[stylist] 7 Steps to Successful Writing

[Lynda Lambert]

I sat down this morning and put together my own " 7 Steps to Successful Writing." I had been sorting through some of my class syllabi and it occurred to me that maybe someone here on the Writer's List might be able to benefit from my own thoughts on writing.  



I taught English Composition for college freshmen for many years  at a private college. The students who come to this college are very advanced when they arrive. Most came  from private high schools where they were in advanced courses; many were homeschooled and had been well prepared for a rigorous career in academics. 



 I wrote this outline to provide  a pathway   to begin the thinking process. I promise you, it will help anyone develop a poem, essay, or story.





If you find that you are struggling with something you are working on, the chances are you might have skipped the important first steps. That would mean, eventually, that you are trying to "build" something without first creating the structure on which it will be built. 

 

I taught English Literature and writing courses  on every level  from freshmen undergrads, through graduate students. These 7 simple steps work for everyone at every level of writing.   

 

 

Topic:  7 Steps to use in the development  of a writing project 

 
Step 1:  BRAINSTORM.  .  . 

Brainstorm for ideas before you begin writing.  

This is not just vaguely  thinking about something, but it is about taking concrete steps towards a goal.



You are looking for an idea, a thought, word, quote, a thing. Write down some things that are meaningful to you. This is your essay and you want to express what is on your mind through your writing.



My own work normally begins with only one word that comes into my consciousness. It stays there; it takes up residence in my mind; it does not leave me. Finally, I have to begin to write about that word in some way, to get the ball rolling.

 



How will you BRAINSTORM for your central theme?

This can be done a number of ways. It can be very complex;  it can be quite simple.

 

Here's a good way to begin:

Make  a list very quickly. Use your intuition and begin writing. Don't even stop to think about what you are writing. Just let those fingers fly and make your list.

Once you have done that, you can sit back and look over your list; read it through several times until something really pops out for you. There may be a number of things on your list that will later become a story, poem, or essay. But for now, you will just choose one item from your list. This selected item will be your "central theme" for your work.

 

 

Step Two:  SELECT your TOPIC

and Write One  Paragraph

 

First,  SELECT YOUR TOPIC. Choose one idea from your Brainstorming List and write one paragraph. Use that word or idea and write a very short paragraph with it.

 

After you have written one paragraph, put it aside.

On a new sheet of paper, write another first paragraph.

 

Develop a number of ideas as possibilities to pursue.

You will make a number of "first paragraphs" and each of your "first paragraphs"  will be on a separate piece of paper. You have now created some "possibilities" to pursue.

Select just one of those "first paragraphs" to be used in your new piece of writing.

 

Some writers like to do this step as a "Cluster Chart." I would say this would be the person who has vision since it is a visual chart that you would make. If you can do that, it will work very well for you.

This kind of exploration begins by putting your one idea into a circle in the center of the page.

Then, begin working out from that central idea, putting down a paragraph, sentence, or thought into another circle that has been connected to your first one.

When I had vision, this is how I would do it. Now, I do it by making the list I have outlined above. It works just the same and I can do it on the computer.

 If doing the "cluster chart" then I would take each of the clusters, and write one paragraph for each of them, on a separate sheet of paper. This would give me my assortment of possibilities from which I will begin my work.

 
 
Step Four:  Adopt a "Persona"

Think about "who" is going to be speaking in your essay.

Who is telling this story? Why is it this person? What will you accomplish by choosing to write in this person's voice? Consider all your options here, and be sure you understand exactly what you will accomplish by using this particular persona.

 

Step Five: Think about the "mood" you want to create in the essay - how will you capture it?

How will you create images to capture the mood? 

One thing you can do to help you in deciding this is to read over several works by other writers. Be aware of the "mood" that is running through this work. Look for ways that you can feel that mood as you read the work. This can really help you in figuring out how you will do it in your own piece. Mood is created by characters voices, descriptions of a place or a room; by using symbols that create images for the reader, descriptions of weather, lighting, music, art works, etc.

 

 

Step Six: Write a "THESIS STATEMENT" for your essay.  This is the step that is the most important of them all and the one step that fledgling writers fail to do. This is the one step that can never be skipped.  This is typically done in the very first paragraph in almost all writing projects. When I was reading student work, this is the first thing I looked for.  You have to be absolutely CLEAR from that first paragraph, exactly where you are going from the get-go. State it loud and clear right in the beginning. That first paragraph will be a stepping stone into the rest of your story - if it is not there you have left your reader "lost at sea." 

 

It would be good to read a few works like the one you are planning to write. In each of them, look for that "Thesis Statement." Practice the art of recognizing a "thesis statement" when you begin to read.

 

 

Step Seven:  Write out THREE GOALS or MAIN POINTS you wish to convey in your essay.

You know what they say about a road map - this will be your road map.

This step will keep you on target, focused, and will keep you from "chasing rabbits" and going off on tangents. This step will be your road map to what you want to accomplish in your work.

This is the step that separates the beginners from the accomplished writers. This is the step that will make you stand out from the crowd and write work that holds together.

 

 

These are the 7 steps I use to create lectures, poems, essays, and non-fiction works.

I have mentored many students through these very clear steps. 

 

Many of those students were published authors while still in undergraduate school. Some of my students did such excellent research work that their projects have been accepted into archives at museums. My undergraduate students were selected for presentations at academic conferences where they could present their research and read their papers before a professional audience.

 

One of my colleagues taught a poetry writing class every semester. The goal of every student in his classes was to get published during that 15 week course. No student would be able to get an "A" in his class unless that student was published during that course. Students were taught from the very beginning that our work is about communication and communication, for a writer, happens when we are published and others are reading what we wrote.

 

Our students had only "one shot" at writing their papers. We were available for conferences and discussions throughout the entire research process but the writing of the paper was done on their own following those discussions. 

 

We did not "edit" student papers and then hand them back for correcting and handing in a second time. Students had to be aware that excellence was required of them in their career and that their papers were to be the best possible work from the beginning. They soon learned that their "career" had already begun - it was not something out there in the future. It was so exciting to sit in the audience and watch my student giving a professional paper to an audience of scholars or to see my students' work published in books or accepted  by a Board of Directors into a museum archives. 



My hope that this is helpful to you! 



Lynda