Susan Helfter's "Who Am I When I Write?"


Writing Process Comparison to Reading

My writing process would most closely resemble that of Susan Helfter's. Her writing process is often one of self-reflection and creating concrete pictures out of dreamy ideas.

She compares herself to a little girl exploring in an ancient house who feels intrigued, overwhelmed, and terrified simultaneously by all the many different objects to explore. Like the little girl, my writing process takes me on a hike through the silent night environment of my mind. I trek aimlessly for a while until reaching my final destination, the natural window frame. I feel enormously overwhelmed and incredibly intrugued by the multitude of different images in front of me. However, I also feel terrified because I know that I do not have the chance to fully explore each one and I fear that I will not choose the best of the group.

Ms. Helfter's passage also discusses how writing creates random brainstorming and shapes dreamy ideas into solid words. As for me, I first draw my pool ideas from the inner recesses of my mind. When I have completed the exploring stage, I concentrate fully on shaping this vague and simplistic idea into a tangible detailed mass on paper.

In comparison, both of our writing processes are relatively similar because they tend to draw inspiration from the mind and develop mentally.

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