Writing an essay or article takes a lot of time. First, you need to figure out what you want to write about, then you have to do the research. In the case of "It's Not Your Parents' Weed, Man," I was in Boulder, Colorado, and so I went to the store and talked to people, as well as actually going through the process of buying the "product," so I would know what it was like. An essay like this requires both primary and secondary sources. I took notes while I was doing that. A large mistake I made in that process was that I forgot to bring my digital recorder, which I had not gotten into the habit of using. I probably could have asked more questions and would have remembered more if I had brought that recorder. I also wish I had interviewed a few of the customers, but my time was spent talking to the salespeople/clerks. By the time I had finished with them, my number was called, and it was time to go into the back. The only other two customers there were busy talking to their salesperson, as was I. When I came out, the salespeople moved me and the crowd so that I was out the door of the store fairly quickly, and the next couple of customers moved into the back room. I'm afraid I'm not aggressive enough to work against that just to get a few quotes from customers about why they were there or what they thought of the store or the law. I should also have gone to other marijuana stores, but I didn't really have the time. It was late in the day and they would all have been closing soon, and I needed to drive to Nevada the next day. I had promised my niece I'd be there to visit her by a certain day. However, I think I did fairly well with the material I gained from that visit.
I also researched the new law via the Internet and newspapers. I did part of the research before I went, so I understood what I was getting into and what questions to ask. After, I had more questions, and so I went back to the research.
Then I did more brainstorming, freewriting, and a rough draft. After getting feedback from the members of my writing group, I went back and did another freewriting and a rough outline, and then another draft.
A friend and colleague, who is a very good editor, read this draft and critiqued it. I then wrote another draft. We did this three times. The final draft probably still has flaws in it, but there comes a point when you just have to let it go. There is no such thing as perfection when it comes to writing anything.
The attached files show the process I used while writing "It's Not Your Parents' Weed, Man." Please see the tab, "The Process of Writing, Discussion," for more about this process, and join the discussion if you wish. (Put your cursor over the tab "Writing Process" to see that tab.)
1. Brainstorming
2. Freewriting (free associative writing)
3. Rough outline
4. Draft #1 with critiques from my writers' group
5. Draft #2 with critiques from a colleague
6. Draft #3 with critiques from a colleague
7. Draft #4 with critiques from a colleague
8. Final version
I also researched the new law via the Internet and newspapers. I did part of the research before I went, so I understood what I was getting into and what questions to ask. After, I had more questions, and so I went back to the research.
Then I did more brainstorming, freewriting, and a rough draft. After getting feedback from the members of my writing group, I went back and did another freewriting and a rough outline, and then another draft.
A friend and colleague, who is a very good editor, read this draft and critiqued it. I then wrote another draft. We did this three times. The final draft probably still has flaws in it, but there comes a point when you just have to let it go. There is no such thing as perfection when it comes to writing anything.
The attached files show the process I used while writing "It's Not Your Parents' Weed, Man." Please see the tab, "The Process of Writing, Discussion," for more about this process, and join the discussion if you wish. (Put your cursor over the tab "Writing Process" to see that tab.)
1. Brainstorming
2. Freewriting (free associative writing)
3. Rough outline
4. Draft #1 with critiques from my writers' group
5. Draft #2 with critiques from a colleague
6. Draft #3 with critiques from a colleague
7. Draft #4 with critiques from a colleague
8. Final version