hello my name is Kylie and welcome to the writing process getting started do
you ever find writing tricky at times starting with a blank page not really
knowing how to get your thoughts and ideas and writing can be pretty scary
but it doesn't have to be in this video you'll learn the process of writing so
you can go from generating ideas to a first draft of your work let's get on
the right track
when you read a book you might not think about all the work that went into
writing it before it lands in your hands the author or the person who wrote the
book spent many many hours thinking about writing about rewriting and
writing again before the ideas could be made into a book it doesn't always
happen by magic even for professional writers you can learn to write using the
same process your favorite author uses there are five main steps in the writing
process one prewriting or brainstorming drafting revising editing and publishing
let's look at the first two of these steps before you ever get to writing
there is a lot you need to consider to help you get started this part of the
writing process is called the prewriting stage because it's everything you do
before you ever even start your first draft just like we read for different
reasons we write for many different reasons too you might read to learn
something new like you do for reading a science book or to be entertained by one
of your favorite story books in the same way we write for different reasons as
well this is called the purpose your writing should have a purpose you might
choose to write to teach something to
tell a story or to express your feelings or ideas
when you know your purpose for writing your writing can remain focused or on
topic if you choose to teach something you might be writing a book report an
essay an article or even an interview if you are writing to tell a story you
might be writing a dramatic play lyrics to a song narrative poetry which is a
poem that tells a story a fictional story which is a made-up story or a
personal narrative which is a true story that happened to you if you are writing
to express ideas or feelings you might choose to write a letter or an email to
a friend creative poetry song lyrics or even just a journal entry about your
thoughts on things that happened you might be more comfortable with
certain types of writing more than others but don't be afraid to try
something new how will you know what to write you can keep a running list of
writing ideas in a notebook whenever you get an inspiration by something you see
hear feel or experience you can write it down in note form then when you have
some time to write you can choose from your idea list once you have chosen a
topic or the main idea for your writing and once you have decided on the purpose
you can then begin brainstorming
brainstorming is exactly how it sounds like a nature storm brainstorming is
unpredictable and messy when you brainstorm for writing you are taking
everything out of your brain and putting it on paper or on your screen so you are
taking all the many ideas that you think about and you write them down you do not
need to write in full sent to says that's kind of what makes it fun
when brainstorming you are writing short notes and ideas for yourself there is no
right way to brainstorm some authors like to make a list draw quick sketches
use a graphic organizer which is like a map or flowchart that helps you get your
ideas out or just scribble your thoughts all over the place where it makes sense
for them in the drafting stage you are taking all of your brainstorm notes and
ideas and writing the first copy of your writing piece if you are writing a story
then it's the first draft of your story if you are writing a poem then it's the
first draft of your poem a first draft is sometimes called the rough draft or
the sloppy copy in other words it is not the perfect final version of your work
just like there is no right way to brainstorm there is also really no right
way or correct way to draft some authors like to start at the beginning and write
in a logical order some like to scribble paragraphs on note cards and rearrange
them later and some like to use graphic organizers or an outline where similar
to the brainstorm stage there are using an outline or flowchart to help them
write if you are using lined paper like notebook paper skipping lines helps so
that you have space later to make changes or add notes if using a word
processor to write your draft you may want to make it double-spaced and print
it out in the drafting stage you are writing to
match the type of piece that you've chosen for example if you are writing a
story an essay or similar type of writing you write in complete sentences
for your dress if you are writing a poem or a play you
would write it following how that piece is written the important part of this
step is that you are just writing and not stopping to fix anything don't worry
about spelling grammar and punctuation at this point also don't worry about the
order of things quite yet either some authors begin with the ending of the
story and work backwards some authors like to skip around during the drafting
stage by starting at the beginning jumping to write the ending then kind of
filling in the details in the middle as they go remember there is no right way
to draft just get into a writing flow going from a blank page to a rough draft
of writing is a great accomplishment knowing that there are steps we can take
makes the writing process a lot less daunting and intimidating improve your
language skills by playing our fun online games and quizzes and remember to
always keep writing