Weekend Talk: Three stages of writing

For many years, I have enjoyed sharing writing tips with aspiring young writers, either at seminars or one-on-one with determined writers.

Today, I have decided to share with readers one of the essentials of writing, applicable to fiction or nonfiction, with the view to encouraging determined writers who wish to get published.

Determined

In the previous two paragraphs, I’ve used the word “determined” twice to qualify writers who will benefit from these tutorials.

This is because I’ve met many people who say they want to write but only pay lip service to their claim.

Therefore, I wish to address writers who are determined (there is the word again) to bring their writing dream to fruition.

I urge such talented persons not to give up but work diligently on their manuscript until it is ready to be published to bless the world.

Stage one

Writing doesn’t begin with your pen on the paper or your fingers over the keyboard. Writing begins much earlier than that.

From the time you conceive the idea to the completion of the manuscript, there are three stages.

These stages are the planning stage (when you plan to write), the drafting stage (when actual writing takes place), and the completing stage (when you edit and proofread your manuscript).

Stage one begins with the conception of the idea for the story, article, or book.

You toss the idea over and over in your mind, mentally sorting out the issues and clarifying the knotty points. 

This structured approach helps you to organise your thoughts, create content, clarify your purpose, generate creativity and ensure that you produce a final polished manuscript.

Writer’s block

Pre-writing helps to overcome writer’s block when a writer feels lost, dry, tired, uninspired and unable to produce any meaningful writing. Putting a lot into pre-writing will help you minimise writer’s block.

Pre-writing is a combination of what goes on in the mind and the bits and pieces you jot down on paper as you mentally sort out the issues.  

The activities of pre-writing include brainstorming, outlining, researching and determining where you wish to publish your work.

This stage is also when you define your purpose, think about your readers and gather information.

By the time you sit down to begin writing, a lot would have gone on in your mind. In fact, the joy of writing starts from this mental consideration.

Since much of pre-writing takes place in the mind, be mentally active about what you want to write.

Stage two: drafting

Stage two is sitting down to write or type your story.

By the time you get to this stage, you would have had your mind full of ideas, and you would have jotted down a whole lot.  

When you sit down to write, aim at getting your ideas on paper without focusing on getting them perfect.

You will edit later.  For now, let your ideas flow freely and steadily.

This second stage, which gives you the opportunity to put flesh on your ideas, can be challenging.

It is not necessarily the most difficult, for every stage has its efforts, but it is time-consuming and tedious, requiring hard work.

A friend of mine would take all his jotters to a quiet location and would not come out until he had finished the first draft.

That way, he has become a prolific author.

Drafting requires time, focus and determination. You must now construct your sentences, paragraphs and statements with commitment.

Stage two produces your first draft, not yet the finished product.

Stage three

At stage three, you work on your first draft, which is still being developed.

If it is a novel, you make sure you have all the building blocks of fiction well written out—plot, characters, dialogue, suspense, descriptions, setting, theme, obstacles, goals, climax, resolution and so on.  

If it is nonfiction, be sure you have answered the salient questions.

Have you included your research information and analysis?

Have you answered the Why, Who, Where, When and How of your subject?

Here, your goal is to improve content, style and techniques. It is revision time for clarity and editing for grammar.

Stage three enables you to add, subtract, polish, proofread, correct and sharpen your manuscript till it shines.  

This is the rewriting stage, where you rewrite portions of your manuscript.

You move paragraphs around and shape up your arguments and plots.

Don’t be afraid to cut out weak and meaningless sentences.

This stage calls for a careful wrapping up of your work and making it presentable for publishing.

In your writing, engage all these three stages and notice how your work takes on a good shape to delight you and your readers.

Note: All these tutorials (and more) are contained in my new book, Pick Up Your Pen: A Guide to Effective Writing, available in all leading bookshops.