Write like you move houses

While moving houses, it helps to follow a sequence.

First, everything we own ought to be packed into cardboard boxes, crates and suitcases. Second, all this stuff needs to be transported to the new place. Third, the transported stuff ought to be unpacked and setup in the new place. If you try to do them together, they would get in each other’s way.

This principle also applies to writing. You first have to package your ideas into words, phrases and sentences. You then need to transport them from brain tissue to a medium – a piece of paper or a portion of computer memory. Finally, you need to edit and rearrange those words for them to make sense.

In creative pursuits, separate the acts of ideation, drafting and editing. If you try to do them together, they would get in each other’s way.