Why bother planning?

Planning helps give you a direction before you set off on your journey. There’s an art to planning, and the better you do it, the easier the writing process will be. Remember, stick to the plan (at least in the first draft).

💡 First, write a mission statement. A mission statement explains

• what you intend to write

• who for (the mental state they will be in when they come across your writing)

• why you are writing this

• what you need this reader to know/ think/ believe or do by the end of reading this

Once you have the mission statement, this is your North Star.

Notice how this is SINGULAR. Do not double up on missions.

…Sometimes people try to save time or money, or ‘kill two birds with one stone’. But writing doesn’t really work that way. For example:

 We’re writing an email to tell customers about our new security audits and our change of address.
 We want them to update their recorder and get in touch to book an audit. 

It looks short and sweet. But it will be harder to pull off.

Then write your plan. If it’s a longer project, add headings.

Ask yourself things like:

• What’s the best way to get this message across and get the reader to do/ think what you want them to?

• What are the points that you have to consider?

• What is the best order for them to be told?

Then, do some more topic research if and when you need to.