Seasonal Discoveries

Brainstorming, planning, writing, reviewing, repeat. Those were the main components of writing I identified in the middle of the month. Since then, the summer is fading to autumn as August fades into September. The seasons are changing, and seemingly, so is my writing.

Brainstorming-

I still consider myself a visual person, so I do make mood boards to gather inspiration when necessary. But recently I’ve learned to rely less on inspiration and more on the content of my writing itself. Now I brainstorm by writing words I think could be relevant on a sheet of paper. Occasionally I’ll doodle on the page to let my creativity loose, but I won’t spend as much time brainstorming as before.

Planning-

Planning is still incredibly important to me and rightfully so. Without a plan, my writing would go nowhere and the struggle of staying on topic (as stated in my latest blog entry) would be even worse! Recently I’ve found that using bullet points can help.

Introduction

• Quote/hook

Middle

• Brainstorming

• Planning

• Writing

• Reviewing

Conclusion

• Summary

• Key takeaways

In the middle of the month, “planning” to me would be making a detailed outline or sketch and limiting the words. I’d leave blank spaces for me to jot down a few sentences before furnishing the final product online and reviewing my work. That took quite a bit of time, more spent brainstorming than actually writing.

Writing-

Writing is an entire process on its own. Personally, I need a reserved time to write, as stated at the beginning of the month. Writing includes filling out all the details and sentences of that skeleton I previously made in the “planning” step. Usually, I’ll start by completing the middle before the introduction and the conclusion. Introductions are a hook into the rest of the work, so by doing the work first, I know what my introduction should be about.

Reviewing-

One factor that hasn’t changed since the middle of the month is my distaste for editing and reviewing. But the task needs to get done in order for my writing process to be complete and my work to be error-free. I don’t need to enjoy reviewing, I need to be thorough when reviewing. Listening to music can help make the process less tedious, but can sometimes be distracting. Grammarly is still a great help and learning opportunity, but isn’t always right and not always beneficial. As stated before, learning from mistakes can be more beneficial than a good grade on grammar. But bonus if you can achieve both a learning experience and a good grade!

The seasons are a year-long cycle, similar to how writing has a repetitive process. There are some seasons we dislike, and some we have a biased inclination towards. Everyone sees the season differently and we each have a season we prefer over another. But that won’t change the fact that all are vital in making a year, just as all steps in writing are vital to creating a piece of literature. I’ve learned so much in the span of a month, and I’m looking forward to learning more in the seasons to come.