Persuasive Writing

Emergency Help #5: Write your first paragraph NOW

You might feel like going fetal, but all that will do is eat up precious time.

You've got a blank page in front of you. That's causing you to panic. You need to un-blank it. Right now, right this very minute, hammer out your first paragraph. It almost doesn't matter what you say write now. You're out of time. You need to get going.

There' s no better way to get going that to GO! So, write as quickly as you can. You might want to set a timer for 15 minutes, just so you'll know there's an end to your pain.

Write. Once you've un-blanked your blank page, your terror should subside, you should be able to unwind from your fetal position, and get the rest of your work done.

So go! Hurry! You can do it! But you have to start NOW!

Emergency Help #4: Change your location

This tidbit works for writer's block as well as deadline-induced hysteria. If sitting at your computer or wherever you normally work shuts down your brain, go somewhere else.

Somewhere else where you can write, that is! Take your laptop to a place with no WiFi or other Internet access, take your AlphaSmart or take pen and paper. Just get somewhere where you won't feel so pressured.

(This does not mean to go to a bar, an ice cream store or any place where your friends hang out.)

A change in scene can help take the pressure off. So, pack up and go!

When you've finished your work, treat yourself to a good mystery. I recommend anything by Carla Damron, a friend and fabulous writer. Here's another link where you can read more about her page-turning mysteries such as Spider Blue and Keeping Silent. She'll be speaking at the S.C. Writer's Conference on writer's block and how to beat it in October 2007. Thanks, Carla, for suggesting this tip!

Emergency Help #3: Leave blanks

You won't make your deadline if you don't keep the writing flowing. So keep going! If you come to a place, or rather, when you come to a place where you (1) either can't think of the right word or (2) just can't remember exactly what it is you want to say and are going to need to look up the fact or idea or whatever is eluding you right now, don't stop to look up anything. Leave a marker in the text and come back to it later.

This marker can be a blank line _____________________________.

This marker can be a note in the text: From the front of the house she could see a tiered garden (NOT RIGHT WORD) that led to the street....
Later, you can go back and changed "tiered" to "terraced."

This marker can just be a word that you never use thrown into the text so that you can do a search for it later. Just throw out this word in places where you know you need to come back and do more work and keep writing. It's like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for the rough spots in your paper. The word I use is "pineapple." I have never had to use this word in anything beyond a recipe, so it has worked for me for over 20 years.

The most useful marker is an all-caps parenthetical statement reminding yourself of what you were looking for or the type of idea that needs to go in this spot. For example, I was recently writing an article for a client whose business I didn't really understand. They'd called me at the last minute, and so the best I could do was just start writing and leave blanks where I didn't know what I was talking about. My first draft looked something like this:
"Because your existing technology has already gathered (WHAT KIND OF DATA HAVE THEY ALREADY GATHERED?), you'll be able to use it to help make decisions about important issues such as (WHAT KINDS OF DECISIONS DOES IT HELP YOU MAKE?)

Now, this was commercial work that involved collaboration with the client. Your single-author paper shouldn't have this many blanks in it. If it does, you need to do a little more research. Leaving blanks is for keeping your writing going when you can't remember exactly what you want to say, but you know it's out there. In fact, it's lurking in your brain somewhere. If you haven't done your research or don't understand your topic and the thing you are searching for has never even crossed the doorstep of your brain, leaving blanks could leave you stranded. It's a great technique for when you need to get something written in a hurry, but it creates more problems than it solves if you don't truly know what you're trying to say.

Emergency Help #2: Sketch out an informal outline

You're in a hurry so this will be quick. Grab any old piece of paper and quickly outline what you think you need to say. Go really fast so that voice in your head that's telling you to panic has to shut up. Ignore everything in your world except the points you want to make. Do this with a pen or pencil and don't be neat. (But do be legible.)

You're trying to work while avoiding panic. You'll be easier on yourself if you follow a sloppy outline than one that looks like your sixth-grade teacher did it. Plus, you didn't put much thought into this outline, did you? So you want to feel free to take a detour or choose another route if the words start coming easily.

Now put this raggedy outline in front of you and start writing. If you stall, the outline will keep you moving forward. If there are important points you need to make, the outline will remind you of them.

The outline is there to help you, not limit you. If something better comes to you while you're working, follow your instincts. Just keep writing until you are finished.

Emergency Help #1: Extend the deadline

Okay, your paper, speech or whatever is due tomorrow and you haven't started. If this is business as usual for you as it was for most English majors I know, well, you know what to do. Get some coffee and stay up all night. That's what college is for. Your paper may even be brilliant because the editor in your head who tells you that you can't possibly do this and what were you thinking when you waited this long will have given out or gone to bed. Just write, write, write. Everybody needs an adrenaline rush every now and then, especially at 3:00 in the morning.

But what if you're not an English major and this is not business as usual for you? Can you legitimately get a deadline extension without looking like a whining liar? Are you a lying whiner who does this all the time? If so, you have plenty of company, but I'd suggest you find another club.

Sometimes deadlines aren't firm. If you need extra time, it might be possible. If you can ask without lying about the cause, ask away.

If you get the extension, here's what you do next: Get a kitchen timer, set it for 30 minutes and put your dainty behind in the chair in front of your computer RIGHT NOW. You are allowed to do nothing but work on your paper until the bell rings. Write as fast as you can. You can clean it up later. Just write! At the end of 30 minutes, you can take a 10 minute break. Then you come right back and keep working until you have a rough draft. Right now it doesn't matter what you say. Just get it down on paper. Tomorrow, after you've slept on it, start cleaning it up.

If you don't get the extension, well, you're going to have to put in the time. But you know something? Sleep is overrated. Browse through the "Steps to Success" categories on this blog to get your thinking going, then set your timer for 30 minutes and do nothing but write. If you can't think of a first sentence, use this one:

The longer I sit here the sooner I will be done.

Keep typing it until your mind changes gears and you can start writing about your subject. Use the timer to keep yourself disciplined. And be disciplined about your timed breaks, too. Work for 30, stop for 10. When the sun comes up, you'll have something.

Then you can start typing this sentence:

If I don't wait until the last minute, I'll avoid a lot of pain.