Product versus Process: Unleashing Your Natural Writing Voice (Part 1)

By Aaron Nielsenshultz

If you’re reading this article, you probably have a relationship with writing. What with email, the web, text messages, message boards, proposals, blogs, marketing material, notes, e-meetings, and so on, writing takes up more and more of our lives.

Unfortunately, most of the writing we do is product-based, meaning that we’re trying to produce a document for a specific purpose. Add to it that we have to finish most things by a deadline, and we’re really putting the emphasis on the production part of writing. Why’s that a problem?

Product Writing—Putting the Cart Before the Horse
Product writing puts the cart before the horse, to use an old cliché. Most of us find a way to make it through to the end of what we need to write, and along the way, we learn a bit about ourselves as writers. But the emphasis on doing writing rather than being a writer limits our progress and makes writing a chore rather than a valuable experience. (And, yes, you can be a writer!)

We often hear from people that they have trouble starting writing, or knowing when to stop; people have difficulty figuring out the best way to write their points. People often ask us about different ways to write—should they write a letter, a bullet-point list, a few paragraphs? How formal should they be? And when’s the best time to start writing? How much lead time do we need? The questions go on and on.

This displacement from the writing act comes when we forget why we’re writing and instead emphasize the job that needs to get done. And here’s where the cart gets before the horse: We have to produce writing, but most of us haven’t taken the time to understand our own process of writing. And understanding your natural writing process can make all the difference when it comes to answering those questions in the previous paragraph.

While we learn some good habits from it, product writing reinforces our bad habits. Most of us know that we should take more time over what we have to write, but we don’t. Of course, sometimes we just don’t get the lead-time necessary for a full process writing session, but by learning we can make do without it, we learn to do without it. That may be ok if you just want to get by, but if you want your writing to be powerful and connect with your audience, it's just not good enough.

Do any of these product-writing habits sound like you?

I write and brainstorm at the same time.
The first time I think about a document is when I sit down to write it.
I can't seem to stay focused when I write.
I constantly interrupt my writing to reread and edit.
I wait until the last minute to start writing.
I don’t know when to stop writing.
I often sit and stare at the screen.
I have trouble finding the right words to say (write) what I mean.
I can’t find time to write

Process Writing—A Smooth and Natural Experience
We'll introduce process writing in our next article. We'll describe a bit about our own writing processes and give you some techniques to help you determine your own best process.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Yara and Aaron Nielsenshultz, the Writing "Peppers" and founders of Red Pepper Writing, teach ambitious Coaches, Consultants, and other Solopreneurs how to use powerful writing to get more clients and make more money. For FREE weekly writing tips, visit http://www.redpepperwriting.com.

WANT TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE ? No problem! You may reprint it as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” blurb at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to peppers@redpepperwriting.com.

Welcome | FREE Tips | Ezine | WordBlog
Products | The "Peppers"

Red Pepper Writing
Olathe, KS 66062
913.768.6020
peppers@redpepperwriting.com