Walking by Inner Vision Blog

Post #197

Writing – My 7 Steps to Success

Do you want to write a memoir, essay,  or short story?

Write down some things that are meaningful to you. This is your essay and you want to express what is on your mind via the writing project.
You can begin with only one word that comes into your consciousness.

How will you BRAINSTORM for your central theme?

This can be done several ways. It can be complex;

it can be quite simple.

One good approach is to make a list 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 complete this quick list,  you can sit back and look over your list; read it through several times until something really pops out for you. There are 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

To 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.

Step Three: 

Use your TOPIC
and Write 3 more Paragraphs

On a new sheet of paper, write another first paragraph.

 Develop a number of ideas as possibilities to pursue.

You will make THREE MORE  “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” for 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 is 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 cluster, and write one paragraph for each of them on a separate sheet of paper. This will give you  a variety of  possibilities from which to begin.

Step Four: 

Adopt a “Persona”

Think about “who” will tell the story.

Who is telling this story? Why is it this person? What will you do by choosing to write in this person’s voice? Consider all your options here, and be sure you understand exactly what you will carry out by using this particular persona.

Step Five:

Think about the “mood” you want to create –

How will you capture it?

 It can be helpful to read over some ways that other authors have used to create a mood in their work. Take a look at several pieces of work that will be similar to what you want to create. As you read, you will become aware of the mood. 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 writing. Mood can be created by giving characters a voice, writing good descriptions of a place or a room; by using symbols that create images for the reader, by descriptions of weather, lighting, music, art works, smells, sounds, tactile elements, etc.

Step Six:

Write a THESIS STATEMENT

into the first paragraph of your essay.

This important step is often the one that fledgling writers fail to do. It’s the one step that can never be skipped.

Your “thesis statement” is typically written in the very first paragraph in almost all writing projects. 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.

Once again, 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.  Look for a statement that expresses one clear goal in the first paragraph of an essay.

You can visit this site for more information on how to create a thesis statement:

 

Step Seven: 

Write out THREE GOALS