Organizing Your Thoughts in Writing

Organizing Your Thoughts in Writing - Lisa U Maki


One of the major goals of every writer is to be able to reach out to her audience and communicate her message clearly to them. Though there are several factors that make this possible, there is one factor that stands out for me, and this is the "organization" part of the writing.
I have edited so many "writings" including term papers, blog articles, books, etc. In all these I have clearly noticed that the organization of thoughts is always the major problem. There are times when the writing is too cluttered with so many different ideas; at other times it jumps from one topic to another, losing the very message that the writer wants to convey.
One thing every writer has to remember is that when the writing is not organized, the reader starts getting confused as to what the message really is. The key here is the connection and fluidity of the ideas and thoughts, which begins in the mind of the writer.
The first step in writing is to think of a main topic that you want to write about. Don't worry about titles first. What you need to focus on is what the focal point of your writing should be. If you are writing about children, then that is your main focus. From here you have to narrow it down by asking yourself these questions: What is it about children that I want to write about? (Their innocent view of the world) What age bracket am I going to focus on? (Ages 2-7) Is there a gender focus? (No)
Based on what I have written in parentheses, the topic of your writing is: Children's Innocent View of the Word. Your age focus is 2-7, and you will cover both male and female. You are now ready to make your outline.
The outline will help you organize your writing and not lose focus. Unless you are writing a term paper, a school requirement, or a book, you don't need to include your outline in your writing. It simply serves as a guide. Before you make your outline, you can just write anything that comes to your mind and then later on group them into sub-topics, to form your outline.
For your topic on Children's Innocent View of the World, you can include the following sub-topics:
How do children see the world?
Stories and interviews on children
What distorts the innocence of children?
Parent's role in maintaining the innocence of children
Parent's role in guarding the innocence of children
You can further divide each one of these into sub-topics like this...
How do children see the world?
Their view of life and death
Their view of marriage
Their view of God
Stories and interviews on children
Actual stories of my children
Interviews from neighbors and nearby school
What distorts the innocence of children?
Family influence
Outside influence
Parent's role in maintaining the innocence of children
What parents need to teach children
Parent's role in guarding the innocence of children
What parents need to teach children
Once you have all your topics and sub-topics, you can now arrange it in an outline, including an introduction and a conclusion. From here it will be easier for you to write and keep focused.
I said it earlier, I will say it again... the key to good and effective writing is in the connection and fluidity of your thoughts. Your writing will just follow your thoughts, more so if you are a gifted writer.
The last tip I will give you is: Always write about topics you are interested in. If it is an assigned topic from school, then you have to find out something about that topic that interests you. Nothing beats writing about something you love and know a lot about.
If you need more tips on writing, feel free to email me (godzgurlz@live.com) your question or concern.Have a great time writing!Lisa Maki is the founder of God'z Gurlz, a Bible-based online magazine for women whose mission is to is to provide a place where women can learn to manage their emotions, experience healing, receive love and acceptance, be free to be who God made them to be, and be the best they can be in their homes, schools, professions, relationships, and calling, through sharing of insights and experiences, counseling, prayer, and devotionals, thereby learning from and supporting each other. For more of Lisa's articles, visit http://godzgurlz.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_U_Maki  Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6973438