Organize Some of That First

Laurie Maylene Walter in the March 20212 edition  of the Writer  has some excellent advice on writing that first or final draft of that article -- or speech, but there is something she has omitted.


In her column, titled "5 steps to a solid article draft" she does present some invaluable advice such as:


First, "Organize your raw material" --going through your material like a talent scout looking for information that fits naturally together will help you to develop a theme, or major points.


She stresses not to allow yourself to be intimidated by the mass of material you have probably gathered. Just go through it and develop a rough idea of what you have and how it can be developed. Keep a notebook handy to jot down down those ideas on your theme as well as possible material for the introduction and conclusion.


(Incidentally, you should  start developing some type of outline as you are doing this.)


Next from this outline "write a first draft."  Don''t get caught up in trying to make it perfect or as Walter says, "you'll never progress to the finished product.


Then it is time to  "Get it in shape." This she says is the time to look for problem areas and make needed changes. (There are some excellent aids such as Editing and Revising Text  by J Billingham, a manual published by Oxford University Press that can help you to do this.) 


According to Walter one thing is critical.  "Have an open mind" Don't be afraid to chop that section of material that you loved and worked so hard if it just doesn't seem to fit now.


Remember nobody has seen your readers or audience have not seen or heard your first draft.  They will never miss that , "brilliant but-mismatched section."


Finally before you send that finished article off to an editor  or give your presentation   "Don't forget the final polish".


To quote Walter, "Double-check  the names, titles and quotes Also check for needless repetition, transitions and awkward word choices. Finally, consider snappy subheads  or other breaks to improve the article's flow and organization."


This would be done in the revision stage of your article or presentation followed up by a careful proofreading of your material  looking for typos or grammar or usage violations that would confused or irritate your audience or readers.


In all of the excellent advice she gives us, however, there is something she has omitted and that is the fact that all of this could be made much easier if you take the time to pre-organize your material as much as possible -- even before you conduct your first interview of experts or do other research.


This pro-organization can be done very quickly in the form of a Mind Map exploring ideas  or areas you want to gather information on for your presentation -- whether it is going to be an oral one before an audience or in print first.


You'll find that this will make it all much easier and will probably cut down on the number of drafts you have to write before that final one.


I've written about this Mind Mapping (and Clustering) in a number of earlier posts, but you can find a lot more detailed help by  typing in "Mind Mapping" on your browser.


All of these ideas will you to build that, "solid draft" for presentation in print or in front of some audience.