Samuel M. Powell
I'm going to repeat what I said in another question:
1. I try to develop a very detailed outline of each chapter before I start writing. Ideally, the outline already contains all of the ideas I want to say. Typing just fills in a few details.
2. If I'm procrastinating, I wait until there is something even worse that needs doing, like grading student papers. At that point I have some motivation to do something else--like type.
3. Sometimes it's best to just start writing something, worrying about logic, grammar, and coherence later. As Robert Graves is supposed to have said, there is no such thing as good writing, there is only good rewriting, i.e., editing.
4. Sometimes I can't find anything to say because, I realize, I don't understand the subject enough. At that point, I need to study more. The temptation is to not use this as an excuse to read endlessly ("just one more book or article") instead of typing.
5. Don't try to write a masterpiece. Don't hold yourself to an impossibly high standard. I don't pretend that people are going to be reading my books in 50 years or even 20. I'm writing what I want to write because I want to write. Obviously, to get published, you have to write things that others want to read, but don't think that you've got to equal the accomplishment of Shakespeare or Thomas Aquinas.
6. Adopt a blue collar approach: think of writing as a job requiring skill. Practice the skill, do the job. Don't think of it as art that requires "inspiration."
7. As Descartes advised, take big tasks and divide them into small, manageable tasks. Don't write the book all at once; write it one chapter at a time. Divide the chapter into small bits and do them one at a time. If necessary, just write one sentence at a time.
Thanks for asking.
Sam Powell
1. I try to develop a very detailed outline of each chapter before I start writing. Ideally, the outline already contains all of the ideas I want to say. Typing just fills in a few details.
2. If I'm procrastinating, I wait until there is something even worse that needs doing, like grading student papers. At that point I have some motivation to do something else--like type.
3. Sometimes it's best to just start writing something, worrying about logic, grammar, and coherence later. As Robert Graves is supposed to have said, there is no such thing as good writing, there is only good rewriting, i.e., editing.
4. Sometimes I can't find anything to say because, I realize, I don't understand the subject enough. At that point, I need to study more. The temptation is to not use this as an excuse to read endlessly ("just one more book or article") instead of typing.
5. Don't try to write a masterpiece. Don't hold yourself to an impossibly high standard. I don't pretend that people are going to be reading my books in 50 years or even 20. I'm writing what I want to write because I want to write. Obviously, to get published, you have to write things that others want to read, but don't think that you've got to equal the accomplishment of Shakespeare or Thomas Aquinas.
6. Adopt a blue collar approach: think of writing as a job requiring skill. Practice the skill, do the job. Don't think of it as art that requires "inspiration."
7. As Descartes advised, take big tasks and divide them into small, manageable tasks. Don't write the book all at once; write it one chapter at a time. Divide the chapter into small bits and do them one at a time. If necessary, just write one sentence at a time.
Thanks for asking.
Sam Powell
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