Years ago, I took up snow skiing. That's me somewhere in the Canadian Rockies.
I struggled at first, falling a lot and failing to make much progress. That is until I learned to
relax and not worry about what I was doing wrong or what hazard lay around the next corner.
Once I relaxed and stopped worrying about making a mistake, my skiing quickly became smoother
and more enjoyable. If I hit an icy patch or approached a steep slope, instead of tensing up,
I deliberately relaxed my muscles and was able to ski effortlessly through the hazard.
So, what does this have to do with writing a scientific paper? Well, let me explain.
Many writers have a lot of difficulty writing their first draft and consequently find the process not
unlike passing a kidney stone. I know that was my experience early in my science career.
Getting the inarticulate thoughts swirling around in my head out and onto paper was a terrible struggle.
I agonized over punctuation, grammar, and word choice. I tried to write perfect sentences
that precisely expressed each thought. But this approach blocked the flow of ideas,
making the whole process slow and painful. I thus thought that it was natural to suffer
through the first draft and that this would always be the case with every paper I wrote.
But it doesn't have to be. Your first draft, just like skiing,
can be an enjoyable experience if you let go of fear and worry.
Fear of making an error or failing to explain something clearly or fear of what a reviewer might say.
If you write your first draft without fear, you'll avoid a lot of unnecessary anguish.
And, you'll enjoy the experience of writing. The goal of your first draft is getting your ideas down.
Don't worry about writing complete sentences. Don't worry about whether you need a comma or
a semicolon. Don't worry about finding the perfect word to describe something.
You're not worried because you'll polish the writing in the second, third, and fourth drafts.
Also, no one will ever see your first draft. So, there's no need for you to be inhibited.
The first draft actually offers an opportunity for you to enjoy the writing process.
You are free to write out your thoughts as they occur to you. To write without tensing
up over word choice or syntax. To write with a bit of passion about your work.
While writing, you can think about what inspired you to conduct the research
and what you hoped to learn. Reexperience the excitement you felt when planning your experiments
and the eagerness you felt when collecting your samples.
Look at your data from every angle and figure out what story it tells.
Imagine you are telling that story to an attentive audience. Begin by stating the question you were trying to answer.
Then explain how you went about finding the answer. Describe what you found and what you think it means.
End by emphasizing why your work is important. In the end, I was never good enough to tackle a black diamond slope,
but I was able to comfortably ski intermediate slopes. Most importantly, I learned to relax and have fun.
The same philosophy applies to writing the first draft of a paper.
Don't tense up and worry about hazards. Let your ideas flow. Reconnect with your passion for scientific discovery.
In doing so, you may find that your first draft is easier to write than you had ever imagined.
Thanks for watching and don't forget to like my video if you found these tips helpful.