documenting

When I was working in government I wrote a lot of documents.

And while I’m sure that there are many people who can sit down and write these same kinds of documents in a linear, start to finish way, I could not do it like that.

I had a strategy, thought.

I started with an outline. I would flesh out the headings. I will fill in the obvious bits. I’d add placeholder text for words and data that I knew needed to go somewhere but for which I also knew I’d need to spend more time thinking about. I worked iteratively at random points to build, expand, elaborate, and refine.

In the end, I would have a complete document that was usually enough to pass through the web of bureaucracy for “input” and my part would be done.

I don’t want to directly compare writing a fictional novel to crafting a government document, but there are likely enough similarities to ponderer them all the same in piecing together a coherent story which is not written start to finish but rather starting from an outline that is deepened, expanded, elaborated, and refined across the writing process.