Drafting By Mandi Schumacher What is drafting Drafting

Drafting By: Mandi Schumacher

What is drafting? �Drafting is starting your essay by using outlines, notes, making lists, etc. �This is helpful because it lets you think of all your ideas about your topic that you are writing about so that you don’t miss anything, and so that you can have a nice organized essay. �When drafting you may discover that you need to find more information or elaborate on a situation. Or possibly rethink what you are trying to say to make it clear as day for the reader to understand.

Scheduling Deadlines �The first step to writing a successful paper is to set deadlines for yourself and stick to them. If you just set deadlines and don’t actually meet those deadlines, then you aren’t doing yourself much good. �Don’t wait till the last minute to write a paper because things get in the way and things happen to where it can be very stressful to get the assignment done the night before it is due.

Making yourself comfortable �In order to write good you have to be able to think good. In order to think good you have to make yourself comfortable. Not to comfortable to where you fall asleep, but just enough to relax and let your mind flow so that you can come up with the best ideas to make a great story. �You need to have a comfortable chair, good lighting, a good place to write and spread all your materials out, and your materials should include paper, pen, and a computer.

Tips to starting to write �The main goal of a draft is to just write. Pick a topic and just think of everything that comes to mind about that topic and write it down. Start with something that you know is bad and that you will probably discard in the end, because at this point it doesn’t matter. It is the process of getting your brain warmed up and going before you continue onto the final paper.

Starting to write cont. � Take your writing in steps first write one draft or a section to a draft and then take a break. Be sure to jot down were your train of thought was so that you can easily pick it back up when you return. � When you break your writing tasks up into parts it is less intimidating and therefore when you aren’t intimidated or worried about something it is easier to think. � Getting all of your ideas on paper doesn’t have to be organized and it doesn’t have to be cookie cutter to where your ideas go in one direction and you stay focused on that. It is okay and normal for your ideas to change while writing, that is why you do a draft to have all those ideas out in the open and then you can go back and adjust them. � It is also okay to have more than one draft. Having more than one draft can be helpful, because then you can compare them and see which one you like better. Or you can combine them and mix your ideas into one essay. Then as you revise you will find mistakes and be able to fix them. It is how you improve your writing,

Writer’s Block �Writer’s block is when you sit down to write something and you absolutely can’t think of anything to write about your topic. Nothing comes to mind and you have no idea what to write about. This is completely normal for writers it happens to the best of them. Sometimes a person can be sitting there for a couple of hours and still have nothing on their paper. �Thankfully there are tips to get you out of this writer’s block. You can walk away from the assignment for about a half hour and go for a walk or take a shower, and by the time you come back your brain will be regenerated and ideas might just start coming to you. You can try freewriting or researching your topic just to give you some ideas. Drawing pictures and doodling is another tactic because it gets you mind working. Or you can talk to someone tell them about your topic and see if they have any ideas to help you.