Pre-write for as long as you draft? Wow. I don't think I do this. A plan is important, but I always planned and drafted and then lingered on the revision stage- taking time to re-write whole sections. This is new thinking to me.
I don't consider myself an overly planful person. For example, when I take a trip I pack about an hour before I go. It doesn't matter if I am going to be gone two days or two weeks. I just throw everything in a bag and head out. It isn't stressful to me- just how I do it.
The same can be said for writing. I think about what I am going to say. I read a lot in the genre I am writing. I make a list of broad ideas. Then, I kind of throw everything on paper knowing I'll go back and fix it. I wonder where in my process Boice would suggest I slow down. Where should I linger?What should I add?
I am constantly comparing Boice to the strategies we help students think about in the classroom. Even though this part is not relevant to most people in the current class, it helps me to actively apply my learning, so I use it- not only for myself but also for my students. In middle school, we begin genre studies (not everything we do is a genre study) with mentor texts. These texts are published pieces that students study, quote, and annotate. Their ultimate job is to write something that will fit in the stack of writing that they were given. My thinking is that if students learn to study a genre, they can become more independent writers. They no longer rely on a teacher to show them how a genre works. Boice touches upon this idea when he talks about reading and note taking.
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