I am relearning just how difficult, and important it is to organize a paper while writing. When dealing with a problem I am curious about, I just want to write spontaneously, and hope that the thoughts go in the right direction. It is important to let the spontaneity go wild for a little while. But progressing along that path, I soon get a chaotic mass of ideas without much clarity. What I am trying to say sort of makes sense in my mind, but it is not coming across in the essay. At this point, it is imperative to stop, and then create an outline. What does each component try to say to the whole? What is the argument the post is saying? If there is something that appeared relevant at first, but is not obvious now, what else do I have to write in order for the connection to be made? What was my mind hiding from my consciousness? It is difficult. There are different phases to writing. One might be able to pull a 5 page paper from the top of the head when the subject is well understood, but longer than that, it becomes difficult.
On the contrary, there is much to be said about re-writing the entire thing. One cannot progress in an essay without a firm foundation. But a foundation about what? The first step requires the stream of consciousness, an attempted explosion of ideas that is basically directed at the subject. However, the more powerful, and the greater quantity of ideas that is coming forth, the harder it is to direct it all at the same specific subject, and to do so clearly. Do what you can: getting these thoughts down in writing is riding a wild bull: the ideas will not stop and wait for you to think about how best to communicate the ideas to your audience. But once all spewed out, it is impossible to know what the next logical step to the paper is, because the paper has yet to take on a logical shape. Therefore, when the ideas stop coming, it is time to organize. Organize what is there as best as possible, meticulously crafting each sentence to best express the idea clearly. If the writer doesn’t know what sentence means, then the reader will never figure it out.
Organization is key. I never accepted that as an undergrad, at least not as anything more than a platitude. But it is key.
Natural Causes 