There were several metaphors that closely resembled my process in general, not just the Wikipedia project. These included the refining, casting and recasting, and finally painting. The common theme between these styles is the dynamic writing and near constant state of revision. From the first sentence, until submission/publication: revision and alterations occur whenever it is deemed appropriate. I enjoy this style, as it is simply what occurs naturally to me. I am perpetually rereading, altering, and augmenting that which I have already written.
From Wikipedia, I think we can see first hand how dynamic a piece of writing can be; especially with the potential for perpetual revision and alteration. The author will write and revise until he/she feels the article is complete (at least for the time being). Once their article is posted, others will come in to review and scrutinize; making adjustments and revisions of their own. Furthermore, additional writers will come in and add more information as time goes by, necessitating additional revision and review from more editors.
By examining Wikipedia, I think we ultimately learn how dynamic a process writing, and specifically revision, can be. The revision and rewriting is happening all the time in a wiki. And to a certain extent, the same can apply to our own works. The revisions and alterations of a wiki page are innumerable in most cases: ranging from a minute change in phrasing to a drastic overhaul of an entire section of an article. Revisions occur all the time and could potentially occur for decades to come.
I agree that revision is always happening on Wikipedia, I also feel like I am also constantly revising my writing as well. As with you, revision of my work throughout a project is just a natural process of writing with me. Thats also a great point you made. Revision on Wikipedia is a constant process. Someone will revise a original piece, then others will come and do the same. Thus a never ending cycle of revision.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't have a writing checklist either, I just revise what needs it whenever i see it, thats it. I guess if it were like one of the metaphors it would be the mechanic, just going around fixing things here, tightening a bolt there until the machine is ready to go and be fueled up and published. I like how you said "specifically revision" because I definitely feel like that is the most time consuming and important part to get right.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are revisions are constantly occurring on wikipedia. And I like how you said that allowing us to see the previous versions of an article allows us to see first hand how dynamic the writing process can be. I think that is so true by allowing us to see the numerous previous versions it allows us to see how many different changes can occur to the same piece of writing.
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