First Priority

No matter what you are writing, the first priority is write the first draft.

Most writers procrastinate. Since writing is a demanding job requiring focus and dedication, most writers delay, dally, defer, and dawdle.How does one get that first draft completed?

1. Plan
2. Organize
3. Implement
4. Write

Without a doubt, the most important step is to plan what one intends to write, be it a novel, an article, an essay, a short story, or a poem. The writer must have something to say and a desire to say it. The need to express, for whatever reason, is important. It may be self-fulfillment, it may be economic, or it may to leave a legacy, but whatever it is it must be strong enough to force the writer to prepare and develop a way to put words to paper.

Once the idea is generated, the second important step is to organize. This usually means time at a computer or typewriter. Time must be set aside, a place of work must be established, and distractions (whatever they are) must be eliminated. The professional writer writes every day and often everywhere, but the amateur may not have the same motive or drive. Time, of course, varies from person to person; some writers have a day job to contend with, others write only when the urge comes upon them, or whenever time is available. An ideal place to write will also depend on the individual; some need noise as a background; others require silence; and still other do not care-they can write anywhere. The elimination of distractions is different for each person. Writers have written with bustle and hurry all about them; others need a special place with a special ambience. Do what you have to do.

Putting thoughts to paper or screen is the most important part of the process. Start. Write quickly letting the thoughts flow from the mind to the paper or screen. Do not be too concerned about syntax, word choice, grammar, spelling, or capitalization. The most imperative act is to get something down; rewriting will take care of the technical aspects of writing. Today most word processors have grammar and spellcheckers, but do not rely exclusively on them. They do not find all errors; if you are poor at spelling and grammar seek the services of someone who is capable in these areas-a friend, a teacher, or if necessary a professional copywriter.That is writing: planning, organizing, and putting words to paper or to screen. It is not difficult if one has a positive attitude about it.

Charles O. Goulet had a BA in History and a BEd in English literature. Several of his historical novels have been published and are available through Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes and Noble, and many other bookstores.His website is http://www.telusplanet.net/public/go1c. His blog is http://go1c.bravejournal.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Course shows companies what NOT to put in writing - Reuters

Coens nominated for writing prize - BBC News

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Gonzales writing book on years in Bush administration - Austin American-Statesman

Children#39;s creative writing class is Saturday at Writers#39; Gallery - Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror

Russia says will restore gas when monitors in place - guardian.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8216731cid=1287643687ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNE6OsbQ6KsiJix2jQydzF_Dl79xogRussia says will restore gas when monitors in place/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fguardian.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b Faulconbridge in Kiev, Marcin Grajewski in Brussels; Martin Santa in Bratislava; Jan Lopatka in Prague; bWriting/b by Jon Boyle; editing by Ralph Boulton)/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DWDaHAtQVYSIcid=1287643687ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNFM0dlooO6DX3Ov7tKnwECPm6s44QVideo: The gas crisis in Europe online/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrfrance24english/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/WDaHAtQVYSI/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/WDaHAtQVYSItype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-2fd=Rurl=http://www.kyivpost.com/world/32802cid=1287643687ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNFl0So-gtA31LFpvEzaQ5tMxvnhgAGazprom: Yushchenko should work instead of bwriting/b letters/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKyiv Post (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-3fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSBRU00715620090108cid=1287643687ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNH8IZKeorZ7XosVjGNN9z9l1eX9gwGazprom refuses to agree to EU gas monitoring plan/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-4fd=Rurl=http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKPRA00230820090108cid=1287643687ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNGHb9nt6pYVrJCnco2_avuPWfRm8QnobrReuters/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-5fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL84569920090108cid=1287643687ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNEhRj67CBcr9ovD0gNWFBO6USa-ugnobrReuters/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287643687hl=ennobrall 7,224 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, writing, and learning ... - Examiner.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d7-The-Flat-Stanley-Project-gets-kids-reading-writing-and-learning-geographycid=1287811701ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNGLu9CHSDD-bYl4DPWN1GXVwkxIswimg src=http://nt2.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=Nj8BWNePNEUJimgurl=image.examiner.com/images/blog/author/img530michelle_kerns_photo.jpg width=80 height=67 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Examiner.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d7-The-Flat-Stanley-Project-gets-kids-reading-writing-and-learning-geographycid=1287811701ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNGLu9CHSDD-bYl4DPWN1GXVwkxIswThe Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, bwriting/b, and learning b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fExaminer.comnbsp;-/font nobr19 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b could scarcely have imagined that decades later his quirky creation would be used in bwriting/b and geography projects for schoolchildren around the globe. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Ex-broker guilty of writing bad check - Billings Gazette

The business press: The horror of writing your own obit - BloggingStocks

How about if Steve Jobs smoked a pipe? - guardian.co.uk

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Manhattan Public Library holding art and writing contest for MLK ... - KTKA.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9i-0fd=Rurl=http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/3482/1/A-Call-to-Serve-on-Dr-MLK-Jr-Day/Page1.htmlcid=1287567128ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNE_21VYtIKo4GGTm8-nHet6WvQ-DQimg src=http://nt1.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=iaHGz36FEtgJimgurl=www.tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/content_images/2009-01-08/20090108mlk01.jpg width=80 height=73 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Tri State Defender/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/jan/07/manhattan_public_library_holding_art_and_writing_c/cid=1287567128ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNGh-fhXrKqMCzbo4MttBm0sHVB-TwManhattan Public Library holding art and bwriting/b contest for MLK b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fKTKA.com,nbsp;KSnbsp;-/font nobrJan 7, 2009/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Write down your experience or the story of someone you know and submit it to the annual Manhattan Community Martin Luther King Jr. Art and bWriting/b Contest. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://www.marionstar.com/article/20090107/NEWS01/901080321cid=1287567128ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNFtPTnWtd6NpSFDXnxYx1VkQSezyAKing#39;s #39;Peace#39; theme puts youths#39; skills on display/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarion Star/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-2fd=Rurl=http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S23/13/67G96/index.xml%3Fsection%3Dannouncementscid=1287567128ei=6olmSZ35Lou-9gSSyY3oBAusg=AFQjCNGXEoKpmjRhJAZHoHEsXval3rRBpgAmerican presidential transition is theme of King Day event/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPrinceton University/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287567128hl=ennobrall 166 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Writing - Google News

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