How to Write With Focus: 5 Steps to Stay on Track

byKMeyer

1.5K followers

2 years ago

One of the most important aspects of writing is the focus. Without focus, staying on track and producing a quality piece of paper is challenging. Fortunately, you can take a few steps to improve your focus and keep your writing on track. Here are five tips for how to write with focus.

Create a plan or outline before you start writing

Creating a plan or outline before you start writing can help you stay on track and focus on what you want to say. By thinking about your topic and organizing your thoughts, you can save yourself time and frustration later.

Here are five steps to creating a helpful plan or outline:

1. Determine your goal for writing. Whether it's sharing information, persuading someone of something, or telling a story, knowing what you want to accomplish will help guide the rest of the process.

2. Brainstorm ideas related to your goal.

Set aside distractions and find a quiet place to write

3. If you want to write with focus, you must set aside distractions and find a quiet place to work. Eliminate all distractions from your environment. This means turning off your phone, shutting down social media, and anything else that might distract your attention from the task.

Start with the most important points first.

4. If you want to write with focus, start by identifying the most critical points. Once you know what's most important, put those points at the beginning of your piece. Next, take a break and return to your writing with fresh eyes. This will help you identify any areas that need clarification or expansion. Finally, finish strong by revisiting your opening paragraph and ensuring that it effectively draws readers in and motivates them to keep reading.

Use specific and concrete details.

When you sit down to write, use specific and concrete details to back up your article. For instance, if you're writing about a car accident you experienced, describe how the smell of gasoline permeated the air.

If you're writing a blog post about your trip to Galapagos, describe the colors you saw and the sounds in nature. You can use abstractions and metaphors— they can be practical tools. But be sure to use concrete details as well.

Specific details include the time and place associated with your story and the names of the people involved. While specificity and concreteness are essential when writing, it is equally important to stay consistent. If you use the personal pronoun "she" early in your article, use it again when referring to the same person. Use a conversational style.

Instead of generalizing, "I went on a holiday to Jamaica; it was beautiful." I spent three weeks on the Caribbean island and can't wait to return. I could write, "I woke up at the crack of dawn every day, and my first stop was going to the beach. My next stop was sitting under a coconut tree soaking up some sun before touring the island with my friends at night.

Don't try to do too much at once

5. Don't try to do too much at once. That's the number one rule for staying focused while you write. When you're trying to accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously, your brain gets scattered, and it's hard to focus on one thing. So take a deep breath, clear your mind, and start with just one task. Write that scene in your novel, finish that article for work, write 500 words of that blog post—whatever it is, start with one thing and see it through to the end before moving on.

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Kevin