A really helpful post today by Claire Saunders and Karen Horsley.
Pick up any book that lands on your doormat at the start of an OU module. Its pages are crisp and clean, chapters neatly organised, not a word out of place. Do you ever pause to think about its journey to publication? The ongoing thinking and discussion – how does this paragraph fit with this chapter, this study block, this module? And endless cut and paste – take this out, move this here. It’s like a giant jigsaw, with a moment of elation when the final piece is in place.
Is writing a nice, neat package? Or a process of revision? If you had to finish the sentence, ‘Writing is like…’, what would you say? ‘Sitting down in front of a blank page is like..?’ Some students tell us this is a scary moment, others relish the blank page as an opportunity, before the mess of the writing unfolds. Either way, how can you get from blank page to finished piece – and maybe even enjoy yourself a little too? If you’re about to begin – or continue – studying Early Childhood, then these ideas might help.
Getting those ideas going
When we first talked about writing this article we had fun thinking about the first pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. We weren’t too serious as we picked up different pieces and wondered how they might form more of a picture. We even found new ideas for future puzzles! More on those another time. We have also seized less than ideal moments to begin (currently Claire has no kitchen and Karen is writing with a burn bandage on!)
Where and when do you like to write? Do you talk with anybody first or tackle writing alone? Some students inhabit the local coffee shop, others need the silence and solitude of a closed door and a quiet room. Do you need to study and write around other commitments such as work and caring responsibilities? For some writing is done in the margins of time, but much can be achieved in a relatively short amount of focused time – especially if you are prone to procrastination! Who do you find helps you? Karen’s mother-in-law is always a friendly ear and has helped her with childcare but also a belief that she can do this! Even with more experience, writing continues to be a process and a craft – drafting and shaping rather than hurtling headlong towards a ‘finished product’.
Still not sure where to start? Become like a child…
If you’re studying Early Childhood, the chances are you want to make a difference in young children’s lives. Hold onto that enthusiasm and infuse your writing with it! To the blank page you bring a powerful combination of existing knowledge, experience and new learning. The question is how you express all that on paper…and the answer lies in finding your ‘writing voice’. As you put pen to paper, ask yourself, ‘How will my tutor know that this is my writing? How will they hear my voice?’. Perhaps the answer lies in thinking a little like the children you are learning about.
Children iterate and innovate. They try, they get feedback on what works and what doesn’t, which means they learn quickly! Other significant people in children’s lives help this social learning. We can learn from this too. Think of any small child that you know. When they pick up a new toy, what do they do? Chances are, they turn it all different ways, examining it from every angle. They get a feel for its texture, shape and colour. They find out what it can do – and often come up with far more imaginative ways of using it than any adult could possibly have envisaged! What if you imagined writing like that? Take an idea that you want to include and play around with it. Get a feel for the texture: is the idea simple or complex? If it’s complex, can you find the words to explain it more simply? Consider the shape: does it have multiple faces (do all the theorists agree)? Think about the colour: how can you make it vibrant and bring it to life? What practical examples will help to put the idea in context for the reader? Thinking about an idea this way might help you begin to understand your existing experience of Early Childhood through the lens of some of the theories and ideas you encounter in your studies. And that’s what we’re looking for in your writing!
So…three top tips
- Embrace the messiness
Playing around with ideas is good! Use post-it notes, coloured pens, mind maps…whatever helps capture your ideas. The fully formed sentences and paragraphs can come later.
- Thinking on paper
Working out writing through the process of writing helps you see connections you might not have realised, to express ideas in ways that you had not anticipated. Make cut and paste friend not foe!
- Perfect or done?
Do you wait for perfect or are you inspired by a child’s approach to learning? Your writer’s voice will develop and feedback on your less than perfect first efforts will make your writing better.
One more thing: we know you can’t write a university assignment with a friend, but you absolutely can bounce your ideas off a willing listener – we’ve had a lot of fun doing that for this blog!