It’s tough to begin writing. That’s why we recommend a slew of pre-writing activities before the fact – it lays the foundation (making writing easier) and gets you mentally ready. Once you’ve got the preparation steps done, how should you proceed to fill up all those rows on that blank page staring right at you (sorry, even the most powerful writing software won’t pull words out of thin air for you yet)?
1. Think of your audience. Your introduction should speak directly with your audience. If they can’t get the gist of your topic right from your first paragraph, you’ll run the risk of immediately losing them. Make sure you put yourself in their shoes and put down what they need to hear.
2. Do you have an outline? If you do, then start writing paragraphs based on it. Remember: you don’t have to do the topics in order. You can write whichever comes easiest and rearrange them based on how you imagined presenting them in your outline.
3. You can start out on topics by writing the first sentence for each one. That way, you don’t have to worry about producing complete paragraphs at the onset. Once you get that done, that lone sentence could spur the production of the rest of the piece.
4. Are you looking to inspire action in your readers? Try to incorporate AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) concepts into your work, apart from establishing your authority right at the onset.
Tags: drafting, starting writing
