Writing Next, an extensive research project from the Alliance for Excellent Education, promotes brainstorming as an essential writing strategy. Brainstorming strategies include free writing, in which any thought that crosses the writer's mind, no matter how big or small, is put to paper in a stream-of-consciousness fashion; group brainstorming, in which the writer pitches ideas and examples to a group and takes their contributions into consideration; and diagramming, in which the writer uses visual illustrations to connect and formulate ideas. After brainstorming, writers use an outline to plan research, create boundaries and formulate a spine to be followed in text. Purdue University's Online Writing Lab suggests asking and answering the questions, "what is the purpose of this writing" and "how will I achieve this purpose?" Once brainstormed and outlined, a writer may try summarizing her concept in three of four sentences; this exercise brings clarity and efficiency to a project. According to Emory University's Division of Education Studies, pre-writing strategies such as this preserve logic, identify main ideas, define subordinate ideas, help avoid tangential excursions and help detect omissions.
Though many writing strategies occur before or after committing words to paper (or electronic document), strategies employed during the actual writing process must not be forgotten. Taking breaks, even short ones, may actually prove productive as stepping away provides distance from a project; sometimes, distance gives way to clarity. Reading through the text as it's being written helps define rhythm and tone and prevents errors. Reading aloud serves the same purpose. Role-playing during the writing process, a strategy in which the writer mentally or vocally puts himself in the audience's or characters' shoes, provides an insightful perspective, as does getting others involved in a constructive critical capacity, even before a document is finished.
Putting aside a first (or second, or third) draft and rereading it after allowing time to pass brings new perspective to a text. Careful proofreading and scrutinizing do the same. As a writer proofreads, she notes commonly made errors or common problems within her texts; focusing on eliminating these common issues improves overall writing. Writing as often as possible is perhaps the most important writing strategy. Revise as many times as necessary by finding the main point, identifying readers, identifying purpose, evaluating evidence, tightening language and saving only the good parts of a written work. Detaching oneself from the work often lends objectivity to the rewriting process. On rewriting, Emory University's DES says "there are no good writers; only good rewriters."