Liar
now with 17% more class
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2003
- Posts
- 43,715
I just got hold of Daniel Chandler's "The Act Of Writing" as a part of a basic course in jornalism I'm attending. Never heard of those writing strategies he talks about before, but they seem to make sense to me.
I'm definitely a water-colourist. I have the whole thing planned in my head when I start to type, and my characters does not "get a life of their own and take over". Nothing unplanned happens in the plot (How can it, when I decide what happens?). If a story turns out to have flaws, illogic plot or something, I can't correct it while I write, it's make or break every time. I never write down notes, and I almost never make any more revisions than to correct spelling and language.
What kind of writers are you? How does a story of yours come into being?
------------
Writing Strategies
[Ali] Wyllie (1993) surveyed student and academic writers to learn about the writing strategies they used. She categorised five main strategies and gave them names associated with creative or construction occupations.
Water-colourist
Architect
Bricklayer
Sketcher
Oil painter
'Water-colourists’
They start writing with the end result clearly in their minds. They think hard about what they going to say and make mental plans about the structure. They then work continuously and sequentially until the job is done, with few pauses or revisions. They rarely lose sight of the ‘big picture’ as they write. Only a small percentage of the respondents were in this category!
‘Architects’
They made detailed plans first, usually with chapter or section headings to guide them. They write a first draft, usually in a sequential way, starting with chapter 1, but sometimes starting with the easiest section. They then continually review and revise their work until satisfied with it. They rarely correct as they go along, preferring instead to leave it until they have completed the first draft.
‘Bricklayers’
They don’t always have a big picture in their minds when they start writing, but more likely a series of ideas and points they want to make. They start with one idea and build up the text sentence by sentence, revising each until they are happy with it. Their revision is predominantly at a small scale, sentence or paragraph level, rather than with the text as a whole. The big picture emerges slowly in the process, with ideas emerging sequentially and gradually
‘Sketchers’
They usually produce rough plans that organise text under broad headings, though these might be abandoned once they begin to write. They are flexible in their writing, usually writing in a linear and sequential way, from introduction onward, but sometimes starting with an easy section. They revise frequently, both to the meaning, grammar, spelling and ordering of the text, both during the
writing and after, until they are satisfied with it.
‘Oil-painter’
They write by discovery and never have a complete picture in their minds when they start. They start off by jotting down a few ideas as they occur and organise these later. They begin writing sometimes with a rough plan, but often not. They jump into the text anywhere they feel comfortable or at the easiest part and go backwards andforwards from there. Their work is subject to much revision and they may correct as they go along, but generally do this later.
I'm definitely a water-colourist. I have the whole thing planned in my head when I start to type, and my characters does not "get a life of their own and take over". Nothing unplanned happens in the plot (How can it, when I decide what happens?). If a story turns out to have flaws, illogic plot or something, I can't correct it while I write, it's make or break every time. I never write down notes, and I almost never make any more revisions than to correct spelling and language.
What kind of writers are you? How does a story of yours come into being?
------------
Writing Strategies
[Ali] Wyllie (1993) surveyed student and academic writers to learn about the writing strategies they used. She categorised five main strategies and gave them names associated with creative or construction occupations.
Water-colourist
Architect
Bricklayer
Sketcher
Oil painter
'Water-colourists’
They start writing with the end result clearly in their minds. They think hard about what they going to say and make mental plans about the structure. They then work continuously and sequentially until the job is done, with few pauses or revisions. They rarely lose sight of the ‘big picture’ as they write. Only a small percentage of the respondents were in this category!
‘Architects’
They made detailed plans first, usually with chapter or section headings to guide them. They write a first draft, usually in a sequential way, starting with chapter 1, but sometimes starting with the easiest section. They then continually review and revise their work until satisfied with it. They rarely correct as they go along, preferring instead to leave it until they have completed the first draft.
‘Bricklayers’
They don’t always have a big picture in their minds when they start writing, but more likely a series of ideas and points they want to make. They start with one idea and build up the text sentence by sentence, revising each until they are happy with it. Their revision is predominantly at a small scale, sentence or paragraph level, rather than with the text as a whole. The big picture emerges slowly in the process, with ideas emerging sequentially and gradually
‘Sketchers’
They usually produce rough plans that organise text under broad headings, though these might be abandoned once they begin to write. They are flexible in their writing, usually writing in a linear and sequential way, from introduction onward, but sometimes starting with an easy section. They revise frequently, both to the meaning, grammar, spelling and ordering of the text, both during the
writing and after, until they are satisfied with it.
‘Oil-painter’
They write by discovery and never have a complete picture in their minds when they start. They start off by jotting down a few ideas as they occur and organise these later. They begin writing sometimes with a rough plan, but often not. They jump into the text anywhere they feel comfortable or at the easiest part and go backwards andforwards from there. Their work is subject to much revision and they may correct as they go along, but generally do this later.
Last edited:
rumply) and I cannot stand editing, though I am getting better at it, marginally. 
