SQR 1

Summary 1- Understanding Composing
The way we humans as writers compose our thoughts and ideas into intelligible and meaningful words has long been thought by many to be a simple, linear process. Many of us were taught all throughout grade school the strict, yet dependable formula of “plan/write/revise”. Although this formula has proved to be helpful to many, a newer notion of the composing process being able to be a more free flowing experience is emerging. With such concepts as “felt sense”, a phrase coined by Eugene Gendlin, a philosopher at the University of Chicago, the act of composing can be much easier than we’ve ever come to realize. Felt sense involves taking the given topic in and tending to what it evokes in us, whether it be words, images, sounds, feelings, etc. A key difference between the “plan/write/revise” composing model and the “felt sense” approach is that the latter asks that you be more patient in seeing what ideas form, while the former pressures you to meet the model criteria. It is this pressure that can lead to large amounts of frustration if you become stuck within a writing. Many within the scholar community view felt sense as a new way to teach writers to find a creativeness in them that they may or may not have known they had. Whatever the case may be, as research continues on composing, more and more interesting concepts are expected to become available to us, paving the way for the writers of tomorrow.

Question:
Which do you prefer, the plan/write/revise composing model, or the recursive composing model?

Response:
In Sondra Perl’s article, “Understanding Composing”, two basic models for composing writing are recognized. On one hand is the formulaic plan/write/revise model, one that many writers, new and experienced alike, use often to complete their works. On the other is a less strict, and sometimes, less frustrating, recursive composing process. I genuinely prefer the latter. Recursive composing involves the writer going back or referring to what has already been written so that he or she may find a way to progress the writing. For example, they may reread what they’ve wrote and an idea may be inspired to further progress their writing. This process is repeated many times through the course of writing their piece of literature. It is less strict and frustrating compared to the plan/write/revise model in that you are not forced to try and fit the model criteria. It is a more free form way of writing in which the author mentally takes in the topic and works with the thoughts, feelings (whether emotional or physical), and concepts it evokes and puts them into intelligible, coherent sentences. Many scholars argue the recursive model opens the door for newfound creativity in many writers. I certainly agree.

-Estevan Trejo