Is the Writing Process Really an Ecosystem Too?

When you think about how our understanding of the world has changed in the past few hundred years, there’s a few big trends that pop out. One of those trends is how different domains function as their own sort of ecosystem. In a way, we can even think of them as their own little habitats, with flora and fauna that has adapted over however many years to run wild

And as we’ve also pushed out and discovered more and more about our world, we’ve also been expanding on how we know what we know. And we’re finding out that these tiny ecosystems of knowledge aren’t so little after all!

Think about writing for a second. There’s neuroscientists taking a crack at how our brains are wired when it comes to the written word. And then of course, there’s fascinating subjects like Hermeneutics, which studies the art of interpretation itself. There are so many pieces coming together to allow us to simply pick up a pen and write a letter to a friend. Or type a post on social media. Or compose a poem for our writing class.

If you’ll follow me for a moment longer with this metaphor, there’s one more observation I’d like to leave you with. Supposing that writing is its own ecosystem, connected to all the many other ecosystems of knowledge in the world, doesn't it make sense that we shift our perspective a small bit? Instead of viewing ourselves as guardians of a secret dogma… why not see ourselves as trusted guides, pushing forward into the wild frontiers together with our writing students?

“ There are so many pieces coming together to allow us to simply pick up a pen and write a letter to a friend. Or type a post on social media. Or compose a poem for our writing class.”

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