Turning a blank canvas into an assignment can seem a daunting task, especially as deadlines loom. So here’s a few writing tips to get you started…
Where to Start?
Read: No one expects you to conjure up words from thin air, so read someone else’s first. Read articles, journals, books, forums anything that covers your topic.
Watch: There’s videos on almost everything now, so if the idea of trawling through endless pages is blocking you from starting, watch explainer and how to videos or webinars and debates.
Note: Keep track of facts, opinions, phrases, definitions and anything that can be of use (and their sources). As they might not connect at the time, but once you start writing they’ll find a place.
The more information you consume on a topic the better equipped you’ll be to write about it. You’ll soon find a path that interests you that has research available.
What to write about?
Titles can evolve, ideas can develop and opinions can form as you go - so flesh out what you’ve got from the above and expand on your notes to see where they take you. Often you’d have read more on the parts that interest you and narrowed down your topic without realising.
Where to write?
Sometimes when you struggle to get words on the page, it’s not that you have nothing to write about but that you’re not in the right space to write. So experiment and find where works for you. Try: a library, an office, at home, a café, the park, a train, a bus - any small pocket of space that captures your imagination and releases your creativity. A change of scene can remove any pressures associated to more formal spaces and distractions can inspire.
Your mind needs space to think, so get away from the desk and find that space.
Scribbles from the central line
