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August 13, 2011

When you’re having troubles getting the words down

When you have to write something, do you have this trouble?

As a writing tutor, I worked with a particular student who felt so blocked that he simply couldn't write. When I probed him with questions about his writing process, he told me that his mind was actually flooded with words and ideas he could say. He was mentally overwhelmed and had no idea where to begin, so he would just freeze up. (I suppose that for him, it was like trying to push Niagara Falls through a garden hose; the hose would just burst.)

In these situations, the process of using a pencil and paper is too slow and ineffective. Other strategies must be employed. You may need to tell someone your thoughts and have them write them down for you. (Writing tutors will do this.) Or it may be necessary for you to talk out your paper as you type it. If you have this trouble, realize that you may be a verbal learner, one who thinks better talking. You could also get a tape recorder and talk out all your thoughts and then transcribe them.

In the case of the student that had trouble getting his thoughts down, we used the rest of the session in this way--he dictated his thoughts to me and I scribbled them down just as fast as I could. It was fascinating to see that his verbal organization was absolutely flawless; it was like a perfect outline. I pointed that out to him in the most enthusiastic manner. He was also excited about the idea of talking his paper out while typing it at the computer.

Take-away: When your mind is flooded, talk it out to a scribe.

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