Writing As A Process
While there are steps one can follow to streamline the writing process, it is often difficult for writers to simply choose a topic, research that topic, form a thesis, and then type up a decent paper. If one focuses solely on the steps (topic, outline, draft), writing is framed as a recipe that results in a paper, and misses the point of writing as a learning experience.
Abandoning the notion that writers must have their thoughts clearly articulated in their heads before putting them on paper opens up the possibility of the writing process becoming a knowledge-creating activity.
A fundamental truth about the writing process is that it is rarely, if ever, linear. The writing process is an exercise in exploration, revision of both words and ideas, and even back-tracking. A visual interpretation of one's writing process might look like this:
