Writing at the Computer

Writing a new document directly on the computer has become fast and easy as word processing becomes a normal part of our lives. Still, many of us find it difficult to start the writing process. Here are some suggestions to make your writing a more pleasurable experience.

First, concentrate on the overall picture. What is your purpose? Make sure you have a clear definition of what you have set out to accomplish. Also make sure you have a clear understanding of whom your reader is. How we emphasize our key points will vary based on your answers.

Once you know who you're writing for, start typing your thoughts and ideas focusing on the content. Don't worry about sentence structure or spelling at this point, just try to get your ideas on the screen. If you are working on a lengthy document, such as a term paper, or have points that you'll want to expand on or research, use a symbol to mark your place. An * or < can be easily searched for by going to the FIND function under the Edit menu. Later, you can review your marks and expand on your thoughts.

Once you've listed the concepts, brainstorm. Try different approaches and different descriptions. One of the main advantages of computers is the ease of changing our mind. You can rewrite your phrases over and over and if you're not happy with word choices, you can ask for help from the Thesaurus.

When you've finished the thought process, it's time for fine-tuning. Here we must remember that most writers are never happy. Don't be lured into spending excessive time revising and polishing your draft. If you're spending too much time at this stage, give your document to someone else to review and see how they feel about the content. It's easy to never quite leave this stage of the development.

You're now ready to proofread. Start with an On Screen review of your document. Run the spell check and grammar check, concentrating on the major mistakes. When you run the grammar check, remember they compare your writing with a list of common phrases. Often, their suggestion is not accurate. For instance, they will tell you a statement is passive, however, it will not say whether or not a passive statement is appropriate at that point.

Finish by printing a hard copy for another go around at proofreading. Although computers make writing and editing flexible, they also add new possibilities for error. Changes to content and grammar (particularly tense) can create a choppy sounding document. Have someone else read your document to help catch these errors.

Take advantage of the powerful resource our computer can be. But trust me, set a time limit; else you'll never finish.