Watch Me Write: Exploring the Effects of Revealing Creative Writing Process through Writing Replay

Abstract

The written word is an asynchronous form of communication through which static texts are exchanged. However, the act of writing is a dynamic cognitive process in which evolving ideas are organized into a coherent narrative. This process is not shared with readers because they only see the final product. With the emerging culture of live streaming and sharing creative practice with online audiences, writing replays can be a new expressive medium and content for writers and another way to engage with reading for the audience. In this paper, we explore the benefits of watching a real-time writing replay. We recorded the writing processes of professional writers (n = 13) and interviewed them about their and others' replays. These writers found replays engaging. Replays facilitated self-reflection and helped writers empathize with each other. In addition, we conducted an online survey (n = 78) to compare readers' comprehension and perception of writing replays with those of traditional text. We found that writing replays enhanced user engagement and the perceived quality of the text for some writing styles. Participants from both studies considered using writing replays regularly.