That First Draft

Writing is hard. The many people I've spoken with/complained to] have all said the same thing: write a first draft. Their advice is apt and true: after all, writing is easier when you are working with something compared to writing from scratch. But what happens when you can't get to the first draft? Here are some collective tips I've learned over the years to get you to that first draft:

The "Talkshow" Method

• What it is: Sometimes, talking aloud helps. Pretend you're talking to a friend or doing an interview-- like on Oprah. Except that you are both you and Oprah. It sounds ridiculous but try recording yourself, where you ask yourself questions and you answer them yourself. Listen back and be the audience too, and write down what is salient. 
• Why it works for me: I am more of an external processor, and because of that, I find that some of my best ideas are the ones I've said aloud. 

The  "Electric Slide" Method

• What it is: Write down your thoughts and ideas across slides in PowerPoint / Googleslides/ Keynote / etc. This method lets you rearrange slides if you want to change the order and gives you a "bird's eye" view of how a paper is being organized.
• Why it works for me: When I write, part of my difficulty can be that I have so many ideas I don't know how to organize. This strategy helps me and somehow, feels stressful than constantly cutting and pasting different sections in a document (where I am paranoid that I'll cut something to rearrange, forget that I cut it, and lose that edit). 

The "30-Min Pressure Cooker" Method

• What it is: Set up something really fun you're doing later that day, and give yourself the goal that you have to finish this beforehand, but set the goals by the 30-minute mark. So, for example, if you have 4 hours before going to Disneyland (not my idea of fun, but let's just go with it), you'll have 8 mini-goals. 
• Why it works for me: I'll admit that sometimes, having a deadline makes me the most productive. So I'll set up something I love to do as both a treat and a bit of pressure. In addition, having goals set by the 30-minute mark also helps goals seem more "manageable." In 4 hours, I might promise myself that I'll draft a chapter of my dissertation (not possible), but if I have 30-minute goals, I'll quickly realize how I can't do that, even if I have 8 of them. 

The "Burn it All" Method

• What it is: Write. Not about the topic. Write about what you're most worried about. (I'm a bit of a catastrophic fatalist so I'll quickly jump from how this project, paper, x, y, z not getting done will lead to my career ending, etc.). Write down your anxieties, your worries, your concerns. And then get a lighter, go outside, and burn the paper you wrote as a form of release. Or tear it into small pieces— whatever works... 
• Why it works for me: Often times, for me at least, writer's block is related to my anxiety about whatever I am working on. So this method is a acknowledgment of how I'm feeling, while also creating a version of a releasing ceremony so that I can both figuratively and literally let it go...  (Pro tip: don't, DON'T light what you wrote, inside the building.) 

​Other tips include talking to a friend, doing stream of consciousness/free writing, and of course taking a nap. And as always, strategies that work for me, might not work for you. If you have others to share, please do!