk, Thomas and Miller, Lisa C. Eds. The Essential Don Murray: Lessons from Americas’ Greatest Writing Teacher. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 2009
Price, Jonathan. Put That in Writing. New York: Viking Penguin, 1984
Swift, Marvin H. “Clear Writing Means Clear Thinking Means…” Jan. 1973. Harvard Business Review
Tagg, John. “Thinking About Writing.” https://www2.palomar.edu/users/jtagg/thinkwrite.htm
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. 3rd Ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1985
Zinsser, William. Writing to Learn. New York: Harper & Row, 1988