Thinking and Writing

It goes without saying: writing involves thinking. But what do the experts say about thinking and writing, and can their ideas help improve our writing? 

Steven Mintz, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, states that [writing] is not simply a matter of expressing pre-existing thoughts clearly. It’s the process through which ideas are produced and refined. This helps us reflect, analyze, and reason. 

Marvin H. Swift writes in the Harvard Business Review that we revise our words and refine our thoughts simultaneously; improvements in our thinking and writing reinforce each other. Writing to Think: Critical Thinking and the Writing Process suggests that “the act of putting words on paper helps [writers] invent thought and content.”

I especially love William Zinsser’s familiar phrase, “Writing is thinking on paper,” which I found on the Purdue Global Writing website.

What I’ve learned

• When writing important documents, disconnect from proposal guidelines, word limits, and deadlines, even for a few minutes, to ponder the overarching message that might convince the reader that this program has promise.
• Be alert to intriguing thoughts that appear out of the blue, even if you’re not at all sure when or even if they might be useful.
• Doodling can free us from document requirements just long enough to spark creative thoughts that can lead to attention-getting writing.

Writing this article has reminded me how easy it can be to fall into old habits like getting caught up in the details without stepping back to imagine new possibilities. Thinking before writing can help us better articulate new directions or big ideas that may capture donors’ attention and, potentially, lead to funding for your valuable programs.