The Planning Process
The planning process for any piece of writing, however long or short and formal or informal, involves the same steps, although the method for doing them may vary considerably from one case to another. For a lengthy document, it may be wise or even necessary to develop a formal “book plan,” a written plan detailing all the many steps preliminary to drafting the item. For a simple writing job, such as a brief letter, all the planning may be in your mind, with nothing formal on paper, but that is a difference in degree, not in kind. Many journalists and other professional writers use a “lead” as the planning document for a short article (I confess to being one who does so), and we may write and rewrite that lead many times before going on, as our way of planning and outlining, but we don’t proceed, usually, until we are sure that we have that lead – plan – right.
I don’t know that the “lead” method works for everyone. As one writer expressed it to me once, for him it was “thinking on paper.” I happen to agree with that. I find that scratching out a lead “on paper” (actually on a computer screen now) helps me think things out. As I “see” what is wrong with my first attempt, I begin editing and revising my rough-draft lead until it seems right to me: It defines and sets the goal, as it should; the reader should get a firm clue from your first sentence or first paragraph of what you are about to tell him or her. But let’s look at the three major stages:
- Setting a goal or objective: What is it you want to do with this letter or other writing? Provide information? Placate an unhappy client? Report progress? Sell an idea? Ask for the order? Ask for payment? Request an interview? Explain the problem? Reassure the client?
- Choosing a strategy: How do you plan to achieve this goal or objective? Logical argument? Promise of something? Offer to trade? Reinforce your guarantee?
- Outlining: What information will you present and how?
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