Writers Unbound

We writers make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes we cite articles that contain faulty research. Sometimes we misspell a name or use a comma when we should have used a semicolon. Our biggest mistake, though, is about the process rather than the product: it is thinking that writing involves just one step of sitting down and putting the words on paper.

It’s intimidating to give yourself only one step between blank nothingness and a bright-n-shiny article that will make your clients forever loyal. You are under pressure when you only have one move to make. If you mess up, you ruin everything.

Take a deep breath. You have room to make mistakes without losing momentum.

There are more steps in the writing process, and whether you acknowledge them or not, you perform them. If you take time to break them down and fully focus on each at its appropriate time, you will find that you can write more with less pressure.

The first step is planning.

Planning is a little different for each writer. It might involve searching for jobs, applying, and working out the details with the clients you obtain. Or, if you have regular work set up, your planning might simply be choosing which article to work on when. Don’t skimp on the planning.

My productivity has increased a hundredfold since I started spending regular time planning my writing schedule for each week. It doesn’t take that long and the time returned for my initial investment makes it worthwhile. I usually do my planning over the weekend, when I can steal an hour or two in between family life and house projects and social events. I have a basic, wire-bound notebook and a calendar. I sit down and determine what articles I will write for each project or client. Then I assign each article (or a series of articles for a particular project or client) to a day in my calendar for the next week. For longer pieces, I might break down tasks further: research, outline, and begin writing over the course of three days or so.

The next step is outlining.

I try to get this done during my planning process. I am not talking about a complicated Roman numeral-research paper outline. Simple. Three or four main points for each title on my list. A few side notes, references, or related ideas, if I’ve thought of any. An opening line or illustration, if I get creative. That’s it. The outlines are very basic, but they provide a kick start to your daily writing. They save you from a blank page, because when you sit down to begin work you find that you already have your work for the day waiting for you, with a beginning and a direction. You don’t have to come to the table full of creativity and inspiration on Monday morning. You just have to sit down and continue the work you have already begun. Chances are, you’ll find that the creativity and inspiration start flowing as your fingers start moving.

Tomorrow: The rest of the story on The Writing Process.

Full Credit: I first read about breaking down the writing process over at Angela Booth’s place. I mentioned her a couple of weeks ago in my Weekend Reading post; if you haven’t gone and read her articles, head over there now.

Make it a good day.

Image Credit: MissTurner.