The process of getting a thought out of the mind and onto paper can be divided into five major categories: (1) discovering the word, (2) excavating the mythic word from the subconscious, (3) perceiving the word in the conscious, (4) verbalizing the expressed word, and (5) comprehending the unsaid word. When humans experience anything, their minds figuratively store the entire experience and submerge that into the depths of the unconscious. To recall the word, or metaphor, representing that experience, the mind must draw upon the mythic word, which acts as a model for understanding meaning. Once given meaning and significance through the mythic word, the metaphor is able to be perceived and understood by the writer. The expressed word is merely a metaphor for the perceived word--it gives the reader a direction as to how the writer's perceptions of the word "should feel" to the reader. The revision process is representative of the unsaid word; it is not what is said but what is meant that leads to comprehension. In terms of the classroom, freewriting exercises can help students discover the metaphorical word through excavating their individual mythologies. (HOD)