Writing and Learning

  Part of what I have come to learn in the year of studies is that writing is a very methodical process, much like the way one does research. Prior to taking the proseminar course, I have harbored this naive attitude that writing is somehow a spontaneous process which happens straight from a person's heart. In fact, a lot of it is very step by step. What helps is for me to understand that the writing itself is not the final goal; learning is the final goal. In other words, truly writing one's life is a process of simultaneous self-discovery, where the process of formulating words on the page in and of itself becomes a form of continual renewed discovery. The act of writing is inseparable from the process of discovery and thinking.
   I find that this way of looking at writing is a refreshing step away from my previous ideas, which often positioned writing as a way of polishing already existing thoughts, rather than as a thought formation in itself. If taken seriously, the actual act of writing becomes an on-the-spot creative process of discovery, as opposed to simply a chronicle of one's past thoughts. It's quite refreshing in the sense that writing in this vein can lift away the burdens of having to present a perfected version of one's thinking in written form.
  At the same time, I am no longer that attached to the idea that writing doesn't involve planning and stages. In fact, it really does involve a lot of planning and methodical plotting of themes and ideas. To write is a bit like a marathon: one needs to chart the course and strategize over what stops they need to make in order to reach the finish post in a given time. Learning is thus not entirely spontaneous, any more than research is. There needs to be a stated question that one really wants to explore, followed by methods which logically complement the question itself and allow for meaningful answers. Once a structure is in place, there is then room for the researcher/writer to explore the inroads in the writing itself as well as the question one is attempting to explore or answer.
   Even if I never publish a full scale book in my lifetime, I would truly benefit to know what are the steps involved in doing so. Research complements the process of writing because it shows how to develop a plan for a longer work that can be accessed by others.