Structure First, Write Second
About a million years ago, as a college prep senior, I was required to take “Senior Comp.” This was the class that would prepare us for writing college papers. It was also the class everyone pissed and moaned about. They said things like: it was boring. You had to write too much. It was boring. There were too many assignments. It was…bor-ing. So they said. Ha! They just didn’t get it. Senior Comp was fun!
All the credit for my enjoyment of Senior Comp goes to my former teacher, Miss Heath. She gave me my first important lesson about writing: it’s all about the structure. Structure is the pre-determined organization of your content. It’s the flow or arrangement of ideas that takes your readers from Point A to Point Z. It’s the building blocks you use to tell your story or message. Here’s the one thing Miss Heath made sure we understood: Your writing will either rise or fall on its structure.
I still remember sitting in the front of the class, busily writing essay after essay. Word by word, line by line, paragraph by paragraph, I built stories, crafted persuasive articles, and wrote descriptive compositions – all with relative ease. Because I had the key – I knew about structure. High school may have been a long time ago, but the lessons Miss Heath taught us are still relevant today.
Miss Heath’s Lessons About Structure
Lesson 1: Develop a Hierarchy of Information
The message/story/information you have to deliver has some very important elements and some not-so-very-important elements. Prioritize your information. What’s the critical thing you want your reader to know up front? What can wait ‘til the second ‘graph? Third? What can you leave out? The best way to figure it out is to create an outline or treatment so you know what you want to say and in what order. This will help you organize your thoughts into a coherent message.
Lesson 2: Create Writing Flow
Good writing has a flow to it. It’s organic. Like a stream meandering through a meadow or a river rushing to the open bay or a waterfall tumbling to the pool below. That flow comes from the structure you impose. Every line, every paragraph should build on – or connect to – the content that came before. Working from an outline will ensure those connections are linked together so your words flow across the screen or page.
Lesson 3: Use Transitions
In Senior Comp, we used a lot of “Consequentlys,” “Moreovers,” and “Howevers.” All very stuffy and formal. Not many of these were helpful beyond 12th grade, but the point is transitions are enormously important to your writing. They help you move the reader along in your message. They can also: introduce a change in subject, re-locate the reader to another time period or place, compare and contrast, take the reader to a deeper level of understanding, and more. Some of my favorites are: But, In fact, In addition, Then, Next, As a result…”
Lesson 4: Get the Structure Down Before You Start Writing.
I promise – the white page won’t look quite as intimidating. Plus – your writing will go a lot more smoothly and easily. That’s what Miss Heath always told us…and she was usually right.