Creating Structure Can Increase Writing Productivity

Setting parameters can free writers up to focus on content, and can help writers to be more productive.

Many students don’t seem to realize how much they write during their time in college. Freshmen writers may write 5000 words in one English composition course. That’s five 1000-word (4 pages, double spaced) essays a semester, just in English class. (This number doesn’t include revisions and outlines.) The typical first-year writing program comprises two freshman composition courses (or more, for those who must take developmental writing courses). A freshman will write at least 10,000 words in the English composition sequence alone, not even taking into account other writing-intensive courses.

The majority of the writing students do in school is structured. Assignments have guidelines and due dates. Essays and reports are on particular topics, often set by professors. They must produce quality, organized, focused, well-developed writing on a schedule to achieve the goal of getting passing grades in their writing-intensive classes.

I first realized how freeing structure could be in Kay Murphy’s poetry writing class at the University of New Orleans. At the beginning of the semester, Kay said that our portfolio should contain only formal poetry, from a variety of forms. We studied different forms each week or so. A student would do a presentation on a particular form. Everyone in the class would turn in a poem they wrote in that form.

I was pretty anxious. Until that point, I’d been writing only free verse–unrestrained bursts–whenever I was moved to do so. I decided to embrace it. Since the form was already chosen for me, I could focus on the word choices, the imagery, the rhythm, and the story I wanted to tell. I could have fun with it. I also had strict due dates, so I had a limited amount of time to write each poem; this forced me to focus.

I enjoyed the challenges the class gave me. I didn’t always get a good poem out of a form, but the attempt was invigorating. A few years after I took the class, I set myself this challenge, writing a poem a day, each day a different form, for a month. I was so productive with a strict schedule and set of guidelines.

Again, I have set myself a writing schedule and a challenge: write at least 400 words about writing, editing, proofreading, writing centers, or teaching writing each week. Freshman writers can write 500 word essays a week when they’re juggling a full-time course load, community service activities, campus activities, jobs, family, and friends. When I was working with student writers, I always thought, “If we’re asking them to do this, we should do it, too.” I’m doing it!

I believe setting a writing schedule and maintaining a set of personal guidelines for each writing “assignment” helps writers to be more productive, and to produce more focused work.