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Write Now

Prewriting Is Getting Your Words On The Page

Michael Zabrodsky

OK, take a breather.

You have words in your head, but you must get them onto the page.

You ponder some more, but the words don’t make it to the page.

Frustration sets in — quickly. You know what you want to write, but you can’t get the ideas in written form.

I’m right there with you. It seems like this is a recurring theme. Many writers or people who call themselves writers, experience this dilemma. To mitigate the problem, and delay the stress try using the writing process. I have written before that, for fiction writers, getting words to the page can be a daunting task. And if they can’t get past the first part, then they will not get to experience the other parts.

So let’s focus on the first part of the process — prewriting.

Prewriting is a chance for you to get thoughts, ideas, or words down on a page. There are no rules to follow and no one is going to be looking over your shoulder to see how many words you wrote.

Take the opportunity and explore your mind. Maybe you saw something that caught your eye or a phrase you heard plays over and over in your head.

Write it down.

So, as a writer, you must get your words to a page, and brainstorming or prewriting will certainly help you. Whether you are typing or handwriting your words, it will work because you are consciously committing words to a page. And the best part of brainstorming is anything you write is OK because you are getting out some rough ideas.

And the way you process your information is entirely up to you, but you must, and I repeat, you must get your words down on the page or on screen.

And the best part is anything you write — that will help you — is fair game. You can organize your information any way you want, just as long as it makes sense to you. So, you can have vertical lists, horizontal lists, or maybe a diagram or two. Whatever will help you transform ideas is great.

Some writers make an outline. Some writes jot down a few key words, and some writers may even write down colors that remind them of the mood they are in when writing. Remember these are your ideas, so cherish them, and fight for them to be on or off the page. It’s OK because it’s prewriting.

Soon you may have a list, or something that resembles a list, and from that list you may get another idea.

And now you become less frustrated because you see your thoughts that were in your head now on the page or screen.

So now if you are staring at a blank screen or blank sheet of paper, you know what to do. This prewriting that I am talking about can be used for essays, short stories, book chapters, or maybe an email. In future columns I will address the other parts of the process — rough draft, revising, editing, and publishing.

So what are you waiting for? Stop staring at a blank screen or stop staring at a blank sheet of paper. Start typing or get your favorite writing utensil, and start notating in longhand.

You are in control.

It’s that easy.

It’s that hard.

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