In section MM9, on planning your project, you saw a visualization of Marisa Williamson’s writing process—a visualization that was not neat and orderly (see Figure 9-2 in MM9-a). In the process of working on her project, Williamson moved back and forth across the pieces she was developing and working with, selecting an image here, identifying a video piece to use there, revising her narration before recording it. Although Williamson’s process might have seemed a bit haphazard, her final product is sequenced, polished, and well organized.

Your ideas might be expressed in written words, in audio, in moving images, in still images, or in some combination. Regardless of the modes you’re working with, organizing your ideas before and as you draft will help you meet your goals as a composer and will help you meet your audience’s needs.