Sönke Ahrens writes that
Writing is not what follows research, learning or studying, it is the medium of all this work. And maybe that is the reason why we rarely think about this writing, the everyday writing, the note-taking and draft-making
He posits that we (students, academics, nonfic writers, to whom his book is addressed) struggle with writing because we “are made to believe, that writing starts with a blank page.”
the process of writing starts much, much earlier than that blank screen and that the actual writing down of the argument is the smallest part of its development
Rather, writing can be improved by:
- taking better notes
- organizing your notes and writing
- having interesting, meaningful and well-defined goals in every step of the process
Having a meaningful and well-defined task beats willpower every time. Not having willpower, but not having to use willpower indicates that you set yourself up for success […] because there is no conflict between long- and short-term interests.