Questioning

One way to get started is to write down the questions your readers might have about your topic. This method helps you ensure that your document tells readers what they need to know. It also helps you anticipate readers’ responses to your document.

For example, Gillian has to write a memo introducing a weekly interdepartmental meeting of employees involved with a new product launch. Trying to anticipate her readers’ concerns, she produces the following questions:

• Why are we having these new meetings?
• What will be on the agenda?
• What do I need to prepare for the meetings?

By turning those questions into affirmative statements, Gillian can create the list of points she’ll want to cover in her memo. For example, “For the first meeting, please come prepared with your unit’s work plans.”

If you use this method, consider your knowledge of the audience’s interests and concerns. If you are not familiar with your audience, enlist someone with that familiarity to augment your list of anticipated questions.

The traditional outline

Another approach to getting starting is to use a traditional outline. This method seems to work best for people who can picture a logical document structure. It is especially useful for inexperienced writers or for people who must cover a complex subject.

A traditional outline uses letters and Roman and Arabic numerals to indicate levels of information.

Three levels of headings (Roman numerals, capital letters, and Arabic numerals) are sufficient for most business documents.

Once you have an outline, ask yourself these questions:

• Have I listed all the topics and subtopics I need to cover?
• Are they arranged in a logical sequence?
• Is there a clear beginning, middle, and ending?

Once you are satisfied with the logic and flow of your outline, begin fleshing out each line to create your document.

The brainstorm outline

The brainstorm outline is a free-form technique for jotting down ideas as fast as they come into your mind. This free association helps boost your creativity. It is a particularly useful method when you’re writing with a group, because it captures everyone’s ideas at the beginning of the process. To create a brainstorm outline, follow these steps:

1. Draw a circle in the middle of a sheet of paper.
2. Write your purpose inside the circle. Your purpose is the reason you’re writing the document. Keep it simple: start with the word to and include an action verb such as persuade.
3. As you think of ideas related to your topic, draw lines outward from the circle, like the spokes of a wheel, and write each idea on a line.
4. If an idea inspires related ideas, draw more lines off from that line and write your ideas on them.
5. If an idea comes to you that is entirely separate from the ideas you’ve written so far, draw a new line from the center circle.
6. Continue to generate ideas, drawing lines from the center circle and from other lines.

New product idea chart

Take care to define the main idea categories that come out of the center circle. Once you have them organized, those ideas will be the topics you’ll want to cover.

Freewriting

Freewriting is often the best antidote for writer’s block. Like the brainstorm outline, freewriting lets your imagination roam, thus facilitating the expression of great ideas, whether on paper or on screen. The most important rule to remember about freewriting is that there are no rules. To use the freewriting method, follow these steps:

1. Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and let your mind wander.
2. Write down anything that comes into your mind, even if it has nothing to do with your writing topic.
3. Freewrite for at least ten minutes to get the ideas flowing.
4. When you get stuck, write that down, too. Don’t stop.
5. Don’t edit your work. If you’re working at your computer, darkening the screen may help to keep you from editing prematurely.

When you’ve finished freewriting, read what you’ve set down, highlighting important points and ideas. Then organize those points into logical categories, just as you would in a traditional or brainstorming outline.