The write part is pivotal, and can take many forms, including linear narrative, improvisatory mind-mapping, cryptic notes scribbled while walking, hierarchical outlines. I think that each person has to evolve personally satisfactory ways to record and store the output; for some it may be journals, for others perhaps loose sheets of paper, for others 3x5 cards. What's important is that thoughts be captured onto paper, made visual, made accessible for later consideration and reorganization (Memory Palaces are one realization of this).
I have often used my own ad hoc writings as handouts, both to exemplify the process of thinking on paper, and to provide a focus for specific class discussions.Too little attention is paid to refining the skills of reading. It seems to be assumed that children develop the ability and adults just have it, much as they have the skill of riding a bicycle. But one gets better at extracting meaning or retaining content only by systematic effort, and by active attention to integrating the visual processing of words on a page with thought about their meanings, implications, and connections.
Indeed, reading is one of the great problems for electronic pedagogy: as the volume of retrievable material expands, so does the need to sort gems from dross (an evaluation problem) and the need to store and retrieve items. Bitmapped images of text are handy for display but inimical to thoughtful reading --marginal notes are not possible, and it is all too easy to fall into the habit of downloading or bookmarking items for later consideration that never occurs.