Develop a plan for your story with prewriting
Prewrite: Get ready to write | |
 | What should the first step in the writing process be? Prewrite your message, or decide what to write Game plan: Spend less time worrying about grammar, spelling and punctuation. Start the writing process with prewriting instead. |
1. Research: Gather material for your message | |
 | How to research blog posts, articles & more Conduct background research, interviews & observational research Dig up the details: No matter how accomplished a writer you are, your story will be no better than your material. |
2. Focus: Find your story angle | |
 | Tighten the angle of your story Find your focus for concise copy Tighten up: The quickest way to cut copy significantly is to tighten your story angle. |
3. Structure: Organize your information | |
 | How to write to length with story structure Edit before you write to save time in the writing process Map out a plan: Spend a few minutes upfront organizing your piece, and you’ll save hours later agonizing over it. |
 | What’s the best structure for blog posts, intranet stories & more? “Prose is architecture,” wrote Ernest Hemingway. “It’s not interior design.” Which structure would make the best foundation for your argument? |
 | Break into sections, then structure the parts In its place: Build your story with Ann’s 3-step structural system. |
 | Hit your word count the first time Have a fit: One of the easiest ways to write short: Come up with a word count limit and stick to it. |
More on prewriting | |
 | What writers and others say “My working habits are simple: long periods of thinking, short periods of writing.” — Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize-winning novelist |