Many people are surprised by the range of what they have to write: reports, letters, applications, minutes, essays, protocols, policy statements, articles - the list goes on. They also have to face a constant procession of emails, which people tend not to count as ‘real writing’, but which are every bit as important - and which even the decisive can take two hours or more a day to deal with.
At the same time we seem particularly ill-prepared for all this writing. The task is badly defined, time-consuming and difficult. Courses on how to do it are rare. Agreement on ‘good writing’ seems to be rarer still and the whole process often appears to be more about internal power squabbles than external communication. Not surprisingly, many writers in the health services dislike it and avoid it whenever possible. Others proceed reluctantly, without confidence - and without any satisfaction at the end of each writing task.
This book sets out to help you by showing you what writing is all about. It will give you some tools that will enable you to do it with confidence. I would be lying if I said that you will come to enjoy writing (some suffering is inevitable, even desirable), but as you go through this book you should be able to approach each writing task in a more confident manner, and therefore your output should be more effective. More important, you should be able to take control of your writing, and once you have grasped the essentials you will have a powerful tool to help you achieve your goals.
Part 1: The quick course
Session 1: how can we help?
Session 2: so what’s your real problem?
Session 3: what is effective writing?
Session 4: getting started - the BRIEF
Session 5: sorting the information
Session 6: putting together a plan
Session 7: writing the first draft - and enjoying it!
Session 8: rewriting - ask the Big Five Questions
Session 9: rewriting - sweat the details
Session 10: get others to help (not hinder)
Epilogue: bringing it all together
Part 2: After sales service
Part 3: Some points on design
Part 4: Lists for the very keen
