When you sit down to write...
- Does your mind turn blank?
- Are you sure you have nothing to say?
If so, you're not alone. Many writers experience this at some time or
another, but some people have strategies or techniques to get them
started. When you are planning to write something, try some of the
following suggestions.
You can try the textbook formula:
- State your thesis.
- Write an outline.
- Write the first draft.
- Revise and polish.
. . . but that often doesn't work.
Instead, you can try one or more of these strategies:
Ask yourself what your purpose is for writing about the subject.
There are many "correct" things to write about for any subject, but
you need to narrow down your choices. For example, your topic might be
"dorm food." At this point, you and your potential reader are asking the
same question, "So what?" Why should you write about this, and why
should anyone read it?
- Do you want the reader to pity you because of the intolerable food you have to eat there?
- Do you want to analyze large-scale institutional cooking?
- Do you want to compare Purdue's dorm food to that served at Indiana University?
Ask yourself how you are going to achieve this purpose
How, for example, would you achieve your purpose if you wanted to
describe some movie as the best you've ever seen? Would you define for
yourself a specific means of doing so? Would your comments on the movie
go beyond merely telling the reader that you really liked it?
Start the ideas flowing
Brainstorm. Gather as many good and bad ideas, suggestions, examples,
sentences, false starts, etc. as you can. Perhaps some friends can join
in. Jot down everything that comes to mind, including material you are
sure you will throw out. Be ready to keep adding to the list at odd
moments as ideas continue to come to mind.
Talk to your audience, or pretend that you are being interviewed by
someone — or by several people, if possible (to give yourself the
opportunity of considering a subject from several different points of
view). What questions would the other person ask? You might also try to
teach the subject to a group or class.
See if you can find a fresh analogy that opens up a new set of ideas.
Build your analogy by using the word like. For example, if you are
writing about violence on television, is that violence like clowns
fighting in a carnival act (that is, we know that no one is really
getting hurt)?
- Take a rest and let it all percolate.
- Summarize your whole idea.
- Tell it to someone in three or four sentences.
- Diagram your major points somehow.
- Make a tree, outline, or whatever helps you to see a schematic
representation of what you have. You may discover the need for more
material in some places. Write a first draft. - Then, if possible, put it away. Later, read it aloud or to yourself
as if you were someone else. Watch especially for the need to clarify or
add more information. - You may find yourself jumping back and forth among these various strategies.
- You may find that one works better than another. You may find
yourself trying several strategies at once. If so, then you are probably
doing something right.
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VOCABULARY:
- Research
- Revise
- Rubric
- Run-on Sentence
- Series
- Singular
- Source
- Spelling Pattern
- Spell-Check
- Strategies
- Subject
- Tone
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TASK: What are two types of brainstorming? Post your idea to the notes page.
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https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/673/01/