Writing out, from the middle
There are people who have a very simplistic image of the writing process: start at the beginning and then work your way through to the end. Often, the process flows just like that. But not always.
There are times when I find myself able to quickly write the beginning and end of a piece, then work on the parts in between. Or, as I described in a previous post, I assemble a bunch of what seem like disparate paragraphs into a cohesive whole.
There are times, though, when I just can’t get a handle on the introduction and the conclusion to what I’m writing. I have a topic, theme, and angle. But the beginning and end just aren’t coming out in the way that I want them to. I know more than a couple of writers who’d just stop work until they could craft the intro. When you’re facing a deadline that’s not always an option.
Why not start from the middle instead?
Not literally, of course
I’m definitely not suggesting that if, for example, you’re writing a 1,500 word article that you start at where you think word number 750 would be. What I mean by middle is everything that would normally be between your introductory and concluding paragraphs.
To get writing, look at your outline. You have one, don’t you? If not, take a few minutes to create one. It doesn’t have to be detailed. A set of points that you want to cover, in the order in which you want to cover those points, will do. It could look something like this:
- Introduction
- Expand on the problems with xyz
- Quote from J.D., along with a summary of her research on the problem
- Counterpoint from V.M., along with a summary of his arguments
- Precis of some of the other research on both sides of the issue (see notes)
- Conclusion (three paragraphs?)
Start anywhere you want to. You might have a bunch of quotes or statistics that you exactly what you want to do with. You might have a key argument that’s just ready to burst out of your fingertips. You might even have a great ending. Whatever it is, start from there.
Say you were working from the sample outline above. You might start with the third point, then fill in all the supporting research for the fifth point. Just keep going from there.
Filling in the blanks
And there will be a few blanks. You’ll need to fill them in with information in your notes, or by doing a little more research or another interview or two. It will be mostly a matter of getting more information and using that information to better form or bolster your arguments.
Something that you’ll probably notice is that as you write from the middle is that your ideas for your introduction and/or conclusion will start to firm up. They’ll take a more definite shape, and by the time you finish writing the core of your article you should be ready to tackle the beginning and end.
From there, it’s a matter of editing and (if necessary) some rewriting.
Thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment.
Photo credit: roganjosh from morguefile.com
