[stylist] 7 Steps to Successful Writing

Tue Feb 5 16:29:37 UTC 2013

Thanks, Robert.

Lynda Lambert
104 River Road
Ellwood City, PA 16117

724 758 4979

My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2013 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: [stylist] 7 Steps to Successful Writing

> Lynda
>
> Good set of common sense steps! I will look for a place on our Division's
> Website for this and for other articles-like materials that we often see 
> pop
> up on this list --- forever, we've talked about gathering and posting this
> stuff!!!
>
> Thanks
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lynda 
> Lambert
> Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 10:25 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] 7 Steps to Successful Writing
>
> 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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