Throughout this book, I have shown that understanding how writing works requires, most of all, understanding of the processes of writing. In order to make these arguments, as the writer of the book, I was necessarily embedded in a process of writing myself. Reflections on this process provided a final source of data for analysis: a diary of reflections on the process of writing the book. The diary entries were reflections that I recorded periodically when events and thoughts related to the writing seemed important. I began writing the diary in July 2013. In the early stages of the book, the work was focused more on research, analysis and recording. The writing was more provisional and speculative. In these phases, I recorded observations when I felt something significant related to my processes of writing, and to my thinking about the book, had occurred. During more concentrated periods of writing I noted my thoughts a minimum of once per week and sometimes daily. So, for example, between October and December 2016, when I had some study leave, the frequency of observations increased.

Consistent with the analysis of expert writers in Chapter 4, I've used the same categories/subheadings to structure the first part of this chapter. The final part of the chapter concludes the book by summarising how writing works and, consequently, how it might be taught.

You Throw the Rock and You Get the Splash

I describe the stimulus for the book overall as having a broadly educational intent. By the end of the book, it also deals with education quite specifically. However, beyond knowing that the book would have some broad educational purpose, more than three years ago I still faced the starting point for any writer: the blank page and the question, what will I write? This connects with the search for inspiration for writing. My reason for writing this book in the first place was to try and make a significant contribution to knowledge. During my career, I have written about writing many times, in research papers, research reports and two books. I decided that a full book was needed if I was to have sufficient space to address the topic from the multidisciplinary perspective that I wanted to adopt.