The Essentials of Productive Grant Proposal Writing

							             The Essentials of Productive
               Grant Proposal Writing

TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED
 • Write in small, regular amounts.

 • Avoid writing in binges. Abandon the notion that writing is best done in large, undisrupted
   blocks of time.

 • Write while you’re fresh. Schedule less mentally demanding tasks for times of the day when
   you’re less alert and energetic.

 • Make a recurrent and pleasant activity contingent on writing for a minimum period of time first.

 • Resist the temptation to do other things first such as cleaning up ones writing site.

 • Don’t stop writing when you feel blocked.

 • End your writing session at a place where it will be easy to pick up the next time.

 • Share your writing with supportive, constructive friends as well as seasoned critics before you
   go public.


TO KEEP YOU GOING
 • Establish one or a few regular places where you do nothing but serious writing. If possible, find
   a place where you can leave your work spread out.

 • Make regular writing sites sacred in the sense that no other temptations such as magazines,
   newspapers, or novels can be on site.

 • Make your writing site comfortable

 • Arrange your writing site to minimize distractions.

 • Plan beyond daily goals. Schedule the stages of a manuscript in terms of weeks, with
   specifiable and measurable goals.

 • Schedule writing tasks so that you plan to work on finishable units of writing each session.

 • Keep a daily writing log—a card taped above your desk will do. Example:


   Date            Time In            Time Out           Pages Drafted          Pages Edited