Getting Started
If you have trouble coming up with a thesis right away, there are other ways to help you get started writing. Writing, after all, is a way of discovering what you want to say. As long as you begin with a definite goal, you eventually will discover a purpose and a thesis. Then your later drafts can follow a definite plan. The order of the steps is immaterial—as long as you complete them all.
Even if you do begin with a workable thesis, it might not be the one you end up with. As you work and discover new meanings, you might need to revise or even discard your thesis and start again. Nothing in the writing process is finished until everything is finished.
Here are some techniques that might help you decide what you want to say:
KEEP A JOURNAL
- Use a well-constructed notebook
- Record your reactions to something you’ve read or seen
- Ask questions and answer them
- Describe people, places, and things
- Explore fantasies, daydreams, nightmares, fears, hopes
- Write conversations or letters that will never be heard or read
- Examine the things you hate or love
USE JOURNALISTS QUESTIONS
- Who was involved?
- What happened?
- When did it happen?
- Where did it happen?
- How did it happen?
- Why did it happen?
ASK YOURSELF ANALYTICAL QUESTIONS
- What is my opinion of X?
Is it good or bad?
Is it beneficial or harmful?
Will it work or fail?
Does it make sense?
- What is my attitude about X?
Am I for it or against it?
Do I like it or dislike it?
Do I accept it or reject it?
Does it make me happy or sad?
Do I approve or disapprove?
- What have I observed about X?
What have I seen happen?
What is special or unique about it?
What strikes me about it?
- What can I suggest about X?
What would I like to see happen?
What should be done?
What should not be done?
BRAINSTORM AND LIST
- Find a quiet spot, and bring a timer, a pen or pencil, and paper.
- Set the timer for 30 minutes.
- Try to protect yourself from interruptions. Sit with your eyes closed for a while, thinking about absolutely nothing.
- If you’ve already spelled out your purpose and your audience’s questions, focus on these. Otherwise, repeat this question: “What can I say about my topic?”
- Write down every idea that occurs to you. Don’t evaluate them. Don’t worry about complete sentences or other grammar problems. Trust your imagination. Even the wildest ideas might have some merit.
- Keep pushing and sweating until the timer goes off. No matter how silly the ideas become.
- If the ideas are still flowing, reset the timer and continue.
- Take a break.
- Confront your list. Strike out useless material, and sort what’s left into categories. Include any other ideas that pop up.
- Identify a pattern of thought.
- Fill in holes by elaborating, clarifying, and supporting your ideas.
DO SOMETHING OFF THE WALL
- Use information from your research or quotes from what you have read that you find inspiring.
- Try rewriting the information or quote (or whatever you are rewriting) without using the vowel e, or something really unusual like that.
- This takes your mind off the fact that you don’t know what to write and forces you to focus on having a ton of things to write about and no idea how to do it.
- When this happens, your own ideas start to pop out, and you can let yourself slip back into using that oh-so-useful letter e. The French novelist Perec broke years of writer’s block by playing this challenge game with himself. He eventually wrote an entire novel without the letter e anywhere in it. The book was entitled La disparition and was translated into English by Gilbert Adair and re-titled A Void.
FREEWRITE
Write quickly for five to ten minutes without stopping. If you can’t think of anything to say, writing, “I’m stuck-I can’t think of anything!” over and over will at least force you to start moving your pen on the paper. You’ll soon become bored and more interesting ideas will begin to appear on your paper.
FOCUS YOUR FREEWRITE
In focused freewriting, you begin with a general idea in mind. Let’s say you’ve decided to write an argument paper on gene therapy; you might start with “I don’t have a clue what to think about gene therapy, but I guess if it’s something that might help people. . .” You should find yourself thinking about what you already know or feel about the topic you’re considering.
VISUALIZE IT
Clustering is a way of generating ideas by creating a visual. A cluster is useful for understanding the relationships among the parts of a broad topic or for developing subtopics. To create a cluster, do the following:
- Write down your topic, or thesis, in the middle of a blank piece of paper, and circle it.
- Write down what you see as the main parts of the topic in a ring around the topic circle. Circle each one and draw a line from it to the topic in the center.
- Think of any ideas, examples, facts, or other details relating to each main part. Write each of these down near the appropriate part, circle it, and draw a line from it to the part.
- Repeat this process with each new circle until you can’t think of any more details to add. Some of the trails may lead to dead ends, but you will end up with various trains of thought to follow and many useful connections among ideas.
(Source: Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors. The St. Martin’s Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s P, 1992.)
If you prefer a tighter organizational structure, try creating a flow chart to map out your ideas:
- Write down your topic at the top of a lined page.
- Underneath the main topic in a horizontal row, write down what you see as the main sub-points of your topic.
- Think of examples, facts, and/or other details relating to each sub-point, and arrange in vertical lists underneath the appropriate headings.
Further Reading
- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/general/gl_plan1.html – Though this link’s title begins with the word “Planning” followed by “Invention” in parentheses, the focus is on invention, which it investigates thoroughly.
- http://www. csuohio.edu/writingcenter/invent.html – Provides a thorough overview of the possibilities encompassed in the invention process.
- http://www.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/elejeune/prewriting.htm – Just some good general advice on getting started.
- http ://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan2.html – Thinking through a topic, and planning how to begin is covered at this site.
- http://uga.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/proofreading.html – Although this site is designed to help students in drafting, revising, and proofreading a personal statement, the guidelines apply to writing in general.
- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlin.html – Instructions on the “how to” of an effective outline.
- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlinS.html – A sample outline.
