As far as I know, everyone gets writer’s block sometimes, but other times it’s easy to just get so caught up on one part of writing that it takes an hour to write a couple hundred words. To help with that, we’ve got five steps (and a few extra tips) to help you get through the full process of writing something–without getting bogged down in one step.
Plan out what you want to be covered in a piece. What is the topic; what is the purpose; what is the message; how long should it be? Will you use quotes, if yes, then where will you get those; do you need to do research; will this piece create a response, if yes, then what response?
All of this should be planned out before you start. Having these and any other necessary questions answered ahead of time will give you a more clear direction for your piece, and will highlight anything you need that you’re missing.
Prepare to start your writing time. This means check social media, answer pressing emails, get some coffee–do anything that could distract you while you’re writing. Now, this doesn’t mean clean your entire house before you start writing, we don’t want to end up in a place of productive procrastination; what we do want is for you to be able to write as uninterrupted as possible.
One thing you can do is employ the Pomodoro Technique: where you do blocks of 25 minutes working with 5 doing anything you want (or 45 working 10 off). Setting up a timeframe like this encourages you to do work while you’re “scheduled” and avoids guilt you may feel from “neglecting” things while you work.
On that, the next step is to Produce. To get through writing, you have to start writing. Set your 20 or 40 minute timer and get going. Try to avoid getting caught up in the editing right now, just get your information out. You can work on the editing in the next step.
Get your piece ready to Publish. Here’s where all your editing and formatting comes in. Read through your piece and your plan again, see if there’s anything you missed; make sure spell check is on and everything (grammar/punctuation included) is right; format it to your audience and publishing location; and then, like we said, actually publish it.
Finally, if applicable Promote your piece. Unless you’re talking about a work email, share your piece on social media and to your desired audience.
And there you have it, your five Ps got you beginning to end of your writing process. Granted, in practice, there may be some extra parts to this, some pieces take longer than others. But if you go through the steps you’ll be set up for success, and even if you get writers block, you’ll know where you need to move to next in the process. Having a next step and outcome to focus on makes it way easier to get through another p, the Present.
You can do thousands of words a day if you just set yourself up for it. Plan, prepare, start your Pomodoro sprints. Rinse, repeat, and you’re off.
So, take these and get to the first one, start your plan for that article you’ve had on your mind for a while, or even just answer that detailed work email you’ve been avoiding.
Social Media Posts:
“Do you know about the five Ps to writing anything?”
“Most people overlook just how important planning your writing is. Without an understanding of where you’re going, your piece could sound cluttered and uninformed”
“Think about employing the Pomodoro technique next time you’re sitting down to write”
“How to write anything in 5 steps”