How to Uncover the Treasure in Our Writing
By: Brenda Mahler
Tags: Style, Quotes, Writing Tips From Writers, Process, Writing

How to Uncover the Treasure in Our Writing

Created, photographed, and practiced by Brenda Mahler, author

Donald Murray was the guru of teaching writing in the 1980s. Since I graduated from the university in 1985, he was my mentor on how to teach writing. I read everything he wrote and became a convert believing more can be learned through writing if the focus remains on the process instead of the product.

In his text “Teach Writing as a Process Not Product,” (Donald M. Murray, The Leaflet (November 1972), rpt. in Cross-Talk in Comp Theory, 2nd ed., ed. Victor Villanueva, Urbana: NCTE, 2003.) Murray focused on the process of writing acknowledging that writers use language to gain understanding of their world and thereby communicate information to readers.

Lately, I have observed writers churning out texts of subpar quality with a focus to produce a final, submit, publish. When writers create with the end in mind, they miss the process of discovery. Social media allows anyone to produce and circulate words quickly with limited emphasis on eloquence: expression, style, quality, or technique.

Murry stressed the beauty of written words and their intensity when combined in the most effective, proficient, and clearest manner.

Maybe, because teachers place the focus on completing the task by assigning a topic, providing a formula, and allowing 45 minutes to produce, student writers believe the goal is to finish. Or possibly because writers’ financial rewards are equated with quantity, quality takes a backseat. Our world values getting it done over taking time to do our best.

Murray states, “Instead of teaching finished writing, we should teach unfinished writing, and glory in its unfinishedness. We work with language in action. We share with our students the continual excitement of choosing one word instead of another, of searching for the one true word. This is not a question of correct or incorrect.”

Donald Murray challenges us to approach writing with an open mind. Yes, we must focus the topic, however, we should allow time for revision to manipulate metaphors, elaborate images, and polish before publishing. As part of his instructions for teaching the writing process, he provided 10 reasons to permit manuscripts to develop and gain a voice without the intervention of a heavy-handed writer or a preplanned agenda. These 10 recommendations provide freedom and empower the words to take on a life of their own. If done correctly, often the writer will learn as much through the process as the reader.

As a professor, Murray spoke directly to teachers, so he often used the term students. Since he provided strategies for creators, “writers’” can be substituted each time “students” is read so his knowledge can be applied to us all.

Donald Murray’s reasons to process writing

1. “The text of the writing course is the student’s own writing. Writers examine their own evolving writing . . . so that they study writing while it is still a matter of choice, word by word.”

A writer’s skills improve through the practice of manipulating words and experimenting with the language. If we remain open to discovery, our toolbox of techniques grows.

2. “The student finds his own subject. . . It is the responsibility of the student to explore his own world with his own language, to discover his own meaning.”

Through the process of writing, meaning is discovered. Often as a piece develops, it comes alive and controls the direction of the narrative.

3. “The student uses his own language. . . [as] they embark on a serious search for their own truth.”

The work should resonate the voice of the writer. By writing in a consistent style, the material becomes personal and not an imitation of others.

4. “The student should have the opportunity to write all the drafts necessary for him to discover what he has to say . . .”

Each stage of the writing process fulfills a purpose and the process as a whole is recursive. A writer should grant themselves the freedom to move from gathering ideas to drafts and through revision knowing the opportunity to revisit any stage is an opportunity for improvement.

5. “The student is encouraged to attempt any form of writing which may help him discover and communicate what he has to say.”

Writers should choose the most appropriate genre to convey the thoughts and emotions of the writing.

6. “Mechanics come last. It is important to the writer, once he has discovered what he has to say, that nothing get between him and his reader. He must break only those traditions of written communication which would obscure his meaning.”

By allowing themselves to process writing, writers can isolate tasks so that editing doesn’t interrupt the ideas and stifle creativity.

7. “There must be time for the writing process to take place and time for it to end. The writer must work within the stimulating tension of unpressured time to think and dream and stare out windows, and pressured time the deadline to which the writer must deliver.”

A simple reminder that deadlines are always an important part of the process.

8. “Papers are examined to see what other choices the writer might make. The primary responsibility for seeing the choices is the student. He is learning a process. His papers are always unfinished, evolving, until the end of the marking period.”

Writers should replace “end of the marking period” with “published.” A paper is never done. It continues to evolve as it takes on a life of its own. In fact, even after a paper is published it can be revised to address a new audience or fulfill a different purpose.

9. “The students are individuals who must explore the writing process in their own way, some fast, some slow, whatever it takes for them, within the limits of the course deadlines, to find their own way to their own truth.”

Every topic imaginable has been discussed. Every story has been told. However, through the writing process, a writer creates a unique piece of art that shares their reality.

10. “There are no rules, no absolutes, just alternatives. What works one time may not another. All writing is experimental.”

For me this quote shares wisdom. Read the rules, digest the grammar, apply the formulas and then forget it all and write from the heart. When the words communicate, there is success.

I understand, writing serves many purposes. Sometimes deadlines push me to produce a product with the focus on content instead of style or voice. However, Mr. Murray’s recommendations provide a cautious warning to writers. Authors influence the readers; they impact society and with this responsibility comes the charge not only to communicate a message but to persuade, entertain, motivate, inspire, and feed the readers’ spirit.

As you continue on your path as a writer, remember to allow time to process the writing so the words lead you to wisdom and open to new discoveries.