You have a story to tell. Whether it’s a novel, an article for publication, or a project for school, you have something to say and the world needs to hear it. No matter what type of content you’re creating, you need to start with a plan so that you can accomplish your goal of getting words on paper.
Map Out The Structure Of Your Work
If you’re tackling an unfamiliar topic or genre, it can be hard to know where to start without getting lost in the shuffle. Writing is not an exact science, but following a generally accepted formula can help you organize your thoughts and develop a strategy for tackling a complex issue. Deciding on the structure of your work can help you plan out the narrative and theme of your piece, and establish key benchmarks along the way. Before you begin writing, take some time to think of different structures that could work for your material.
There are four basic parts that make up any story:
- Problem — This is what you’ll need to establish in the first paragraph; what is the question you’re trying to answer?
- Event — This is what will happen in the rest of the story; the catalyst for the incident.
- Characters — These are the people in the story; who are they, and what do they want?
- Context — This is the background information that will make your story more believable; who are the characters in the story, where do they come from, and what is the setting?
Find The Middle Ground
Even if you’ve got the most well-thought-out story in the world, it doesn’t mean that your readers will immediately understand or accept it. Your writing needs to reach a certain level of quality before you can expect anyone outside of your immediate circle of friends and family to understand your point of view. There is a golden mean between being too simplistic and too complicated; find it and hold on to it.
When you reach a certain level of skill, you can experiment with different styles and tempos in your writing — without getting confused or worried that your readers won’t ‘get it’. Experimentation is a vital part of any writer’s growth process; you can’t become too proficient at one style/approach and then limit yourself to that singular approach. Instead, find what works for you and your unique voice and stick with it.
Don’t Forget The Grammar
Grammar isn’t just ‘pretty words’ that you throw in here and there to make your text more aesthetic; good grammar is essential to creating an accurate picture of what you’re trying to say. If you want your story to be understood, it needs to be well-written; spelling errors and grammatical errors can, and often do, obscure your message. When you write, proofread your work at least twice before you hit ‘submit’. And if you’re still learning, set a timer for 10 minutes and pick up some English from the best online tutor available; you’ll be glad you did.
Get To The Point
In writing, as in life, brevity is often the best policy. People are more likely to read, understand, and retain information when given concise, pointed bits of text. Your writing should serve a purpose, and the point of what you’re writing should be evident in the first few sentences. If you’re following a rough outline, the beginning should be concise and to the point while the rest of the draft fleshes out the details; you don’t want to waste your precious word count on fluff.
Plan Your Timing
There are several factors that go into determining how you’ll want to approach your writing projects; for example, will you want to write solely from a character’s perspective or from a more omniscient third-person point of view? Will your work be narrated or will you switch back and forth between first- and third-person narration? Will you organize your material by theme or will you choose a subject and then build the material around it?
As a general rule, you’ll want to write soon after you’ve found the topic. The sooner you begin, the sooner you’ll be able to finish. Trying to force the issue will only result in you burning out and then resenting the task. Instead, find the courage to commit and then go from there; as soon as you do, your creativity will flow and you’ll be able to produce something brilliant.