7 Prewriting Strategies to Overcome Writer's Block

It happens to all of us.

 

You are given a writing assignment, a topic, and a deadline, and expected to come back with something useful and intelligible. You sit down at the computer and stare at the blank screen.

And nothing happens.

There are few things more intimidating than writer’s block. And it’s just as common with people who consider themselves writers as it is with 4th graders who are working on a book report. 

Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”

His strategy to overcome writer’s block was to write “one true sentence” and expand from there. 

Sounds simple enough. But if that doesn’t work for you, I want to share 7 Prewriting Strategies that I think will provide the drill, and the charges, for those days when writing doesn’t come easily.

Before we begin, let me define prewriting. 

Prewriting refers to the all the ways you begin your writing project. It takes disciple. It includes coming up with ideas, organizing those ideas, and making a plan for your paper. And while it may seem counter-intuitive, spending time on prewriting can actually save you time in the long run.

 

1.Thinking

This may seem obvious, but sometimes spending time thinking about a subject is a good way to get the ball rolling. The trick is to relax and let the thoughts come naturally. Some of my best thinking happens when I’m doing something else like driving, taking a shower, working out, or walking.  If possible, keep some paper handy. Or use the record feature on your phone to capture ideas. Just don’t be critical of them yet. The “secret sauce” to prewriting is that you have to separate the writer from the editor. Believe me, there will be plenty of time for editing later.

Chances are that once you’ve been thinking about something for a while, you will want to share your ideas with someone else by talking. 

Although Talking is listed as step 2, please think of this list as being circular, rather than linear. You may use all of these strategies, or you may skip some of them. You may even go back and forth between a couple of them. That is completely O.K. 

Remember, we are blasting rock here. We aren’t worried about style points.

2.Talking

Talk with someone with whom you are comfortable—friends, co-workers, connections on social media—even your dog! (Just don’t expect a lot of feedback from Fido.)

The point is to explore your thoughts. Try to explain the topic. Tell what you know. Don’t worry if it comes out in fits and starts. You can and will try to organize your narrative, but the point is to avoid being critical of yourself. Again, you are simply exploring what you already know. 

And, in so doing, you may also find out what you don’t know. If your friend has questions, it may reveal some gaps in your knowledge. Which dovetails perfectly to step 3, Research. 

3.Research

With the internet, it’s hard not to find a wealth of information on almost any topic you are considering. In fact, if I have any word of caution about research it’s this: be careful not to drown in information. 

Too much information can be almost as bad for writing as not enough. Narrow your focus. Ask yourself questions. Keep track of themes. Some key ideas will come up again and again, regardless of source. 

You may also find contradictions or competing theories. That’s fine. Just make sure you stay focused on how they relate to your topic. If they go too far down a rabbit hole, summarize as much as you can. 

The challenge with research, generally, is to filter your results. Once you’ve gathered your information, it’s time to see what sticks. Move on to step 4, Brainstorming.

 

4.Brainstorming 

Make a list of everything you know about a topic. Ask yourself questions. You will see some areas where you have a great deal of knowledge. You may also see some holes, places where the logic doesn’t meet. These are areas you can go back and research some more. You may take notes as you go. Eventually, the brainstorming list may look a bit like an outline. 

You can go there next, or you can try your hand at step 5, Freewriting.

 

5.Freewriting

Get a piece of paper and a pen, or a blank screen and your keyboard. Commit to writing for ten minutes, without stopping. Focus on your topic. Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Just do it. Promise yourself that you won’t let anyone read it. 

Remember, freewriting is a tool. Whatever you do, don’t stop. If you can’t think of something new to say, keep writing about the last thought you had until something new emerges. Believe me, it will.

When you review your work later, there will be a lot of garbage. That’s O.K. Pick out the main ideas and write about them again—for another ten minutes. You will quickly learn which ideas you know a lot about, and which ones you don’t. Who knows, you might find some gold nuggets buried within. You will also discover something else. 

Your writing project is taking shape.

Now it’s time to move to step 6, Audience.

 

6.Audience

It may not seem like it, but one of your most important considerations for prewriting should be your audience. Who are they? What do they know? How much time or space do you have to teach them something new? All of these factors weigh on your tone and content.

I used to teach a writing class where I would hand out Oreo cookies to all of the students. Their assignment was to write step by step-by-step instructions for how to eat an Oreo cookie. They had to pretend their audience had never seen an Oreo before.  And they also had to consider other specific characteristics about their audience, which I would randomly assign to them randomly.

 

For instance, some groups had to write for an audience of kindergartners. For another, it was a group of foreign exchange students. Another group might write for people on a diet. And for another, the audience was a group of physics professors. 

 

When it came time to share the results, each presentation was dramatically different. We had fun listening to the way audience impacted, shaped and influenced even this relatively simple and straight-forward topic.

Now, imagine how audience might impact an even more complex topic. Getting the idea?

Once you’ve considered how your audience will impact your piece, it’s time to move on to step 7, Outline. 

 

7.Outline.  

Another great way to organize your thoughts is with an outline. Take what you’ve generated during your brainstorming and freewriting sessions and come up with a handful of main topics. Then take the information you have and find the right heading for it to go under. 

You will find some repeated information and some items that don’t seem to fit anywhere. 

Again, consider your audience. What do they already know? What do they need to know? What information might not be appropriate for them?

If you are writing for children, there could be information that is to graphic or too complicated to explain. If you are writing for Judges, your tone and the information you present might be different than what you write for your friend or co-worker. If some of your information doesn’t fit, set it aside for the time being. You can always come back to it later. 

Think of the main topics. Build from there. Ask yourself questions. Write what you know and continue the process until you can’t go any further, or until you are confident you have enough information to begin your first draft. 

As I mentioned earlier, any one of these steps may cause you to skip ahead, or revisit another. What you do will depend on your preferences, your topic and even your mood.

The point is that you are no longer looking at a blank screen.

Congratulations! You’ve done something—quite a lot actually. By using these 7 Prewriting Strategies, you’ve blasted away rock, primed the pump, and discovered you are ready for some real writing. 

Until, next time!

Please leave your comments.

Keith