When you approach a new writing project how do you go about it?

For me it all depends on the project. If it’s a piece of fiction I find the best way for me is to get on and write it — let it evolve naturally. I’ve never been a great believer in planning my creative writing. Back in school when writing fictional stories in English class they asked us to provide a plan along with our finished work. I always struggled with this, and usually just wrote the piece and then mocked up a plan after the fact. Then I approached the head of English about it. He agreed that, given the standard of work I was submitting without planning, that I could forgo the sham of writing out a mock-plan and just concentrate on my writing. It’s always been that way for me when it comes to writing. Some writers plan meticulously before writing a word. Others just sit down and start typing. Commercial writing projects are a bit different — and here I find my background in IT project management useful. On commercial projects you have to:

• Clearly define the project’s scope and agree it with your client in writing ahead of time.
• Identify any assumptions that are inherent in the project and make them clear to the client
• Estimate the cost/effort involved to deliver the project
• Agree a timeframe for delivery of various components (first draft, revisions, etc.)
• Track and communicate progress to the client

And all of this before you write a single word. So management skills are important when it comes to organising all the stuff around the writing, but when it comes to the writing itself I still don’t find planning very helpful. Once I’ve done my research and know my subject I tend to just sit down and write. Managing the process just seems to stifle my creativity and makes my copy less effective. It sounds crazy, but that’s just the way it works for me. Very occasionally I’ll draft out an outline to work from, but more often than not I just give my subconscious free reign to organise the information as I write, always keeping in mind the target audience the work is intended for and the ultimate goal of my client. I guess that’s what’s important at the end of the day is to find what works best for you and your clients, whatever that may be. That’s one of the exciting things about writing: the relationship between every writer and a blank page is different. We all approach a piece of writing differently, and given the same brief we’d all come up with something completely different. In this game you have to find your own way of doing things — no matter what the “experts” and “gurus” might say!

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