Start again

Let's begin with what could be a simple answer. It's a good idea not to finish at the point where you have to begin a whole section or chapter from 'scratch'. At the very least, ask yourself "What next?" and jot down a few clues about where and how you go on. Often, to be able to start again, you sometimes just need something to start with.

At the end of a chapter or section, it is often necessary to step back and ask yourself what you've done and where it's leading. Certainly before you begin any section you need to know what the main points are you will be making and jot them down, talk yourself through it, draw a diagram or concept map. You could take something as simple as:

And then you unpack the categories, perhaps again by a diagram, issue tree or map.

What we need to remember is that, even though writing is linear, thinking is not. You need to have an intermediate stage where you capture your ideas in a visual form before you go on.

Every time you start writing, especially at the beginning of a chapter or section, you need to pick up the threads of where you were. Therefore, it's also a good idea to read yourself into it.

If this doesn't work, then it may well be that the next chapter or section is not the best thing to move on to. You could, for example, write a very rough draft of a later section. Once you have a better idea of what you want or need to say there, you'll probably have a better idea of how you get there.

The one thing you should never do is to bombard yourself with negative thoughts. You could think about positive outcomes of your work and motivate yourself to start. But you could also try to think about the subject matter and pick up anything that interests you or holds your attention. Follow this first thread and start thinking yourself into the whole thing again. Finally, if you have an interested listener, it's always helpful to talk to someone else about your project. These ideas may not be as direct as you might like, but then you need a range of these strategies to get yourself started again. There is no one guaranteed way to do it.

	Coping with your highs and lows.
	How is the best way to organise myself to get the whole thing done?
	Why am I doing this and how do I keep myself motivated for three years?
	Taking stock of where you are.
	Working on a section.