Use Blocks to Organize Your Writing Effectively

A key to great non-fiction writing is organizing your material well. A smooth progression of your argument, with each idea building upon the last, can help your readers more readily understand and enjoy your material.

It’s easy, however, for authors to feel overwhelmed with the information they would like to convey. I find many would-be writers just don’t know where to start in putting their thoughts on paper, and end up with a jumble of ideas.

The “block” method of writing is one I use with every piece I compose, from the shortest article to the longest book. It helps you easily organize your thoughts so that your material is both easier for you to write, and easier for your readers to understand. I find it can also help with even the most pernicious case of procrastination by providing fast, specific steps to get the ball rolling.

Step 1: Get It All Out
To start, just brainstorm a list of points you would like to cover in your written piece. Don’t worry about the order of the points, or whether similar ideas are grouped together. Just let the ideas flow freely and jot them all down exactly as they come to you. The length of this initial list will be relative to the length of the piece you want to write.

Step 2: Create Blocks
Take a look at your list of points and start noticing where ideas connect. Group similar or related points together into blocks. There are many ways to indicate your groupings so pick one that you like. You might use symbols, such as circles and triangles, or color-coding. You can also use a fresh piece of paper, and just recopy each block of related points together onto its own page.

For larger projects, the method I prefer is to use cue cards or sticky notes. Write one point from your list per card or note, and then group the cards in rows. The advantage to this method is that you can move cards around, experimenting with different groupings.

Step 3: Label Your Blocks
Give each of your idea blocks a label that encompasses all the points. You now have a clear, visual idea of the main chunks of information to be included in your piece.

Step 4: Refine Your Blocks
You may find that you have blocks of vastly different sizes. One block might have two points while another has 10. See if you can even out the size of the blocks by creating new blocks and rearranging the points. Re-label your blocks as you go.

If you have a point or two that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere, consider removing them altogether. After all, your grouping system has shown you they don’t really belong and removing them may give your material better focus. If some points seem to overlap too much, either remove one or merge them into a single, stronger idea.

Step 5: Order Your Blocks
Once you’re happy with your idea blocks and labels, think about the order in which they might best be expressed. This might be chronological, from smallest to biggest, from most important to least important, in the order of specific steps to be performed, or any other system that makes sense for your topic.

You’re Done
Congratulations, you’ve just completed your outline! Your block labels are your chapter headings or subheadings, while your points form the material you will cover under each. You know exactly what you need to write, and your material is already organized into clear, similarly-sized blocks of information that flow in a logical manner. It’s just a matter of turning your points into sentences and your article or report is done.