Writer Question: When you sit down to write an essay, do you write an outline? If not, please share your pre-writing process/practices.
I haven’t written an outline since 5th grade Social Studies when I had to write about the great state of Illinois for Ms. Wolf’s class.
My pre-writing looks like a lot of staring at my notebook with a pen in my hand, and a coffee mug in another. Lots of rocking back and forth. Some doodling in the margins. Internal existential crisis thoughts.
One thing I never ever do is sit near any technology. This is because I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit and sew and quilt and also maybe I should go back to school to be an interior designer or oooo! an architect, too or maybe what I really should do is become a lifestyle AND a DIY blogger and surely I can figure out how to do all these things on Pinterest PLUS live my best life during perimenopause or is it menopause now, I better look that up too and what’s happening on FB and also IG and another thing can I just express how much I hate algorithms I am sure architects and interior designers and KNITTERS don’t have to worry about algorithms and hashtags I should totally become a knitter.
And the other reason I stay away from technology and only use paper and a pen to write is because the moments that I can’t write are soul crushing and I can barely stand them, but I do – I have been for over a decade now – and then, THEN there is this fierce calm that enters whatever space I am in and I wait because I know an idea is about to show up and that is one of the best feelings – when I know I am nothing, when I know I have nothing to give, and then here it is: the beginning. I cannot plan for that. There is no outline. I just have to wait.
I needed to read this. Sitting down to write at the computer is not productive for me. What can I Google? Check my email? Yes, please! I end up down rabbit holes I didn’t need to go down and then an hour goes by and I started a Google Doc and titled it, and the page is empty. 😉