I have been a fan of Lev Manovich for nearly twenty years. His pioneering conceptual work around software theory deeply informed my own approach to digital learning and literacy research. Manovich offers a unique blend of technical prowess and creative playfulness that is hard to find in academia. (The folks at The Pudding might give him a run for his money, though.)
Leave it to Manovich to design a timely and much-needed way for writers to see their writing process visualized right before their eyes. And to appreciate it. Here’s a static screenshot.
His full animation tool (really: play with it) shows powerfully that writing is an iterative and non-linear process. Writers start here, end up there, and then erase here and there in an effort to define somewhere else. Real writing is nothing like it is taught in most schools I have worked with. It is not a five paragraph essay. The opening paragraph is often the last thing one should write (because how do you know what you are going to say until you have said it). The value of writing is the rigor and depth of thinking it forces.
My hope is that Manovich’s example will help writers, teachers, and administrators alike see plainly the gap between how academic writing is taught and authentic writing practices. Students, and their communities, deserve the latter.