The Writing Journey

We explored the stages of the writing process and how they shape the writer. I reflected on how students’ attempts, mistakes, and successes reveal that writing is as much about discovery as it is about correctness. Inspired by these insights, I wrote this piece to capture the journey of young writers.

By Niola Patrice 

 The Writing Journey

I start with a spark, a scribble, a line,

the emergent writer whispers, “This word is mine.”

Letters uneven, ideas half formed,

but in that chaos, a writer is born.

Prewriting for me is like a storm,

thoughts rushing out in every form.

Messy mind maps, questions, schemes,

all the seeds of unwritten dreams.

Then comes the early writer’s stage,

where sound and symbol take the page.

I think of Anique’s daughter that day,

spelling family proudly as Famalay.

It made me pause, it made me smile,

the influence of first language is strong and wild.

Our Grenadian tongue, our rhythm, our song,

showing us how culture writes along.

It struck me deeply, I could see

how my first tongue still shapes me.

Drafting is where I often live,

pouring ideas, with more to give.

The developing writer starts to see

that revision is not just correction, it is identity.

Erase, replace, refine, renew,

until the words feel fully true.

And here I found an aha so clear,

a strategy I will hold near.

I will have students skip a line in their book,

so editing has space to look.

Room to revisit, room to repair,

space for the writer to show they care.

Then comes fluency, confident and strong,

words flowing smoothly, like rhythm in song.

Editing sharpens, publishing shines,

and finally the work feels truly mine.

But writing is more than polished display,

it is courage to share in a public way.

That is why the author’s chair spoke to me,

a practice for the classroom I long to see.

A place where students read aloud,

where voices rise before a crowd.

Not just correction, not just score,

but writing as something to be adored.

I see myself in every stage,

emergent marks to the fluent page.

Still, I circle back again,

from trembling lines to steady pen.

Each step a lesson, each draft a door,

showing me growth is always more.

And me,

I carry Anique’s story inside,

her daughter’s Famalay is my guide.

It tells me writing is culture, voice,

the heart of home, the power of choice.

I carry my aha moments too,

skipping lines and author’s chair, something new.

These are the tools I will one day share,

to shape young writers with patience and care.

For writing is not just skill or art,

it is the echo of the writer’s heart.

And in this journey, stage by stage,

I find my strength, page by page.