Here’s how I learned to compose a piece in high school:
- Write an outline
- Write a rough draft, beginning to end
- Write one or more additional complete drafts
- Edit
Here’s how I actually write a piece:
- Write down some notes about the topic
- Start a draft
- Think about what I’m writing as I go about my day doing other things
- Write more notes
- Rearrange the ideas using an outline to figure out the structure
- Realize what it is I’m actually trying to say
- Rewrite
- Write a complete draft
- Revise
- Edit
Drafts, outlines, and mind maps aren’t clean steps. They’re techniques for organizing and sustaining the thinking process that ends up on the page.