As I was reading descriptions of different writers, they all seemed to describe me and experiences I've had with writing. I think the point was to illustrate that no two writers are alike, but it occurred to me that the same writer might not be the same in every situation. If I find myself with plenty of time and no paper, I can compose an entire piece in my head and then just write it down word for word when I get the chance. When I worked for a newspaper, I often did this during my drive back to the office after covering an event, and I still do it during my commutes to and from campus. Most times, I sit at a computer and type, constantly revising as I go. My rough drafts are never really rough, unless I've had to hurry to meet some sort of deadline. I like the idea of exposing students to different approaches but ultimately encouraging them to find and embrace their own writing process instead of forcing them to follow somebody else's. I had to write a research paper in high school that broke the assignment down into smaller graded assignments. Our thesis statements were due by a certain date. Specified numbers of notecards with individual pieces of information from our research were due by certain dates. I felt like I was wasting time doing work just for the sake of turning it in for a grade when I could have been using that time in a way that worked for me.
P.S. How great is the term literary flab?
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