The Trick to Writing Well
A missive for your teens to read: Please share it with them!
My trusty writing coaches have the best writing advice for teens and we want to share it with you and your high schoolers today.
There's a reason that teachers, employers or parents ask to see something you've written. It's a way to see what you know!
Writing is your chance to compose a response, explain your thinking, or demonstrate your understanding. Unless you put those thoughts and ideas somewhere for others to read, they stay in your head, out of sight.
Beyond the academic context, plenty of us write, even when it's not for a grade! Do you ever wonder why we bother? Why go through the trouble of writing down our thoughts? Why not just think them? Or have a big juicy conversation with someone?
It turns out, writing does something for us that thinking and talking alone can't accomplish. It actually helps us think differently and learn something about ourselves and the world around us, too.
Here's how the writing process looked for me as I sat down to write this very post! You might experience some similar sensations when you commit words to the page...
Murky stage
When writing something new, I tend to have all sorts of complex thoughts brewing under the surface, in a jumble in my head.
One thing is for sure: I have no clue what this piece of writing is going to look like. Ha.
Open laptop.
Resist. The struggle to get started is real.
I get started anyway. I write some random stuff, which feels a bit laborious at first. But I manage to eke out some words.
Often I think I have just one sentence to scribble down, but another one pops up just as I’m finished with that one. I keep recording the next thought, and the next, and the next...
Now I have “something.” Is it good? <— I determine this isn't a valid question yet.
Sharpening focus
The act of writing requires focus in a unique way that's different from keeping our thoughts in our heads.
I start out meandering, but as I try to explain, articulate, or connect the dots, I find I’m thinking things through in a deeper way. My mind has to work a little harder to find the words to say what I mean so someone outside my brain can understand me.
This sometimes feels frustrating. Writing takes so much longer! But sticking with it, I feel there's a thread in here that's worth following, after I take...
A nap!
Time for a break! Whooee. Who says writing needs to be done all in one shot?
Coffee.
Walk.
Snack.
My writing process absolutely does include walking away from the writing for a little while to gain perspective and freshen my mind.
Seeing things anew
Looking at what I’ve written so far, I see there are one or two lines that I like. I tend to identify those as lively or succinctly capturing something about the topic that’s interesting.
I move those to the top of the page and try writing in that vein for a little while. This is still like freewriting, but with a narrower focus.
A few fun, unexpected things pop out. Following that direction to learn a little more about that!
I employ this rest/revisit pattern as often as needed.
Prepare to share
I’ve got a bunch of different bits and pieces of writing now. Eventually, I'm going to need to use this writing to communicate with others, ha.
Next decision: What’s the best way to share these ideas with a reader? A classroom post looks different from a letter to the editor, an essay, or a piece of spoken word poetry.
This is when I consider who my audience is and what would best reach them.
The structure I choose can support ideas too. For example, for this piece of writing I decided to use headings to organize the "steps" I took. That undergirds my idea that writing happens in stages where different thinking processes take place.
In this stage, I use the cut/paste function liberally. Don't worry, I keep my original saved in a separate document! Without the stress of losing stuff, I can really play around with how these pieces might work together.
The final step? Bringing in a proofreader and checking for spelling and grammar. This is not something I worry about until the end.
The cycle is complete! I've gone from "What should I say?" to "Here you go!"
Most importantly, while my writing grew, my thinking did too.
The next time you get frustrated by the blank page in front of you, remember this process. It's natural to make a mess as you go! To feel stymied and frustrated.
Just. Keep. Writing.
You'll learn so much about yourself in this work. Promise.
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Essay Prep: Research and Citation
Teaches students how to vet sources for credibility, how to cite sources, how to paraphrase and summarize as well as how to quote experts.
Essay Prep: Dynamic Thinking
Perfect to train critical thinking skills in this age of AI!