How We Write

HOW WE WRITE

Writing as creative design

by Mike Sharples

London: Routledge Published: December 1998

Why is writing apparently effortless for some people and a mental torment for others?

How do children become writers?

What strategies and techniques do successful authors use?

'How We Write is a thoughtful and admirably lucid attempt to explain and demystify the mental processes involved in the activity of writing... Educators, students, professionals, literary critics, and even creative writers will all find something of interest and practical value in its pages.'

David Lodge

How We Write: writing as creative design is an accessible guide to the entire writing process, from forming ideas to formatting text. Combining new explanations of creativity with insights into writing as design, it offers a comprehensive account of the mental, physical and social aspects of writing.

This accompanying website will provide further information on the title and its author, and it will also be a valuable resource for writers.

"Mike Sharples pulls back the curtain on writers, revealing the true nature of their work as creative designers."
Ronald T.Kellogg, University of Missouri-Rolla

"Exceptionally clearly structured, and exceptionally well written, thorough and comprehensive. At the core of How We Write lies a serious development of the metaphor of 'writing as design' and that gives the book an entirely innovative edge."
Gunther Kress, Institute of Education, University of London

Ordering Links Online article by Mike Sharples

"New technology is changing not only the way we write but the very nature of writing. The computer animates and connects texts into a global web of interactive discourse."
Taken from Chapter 12: Media Slip, Dynatext, Hypermedia and the Docuverse

Contents

List of figures
Preface
Acknowledgements
Part One Writing in the head
Chapter 1 The nature of writing
Chapter 2 Becoming a writer
Chapter 3 Constraint and creativity

Part Two Writing with the page
Chapter 4 Writing as design
Chapter 5 Planning
Chapter 6 Composing
Chapter 7 Revising
Chapter 8 Becoming a writer
Chapter 9 Writing images

Part Three Writing in the world
Chapter 10 Messages in bottles and cultures
Chapter 11 Writing together
Chapter 12 Media slip, dynatext, hypermedia and the docuverse

Notes
Index

Links

There is an enormous amount of sites for writing and writers out there. These encompass collaborative on-line writing groups in Seattle, English grammar lessons, indiviual poems and whole books. Below we have provided a few key links to provide a taster of what's available.

Two recommended starting points are The Writing and Compters Association site, or an extremely comprehensive Links for Writers website.

Other recommended sites are:

http://www.matex.co.uk
Resources on writing and information design for learning, teaching and training.
http://www.free-press.com
An Electronic publishing site with an excellent online discussion forum. Access the site and then follow links via 'Forums' to 'Talkback'.
http://www.wyllison.u-net.com/combibl.html
A comprehensive set of resources on Computers and English Language Learning.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/~ednwww/Daniel/act-of-writing.doc
This link provides an Electronic version of Daniel Chandler's publication The Act of Writing.
http://www.amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk the online bookshop.

If you would like to recommend any other sites, please do contact us at info.linguistics@routledge.com.