Starting To Write from an Academic Writer’s Point of View

Starting To Write from an Academic Writer’s Point of View
For many writers, including scientific and academic authors, starting to write can present the greatest hurdle. As Stephen King has written, ‘the scariest moment is always just before you start,’ and given that he is a ‘king’ of horror fiction, anything scarier than the stories themselves must be frightening indeed. Yet most authors can sympathise with this sentiment and for more than one reason.

So much is at stake when that first word is set upon a blank page (or screen), and only the author can decide what that word will be. Even when following the most rigid journal guidelines – the kind, for instance, that outline the required structure and content of a scholarly article from start to finish – the exact words and concepts with which a manuscript begins is determined by the author. Many possible beginnings are almost always possible, and, as any experienced author knows, some will prove better than others. Starting can therefore truly be as crucial a moment as it seems when it looms over the researcher who is hoping to publish his or her research.

There are, of course, times when the words and ideas with which to start a document are immediately obvious, perhaps even leaping like sparks from a writer’s fingertips to the keyboard. Unfortunately, such moments are all too rare, but when they do come they tend to be associated with especially exciting or engaging beginnings. Focussing on some striking statistic, specific example or troubling phenomenon or problem as you start writing is therefore always a good idea. Not only will this approach light a motivational fire beneath you as the author and keep the argument smouldering as your discussion of the matter progresses, but it will also catch the attention of readers and inspire them to continue reading.

Of course, many scholars would argue that their research is far from exciting to just about everyone except a small group of specialist readers. This may be true, but it does not mean that playing up that excitement to those readers does not have value. In fact, an academic or scientist should always keep such readers in mind as he or she chooses and constructs a beginning. Imagine yourself writing for those who will almost certainly be interested in your topic and excited by the innovative ways in which you have approached the problems and the groundbreaking results you have obtained. That excitement will also be apparent to other readers who may encounter your writing and could even win you a much wider audience than you anticipated.

Unfortunately, choosing the best beginning before you start writing is not always a reality. Sometimes an author has to start with something that may work and discover through trial and error a better beginning as the lines of text are written. Considerable thought is always advisable before setting fingertips to keyboard, of course, but if you find yourself unable to light upon that perfect beginning as the days pass and a document needs to be written, do not let that uncertainty develop into writer’s block. The terrain will look far less frightening once you have begun, and the process of writing itself often brings an author to the place he or she might never find when not actively writing.