Stuck IS Part of the Process

When was the last time you sat at your desk, having to write up a report on your department's progress? A memo explaining corporate policy? An article? A difficult e-mail?

What do you do when you have to write something, and you're stuck?

Sometimes you just brainstorm. For me, today, brainstorm looks more like brain dump. Thoughts spill out all over my paper, some random, some cogent. I'll go back and organize them later. This brain dump empties my mind, gets my juices flowing, relieves me from the need to spit out beautiful, polished, perfect sentences, and acts as warm-up for what comes later.

But, actually, this is part of later. What I've been doing is all part of the process, not just practice or procrastination.

See, writing is a three-step process. First you brainstorm and generate details. That might be in your head as you're driving home from work. Or it might be as you stroll to the break room to get coffee. You might outline or mind map or doodle your thoughts down the side of this morning's agenda. The point is that you're thinking, maybe even planning, what you'll write.

Then comes the actual writing. That place where you take those thoughts in your head, outline, or doodles and form full, coherent sentences. You still don't have to be perfect. Just get those thoughts down on paper or screen.

Finally, the editing part of the process. After some amount of time, hopefully at least an hour (although 24 of those little puppies are better), you're ready to go back over what you wrote and polish it up.

How does this 3-step writing process help you as you go about your day-to-day work activities? Just think for a moment about how often and how much you write - reports, memos, articles, e-mails. Whatever you're writing, it's a process.

Embrace that process. Understand that everything you're doing throughout this process is helpful. Sitting at your desk, swirling your pen around, and thinking about how exactly you're going to word that report, memo, article, or e-mail is part of the process. No matter how you do it, it's all valid. Pick your brain dump cocktail (outline, doodle, imaginary conversations in your head, mind mapping) and settle down to a more successful writing output.