A concept that Peter Elbow reveals in Writing without Teachers (1976) that I am currently exploring is the “mess” – the idea that writing is a messy exercise. The first stages of writing, the discovery phrase, where ideas, creativity, and substance are born, are fundamental. Before word processing, these stages were a visible part of the process. Crumpled papers, jagged lists, scratches, arrows, circles of text created beautiful collections of wording that were out in the open, scattered over table tops. But what happens to our messes now that we compose on a computer? How has the creative process changed now that we can immediately edit our ideas by wiping the screen clean with a backspace? Wording that used to remain scratched on the corner of a tattered notebook, visible and alive, is now deleted from the screen in seconds.
Our mess has certainly been cleaned up. But does the creative process of discovery suffer as a consequence? And how do teachers and tutors encourage students to use their writing to create in such an orderly world of perfect margins and smart Calibri font? My free writing exercises look more like first drafts these days, which troubles me. I am on a mission to become messy again. And I want to show students what a mess can look like and inspire. I must encourage the mess.
My task is daunting. Students do not typically enjoy making a writing mess because making a mess means making more words. As they struggle over their notions of perfect phrases and clauses, they are reluctant to write anything more than necessary for fear of having to mark it out. And as adult learners, they typically don’t want to ‘waste time’ writing something that will not be graded. But if we lead them to becoming more prolific writers and to realize that the process of writing truly does provide a method to discover meaning, perhaps they will write more. Perhaps they will realize that some writing doesn’t have to be seen by anyone but themselves and can exist without being used in their papers. Writing more is fundamental in their development as writers.
Of course we must make sense of the mess at some point. We must order our ideas, bring logic into the picture, focus the audience’s attention, and guide them through the discussion we are trying to create. This process of making order is usually encouraged through writing classes, in writing assignments, and through the Writing Center. Order is fostered through word processing. But writers rarely have depth to their discussions without first making messes. As writing teachers and tutors, I think we spend quality time with ordering and cleaning up. I think more time could be devoted to the mess.
WAC provides an opportunity to make the language of writing part of the student’s vocabulary. It also provides opportunities for students to become metacognitive and examine their writing process. If we encourage their messes when assigning writing projects or teaching methods of writing, they can wallow in their wording without guilt or worry. If we continue to only focus on the product, they lose this opportunity. So as we stress the importance of writing to students through this initiative, we should recognize that students need time and space to make messes, to create ideas through the process of writing without being constantly hounded about their sentence structure, the order of their ideas, that looming thesis statement.
As I write this piece, I have begun the process of making a mess again. Various colors of highlighted sections, a text box here, an arrow there. It still looks too neat. Perhaps I can change fonts with each free write. I can capture screen shots to print out and scatter about the desk. What Elbow first encouraged me to do as a writing teacher years ago is still relevant today. On my computer, with the cursor blinking at me, I must embrace the mess. And I must find a way for students to see how glorious a mess can be.
[This article was originally published in our June, 2009 issue.]
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