Starting Out
Starting to write or draw again can seem like the hardest job in the world. Even housework or doing last night’s greasy dinner dishes can be more enticing than sitting down to create whatever it is you want to do. Some people need to write or draw for work, perhaps they are journalists or an illustrator or a feature writer or even a freelance creator or article marketer. Others write or draw for pleasure in the hope of getting a book or drawing published. For those who are still at school, college or university, many courses require you to write essays, papers, experimental write-ups or even a dissertation or thesis. There’s really no getting away from writing. But it needn’t be a dreaded chore.
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There are many programs available that can help you write, overcome writer’s block, help you structure your writing, picture your thoughts, find the facts or the words to say or show you how to say it differently. There are also many programs available that can transform your words into an ebook or a printed page, a poster or an article in a directory and that will help you work on your writing in a way that fits with how YOUR brain works.
And most especially, there are programs, books or sites that can MOTIVATE you to do the writing you need to do and to help you get it completed within the necessary deadline, even if that is tomorrow! You need that right now? There is even a procrastination site written by someone who is now dead. It disappeared for a while but has been recreated by the author’s granddaughter who did it instead of working on her own work! The top quote on there is ““. . . anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” — Robert Benchley, in Chips off the Old Benchley, 1949″. This is very true when a paper, book or drawing is due on a deadline and the structured procrastination site shows you how to use your procrastination tendencies to get important jobs done.
If you HAVE TO write a college or school paper, download the ebook from Steven Posusta, “The Procrastinator’s Guide To Writing An Effective Term Paper“. It’s easy to read – even fun and definitely interesting. You can read it inside 2 hours and it WILL help you get your paper written, even if you have to pull an all-nighter! The Amazon blurb for this book mentions compare and contrast writing, it will definitely help you with that but it will also help you with other types of writing too.
Another useful book on getting stuck into writing is from Peter Elbow – Writing With Power. This covers freewriting and writing out and writing back: both excellent techniques. I have read and used both books and found them extremely useful and helpful.
Mind Map
One technique I use a lot is to plan out my writing using a mind map. You can get a book that shows you how to create a mind map and that has pages in it where you can create all your mind maps and save them. This helps with writing and also with studying.
Adult Journals
You may find that keeping a journal can help you with any writing or drawing you need to do. Students at higher levels may find it useful to keep a research diary, where they write down ideas, things they have read and problems they have looked at. A research journal is NOT for publication and that is helpful because you do not have to show it to anyone unless you choose. It is a private diary of your journey in research. BUT, come an important presentation, paper or whatever, you will find a great deal of the work has already been done in your private research diary, especially if you use it to answer guided questions on your work. I used the questions included in “A Student’s Guide to Methodology: Justifying Enquiry” by Clough and Nutbrown. It may not be available in the US but is available in the UK.