Education The Writing Process - Discovering What Works For You

Your company needs a press release or a brochure or a white paper. And, you get to churn it out. Once again, it's time to start writing. You stare at the blank computer screen in front of you, wishing that you could produce something great. Good news: You can, if you consider taking a new approach. Start by forgetting about the end product and, instead, take a look at HOW your write. To become a good writer, you need to understand that writing is a process - often a long, laborious one. Typically, the writing process consists of the following steps: · Prewriting. This is where you get all of the ideas in your head. Whether it's reading up on a topic, interviewing an expert - or simply looking out the window while your mind races. You have got to spend some time letting the thoughts gel before you try to get them on paper. · Drafting. Here's where you can let it rip. Start by putting the words on paper. Quickly. Don't worry about what they sound like or if you are using correct grammar. Just get your thoughts on paper, the more the better. · Revising. During this stage, you start to move things around. Apply some order to your ideas and make sure thoughts flow from one to the next. · Editing. Now, it's time to start the nit-picking. Make sure each and every sentence reads well. During this phase, you are checking for things such as subject-verb agreement and proper use of pronouns. · Proofing. Now, read your piece and correct any mistakes. Also, check to make sure the style of the written piece is consistent (for instance, if one person's job title is capitalized, all job titles should be capitalized). · Publishing. Make it look good. Use the right format, pick the best fonts and integrate charts and artwork to help enhance your message. To improve your writing process, try the following: 1. Get comfortable with your personal writing process. Experiment to discover exactly what works for you. What do you personally like to do during the pre-writing stage? Talk through ideas with a co-worker, hunker down at your desk, take a good long run or devour a chocolate bar or two? There's no right or wrong answer. You just have to find out what works for you. 2. Look for ways to enhance your personal writing process. For example, you might find that it is always better to wait a day or two before moving from the editing to the proofing stage (for many of us, fresh eyes catch errors much easier than tired ones). During the drafting stage, you might do well if you have all the components of your argument clearly defined - whereas others might write better if they actually discover their argument as they compose a draft. Or, you might find that using an outline helps for some types of writing - and not for others. 3. Don't look for shortcuts. Accept the fact that good writing always requires going through a process. You need to make sure that you go through each step of the writing process each time you develop a written communication. Even the most experienced writers need to do this. 4. Write. Write. And, then write some more. After all, practice makes perfect. And, you might want to throw some reading in, too. Remember, good writers are almost always avid readers.

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