Here you will find suggestions on how you can structure your writing process. Feel free use the following exercise to help you over the course of your writing process. 

Writing Warm Up 

The aim of writing warm up exercise is to prepare the mind and body for the effort of "scientific work and writing" just like an athlete warms up before a competition. The warm up should take 2-5 minutes. You can free write on any topic of your choice, or answer a question such as "Do Aliens exist" or "Should school children learn penmanship?" Try to avoid writing about the topic of your text for this exercise. 

Free Writing

The aim of this exercise is to let your thoughts flow. It is a form of associative, uncontrolled writing. You can use freewriting at any stage of the work process.

The exercise works better when you write by hand because the movement of the hand and arm triggers different centers in the brain than moving the fingers when typing.

1. Choose a term, quote, question, topic that interests you.
2. Write the quote etc. at the top of your paper. 
3. Write as fast as you can for 2-4 minutes. Try to keep you pen moving all all times. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. 
   1. If you run out of inspiration, keep your hand moving on the paper. Try drawing... . It is important that your hand continues to move. 
   2. If you are typing on a computer, set the font color to WHITE to avoid distractions. Try to type continuously. Your fingers should remain on the keyboard the whole time.

Applications

Focusing

If you struggle to start writing because your thoughts keep wandering, then do the following freewriting exercise:

1. Set a 2-minute timer. 
2. Write down everything that is going through your head. After 2 minutes, put the sheet of paper aside. You won't need these thoughts in the upcoming writing phase.
3. Continue freewriting for another 2 minutes as described above.

A Focus Sprint or a Writing Relay

The focus sprint is a variation of freewriting. It is used to “write in depth” or to approach a topic/question for a brief period of time. 

1. Think of a topic that interests you (or your current writing project). Formulate a short headline or a question or a sentence starter.
2. Now spend 3 minutes writing down your thoughts on the topic. Write as quickly as possible, without stopping, without rereading or correcting anything.
   
   1. If you notice that you are straying from the topic, refocus by, for example, writing down the headline again.
   2. Try to write in complete sentences. You can also just write down sentence fragments or key words.
   3. Tip: When writing on a computer, set the font color to WHITE. This way you won't be tempted to correct as you write.
3. Highlight words and sentences that seem important to you. Formulate a core sentence that summarizes the central message of everything you just wrote down.

Repeat the exercise several times until you reach a point you are satisfied with the core message.

Sources:

Elbow, Peter. (1998 [1981]). Writing with power. Techniques for mastering the writing Process (Second edition ed.). New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scheuermann, Ulrike. (2012). Schreibdenken: Schreiben als Denk- und Lernwerkzeug nutzen und vermitteln. Opladen, Toronto: Budrich + UTB.

Creative Writing Game

Creative writing games are designed to help you get out of stuck thought processes. They can be used in all phases of text production and repeated at different times.

Acrostic Poel Game. 

An acrostic poem is a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word, name, or phrase when read vertically. Take a word from your writing project and write it vertically in capital letters. Use each letter to form a new word that is related to your writing project.

Anagram Game

Writing - painting - pen - reading - time - learning - paper - thinking - structure - words

1. Choose a word from the list above

2. Write this word on an blank piece of paper.

3. Combine the letters of your chosen word to make new words. You do not have to use all the existing letters. You may also use the same letter twice. 

Anonymous Writing Project Game

Writing expert Gabriela Ruhmann developed this exercise for situations in which writers are stuck. In this exercise, you give your writing project a space to speak. What would your project say if it could talk?

1. Set a timer for 4-5 minutes. 
2. Complete or continue the following text:

I am the text of (your name here) and I have my own thoughts. I cannot and do not want to be written by someone else. But still: I am not having an easy time with my author. That is why I am glad that I can come here with my worries. Where else can unfinished texts have their say? As if there was nothing to report from our perspective. So recently...

Cinquian Poem

A cinquain poem is a poem with five lines and eleven words. The first line has one word, the second two, the third three, the fourth four, and the fifth line has again only one word.  

Each line answers a question. The starting point is the word from the first line. This can be a thought, an object, a color, a smell, or something similar. The second line (2 words) answers the question "What" makes up the word from line 1. The third line (3 words) answers the question "Where or how" is the word from line 1? Line 4 (4 words) is dedicated to your attitude: What do you think about it? Finally, the 5th line (1 word) is the conclusion.

Example

Laptop
Helfull Machine
Loyal, beloved friend
Without you, no progress
Enthusiasm

Filtering Game

1. Pick five words from your text
2. From these five words, write a new text.

Five-Word Method Game

This game is helpful if you want to choose which topic to write about. It is especially useful if your professor has given you a list of possible topics that you are struggling to pick between.

1. Get a pen and a blank piece of paper.
2. Write on the sheet of paper five words that come to mind when you think of the topic XX (choose one from your list of possible topics).
3. For each word, write a sentence

Haiku

A Haiku is a type of Japanese poem made up of three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line again has five syllables. 

Example

An old silent pond

A frog jumps into the pond

Splash! Silence again.

                                  -Matsuo Bashō

Change of Perspective

The “change of perspective” exercise is particularly suitable when the process of working and writing has come to a standstill or when you are trying to evaluate your project status. In this exercise, you put yourself in the perspective of your text or desk. 

1. Set a timer for 4-5 minutes. 
2. Write a letter to yourself.

• • … from the perspective of your writing project (or)
  • … from the perspective of your desk. 

Continuing Writing Game

Finish the following sentence fragments...

• I succeed at writing when....
  
• My best ideas come to me when...
• I write best when I am surrounded by....

Further Options...

• Let yourself be inspired by images. What do you see? How did the situation come about? When did it happen? What does it have to do with the topic of your writing project?

• Roll the dice from the game "StoryCubes." Arrange the pictures in a sequence and write a short story about them.

• Write an ABC-adventure story (in German, known as ABC-Darium.) An alphabetical order, write down one word for each letter of the alphabet that describes a theme in your text. 

  • example: Analysis, Buses, Cars, Danger, Energy, Financing..etc. 

• If my text project was a plant/animal/color, what would it be and why?

• Crossword Puzzle: Create a crossword puzzle using 5-15 words from your writing project.

Reflection exercise: Visualize your own writing process (15–20 min)

1. Draw your writing process in (maximum) five minutes. 
2. Reflection: What kind of process did you draw? Does your writing process look as you want it to look? What should you change about your process to make it fit with a more ideal image?
3. Draw an alternative version of your writing process. (5 minutes)

a) If the alternative version depicts your ideal writing process, try to visualize how you actually work and write. Think about the last text you wrote during your studies.

4. Reflection 2: Compare your two pictures. 

• Where do you see similarities? Where are there differences? Describe them objectively and neutrally, without judging them.  (This is the first step of the three-step reflection process "What")
• What do you learn from the description? What do you notice? (This is the "So what?" section)
• What conclusions do you draw from these findings for your future text productions? (This is the "Now what?" section). 

The assumption is: If you can determine your position in the process (phase and point in time), you can identify the next task necessary to complete the next step in the writing project.