Writing Like It’s a Road Trip
Set your destination, plan your route, take frequent breaks, and enjoy the ride
Regardless of where you are on your journey you probably have something to say — and someone wants to hear it. The good news is, that making that happen has never been easier.
I’m certain that there’s something inside you that needs to be shared. It doesn’t matter where you are on your journey: octogenarian, mid-life, just beginning to make your way, or coming of age.
And it doesn’t matter what that something is. Maybe it’s an opinion from the school of hard-knocks. Or a discovery of how something works. Or insight into a better way. Or a thing of beauty that is just too precious to stay hidden.
Whoever. Whatever. Write it down and share it. Please!
If you’re a writer, you already know how to do this. Start writing! But if you’ve never published something, or you’re just not sure how to put your thoughts on paper, here’s an approach that works for me, and should get you started in the right direction.
It works well for expository and persuasive writing, which are the kinds of writing I normally do. And with a bit of adaptation I’ve also made it work for descriptive pieces. (Just don’t try this approach with narrative writing, because it doesn’t work at all on story-based writing.)
Four steps to get things going
- First, write a title. Quickly. Don’t agonize over it because it will change.
- Next, write a subtitle. Take your time. This will be your first chance to explain what you want to share and to whom. Don’t perfect it yet; just try to capture the gist of your thoughts in a single sentence.
- Next, write a one paragraph preface. This is your back-story. Your problem statement. Your discovery. Your big revelation. This is where you set the context. Where your readers first begin to empathize with you. Where they recognize that what you’re writing about is something that’s relevant to them.
- Now, stop and go no further with the composition. Don’t outline anything, don’t write down the main arguments, don’t list step-by-step instructions. Instead, jump to the end. Decide how you want to close your composition. What is your parting thought? What do you want to leave behind in the reader’s mind when the two of you go your separate ways? Write that down and perfect it before doing anything else. This is the destination that you have to work towards. This is how far you have to carry the reader. Making sure your reader gets there is your only task from here on.
Rules of the road
At this point, you’ve got a title, subtitle, preface and parting thought. You’ve also got words on paper, a writing style, a writer’s voice, and (very importantly) you don’t have writer’s block.
So begin at the beginning. In one paragraph, capture the essence of your thoughts. What you write here should be the big idea that you want to share.
What comes after this big idea are all the separate thoughts that needs to be explored and shared to reach the destination you’ve set for yourself.
It’s a road trip, and it’s going to be fun.
There are only a few rules of the road to follow: establish your credibility, identify the “must-see” way-points, be specific, be intentional, and be flexible.
Establish your credibility
Provide your credentials somewhere early on. Let readers know what level of trust they should place in your words. Be honest. If you’re an expert, tell them the limits of your knowledge. If you’re a novice, let them know that too. For every novice that shares something, there are myriad others who can identify with what the author is going through, and rejoice that they are not alone.
I write about software development. It’s been my chosen profession for 44 years. Despite this, establishing my credibility still requires some care because software development is such a large topic that it has many areas of specialization. And as most people know, the fast pace of the ever-changing tech stack means that someone much younger may be more of an authority than me on any given topic.
Identify the “must-see” way-points
Give your readers a clue about what lies ahead. Do this by gently introducing the points you’re about to go over. A single sentence will do. I like to make it a list of unembellished topical phrases. I refer to these as way-points: they let the reader know how far they’ve gone and how much more is still to come.
To be most effective, repeat the wording of your topical phrases in the body of your composition, exactly as they first appeared. Readers will recognize this repetition and know immediately that they are moving along.
Public speaking has codified this into a golden rule, something like this: begin by telling the audience what you’re about to say, then say it, then wrap up by repeating what you’ve said. But this golden rule for speaking only applies lightly to writing. Readers process information differently than listeners. There seems to be some debate about whether the written word is more powerful than the spoken word, but the written word certainly has one advantage: the reader can interrupt themselves at any time, to re-read an earlier passage.
Be specific
Whatever you have to say should be said using your voice of experience. Readers will identify with you when your experiences come close to theirs. They will recognize the insights that you’re revealing as truths to be followed.
In narrative writing, specificity is expressed through place-name geography or through recognizable objects or descriptive features. But for the type of writing I do, specificity is expressed through the angst, the tedium, the delight, and the solutions that I experienced on my way to discovery.
Here are a few common ways to be specific when your topic is abstract:
- When writing an opinion piece, describe what difficulties you experienced before you reached that “my way is the best way” final conclusion.
- When writing about an insight, describe the inhibitors that were holding you back before your eyes were opened, then provide examples showing how you are able to maneuver around them.
- When writing a tutorial, provide a list of materials and step-by-step instructions, leaving nothing open to interpretation.
- When writing about a discovery, describe your normal way of doing something as it was before the discovery, then bring your revelation to light and show how it changed your approach.
In my writing I try to use examples to bolster my argument. I find that examples help make abstractions more tangible.
For example, in software development, programmers use computer language constructs that often become brainy challenges. By including source code examples, we’re able to demonstrate repeatable patterns for our readers to follow. This makes it less like a mind puzzle, and more like a fill-in-the-blanks game.
The important thing about specifics is that they narrow the context to focus on the point you’re making. Without specifics, you risk becoming too generic. Your writing is weakened when readers with experiences that run counter to yours can’t agree with your truths.
Be intentional
Respect your readers by being intentional. Follow a sequence and don’t jump around. In narrative writing there may be the urge to alter the story’s timeline by using flashbacks. This is risky business, even for narratives. It should be completely avoided in expository and persuasive writing. Instead, explain your main points first and expand upon them in degrees. With this approach you don’t risk losing your readers before you’ve made your main argument.
Readers don’t want fillers, so avoid marketing lingo. Phrases like “results-oriented”, “best of breed”, or “low-hanging fruit” should not appear anywhere in your writing.
And completely remove clichéd jargon. In the world of software development, my peers tend to throw around jargon like “callback hell”, “code rot”, “spaghetti code”, and “anti-pattern” when they want to demonstrate that their own masterpieces are superior because they are written with “unobtrusive scripting”, “progressive enhancement”, “separation of concerns” and “clean code”. All of these should be rewritten or completely stricken.
Be flexible
It’s important to take note that in writing there is no fixed route to follow. Typically, the shortest route is what you want to strive for, saying only what must be said to keep moving in the forward direction. But don’t be too rigid about this, because going down cul-de-sacs can make things interesting and keep your readers from falling asleep at the wheel.
Allow yourself to wander and trust that you’ll find your way to the destination you’ve set. Indulge in digressions if they don’t stray too far. Accept imperfections and move on. Let your muse explore ideas and shape your words.
When you’ve finished the specifics, go back to the title and subtitle. Rewrite them to be accurate and faithful to what you’ve actually composed. Use the title as an attention getter — that’s its main job. And use the subtitle to reach out and grab your ideal audience, letting them know how your composition will help them in their journey.
The beauty of it all
Writing is a journey of self-discovery. Get started, set a destination, and follow any path that looks like it’s heading in the right direction.
When a turn of phrase is a thing of beauty, marvel at it. But when thoughts get mired in mud, turn around and head back to the firm footing where you started. Eventually, when the end is in sight, take a break, sleep, re-read your composition, throw away what doesn’t fit, and rewrite what isn’t clear.
Finally, when you arrive at your destination put the pen down and set it free.
