A chaotic yet sincere walkthrough of the very unscientific, unstructured and unexpectedly joyful way I create my opinion pieces.

This is my third year being the Opinions Editor for The Sheaf, which means that at this point, I should have some sort of refined, elegant, highly strategic system for creating an article. 

Instead, my process looks a little bit like a chaotic scavenger hunt mixed with a child-like creativity. People sometimes ask me how I write an opinion piece, and I pretend to have an answer, but the truth is that I make it up as I go along and hope that the overall idea does not fall apart halfway through. Ironically, that is also the exact method that led me to write this very article about how I write articles. If this sounds circular and a little confusing, do not worry. I too am confused, and I am the one writing it.

If we are being honest about my origins as a writer, it started in elementary school when I discovered my love for creative writing. I wrote stories constantly, like I was already a famous, well-known author with a huge fanbase. I read constantly, which fueled the creative chaos, and everyone in my life knew this about me. In high school, the pattern continued. I kept reading, kept writing and kept having far too much fun with it. My love for writing would show in other creative disciplines, like having input as the stage manager in the musicals and writing up scenes for my drama classes. I never questioned whether my ideas made sense. I simply placed them on the page and moved on.

Then undergrad arrived, and the academic reading load took over my time for personal reading. When I did read, it was not for enjoyment. Law school increased the reading load by 100 times. I read cases, articles and statutes, and at this point I am convinced that my brain has become a legal database. A practical and interesting one, but still a database (not good enough yet to be used as a secondary source). Despite all of that, I have held onto my love for comics and graphic novels. They are the one form of reading that I have been able to stay consistent with in the academic world.

When I stepped into this editorial role about two years ago, I felt like I had to write formally and perfectly. I would type a sentence, delete it, type it again, delete it again and then stare dramatically in any given direction, like it would help break the fourth wall of my writer’s block. Sometimes I still fall into this trap, but thankfully, I now have a much healthier system that embraces both chaos and joy in an equal way.

One of the most important parts of my process is my Notes app. Whenever I have a random thought, I write it down instantly. I do not wait or filter it. I do not question why I am writing down the phrase; it is like it simply goes into the vault. There have been times when I am in the middle of a conversation with my friends, and something interesting comes up. I will smile politely, raise a finger and express that I need to write this down right now. I immediately start typing like the thought might expire in the next ten seconds, and my friends have learned to accept this behaviour.

Slowly, as I have continued in this role, something funny has happened. Every time I have a thought that I want to explore privately, I immediately also think if it could be an article. It happens automatically now, as if it were a reflex. I have become someone who thinks in potential pitches, which feels both efficient and slightly alarming.

At any given time, I have 40 to 50 rough ideas floating in my Notes app. Sometimes I look at one and genuinely wonder what past me was trying to communicate. Other times, I find something that sparks an entire chain of thoughts. When pitch time arrives, I scroll through each idea quickly and wait to see which ones jump out. I ask myself whether I can build more around the topic. I also ask whether the idea matters to anyone other than me. Since most students around me are the same age, the answer is often yes, or at least yes enough.

After I have sorted the promising ones, I leave them alone for a bit. I let them simmer in the back of my mind while I go about my regular life. When I am doing dishes or walking somewhere or waiting for my coffee, I will occasionally return to the idea mentally and see if it still feels worth writing. If it does, then I know I have a winner. If it does not, I return it to the chaotic notes archive, where it will remain until I can do more with it.

When it is finally time to write, I make a small cluster of jot notes, just enough to remind me of the shape that the article should take. Then, in a dramatic burst of productivity, I write the entire thing in one go. I cannot explain why this is my method. I simply sit down, type with the energy of someone trying to beat the clock and pour out every thought I have on the topic. It is very possible that this resembles chaos from the outside. Internally, it feels like controlled chaos, which I personally think is an important distinction.

Once I have written everything, the editing begins. This is where I reread my work, clean up sentences and try to make sure that I have not gone on a tangent about something that is entirely unrelated to the topic. At the end, I choose a title. The byline comes next, and I write it as a single sentence that summarizes the entire article. I do not write it first, because I do not know what the article is fully about until I have finished writing it. This is arguably not how professional writers are supposed to work, but it is how I work, and at this point, I have accepted it.

Strangely, this process has brought me back to my childhood love of creative writing. Even though opinion articles are different from fictional stories, they share something important. They both begin with curiosity and require an idea that feels worth exploring. They both require a tiny spark that makes me want to write more. In law school, which is filled with its own kind of writing, this playful and chaotic way to do it reminds me that I still enjoy creating things. It reminds me that writing can be silly and fun.

Being the Opinions Editor has taught me that writing does not need to be perfect. It does not need to be formal at every moment. So, if someone ever asks me for a guide on how to write an article, this is the most honest guide I can give. Collect your strange thoughts and write things down the moment they appear. Allow yourself to explore ideas that surprise you, and allow your Notes app to become an unhinged museum of your thoughts. Trust that a good idea will rise to the surface of it all and will inspire you to write it all in one go (if that is your vibe of course, you can also always take breaks in between). 

However, above all, make sure you are having fun, because readers can sense when the writer enjoyed themselves. This article may be about how I write opinion pieces, but it is also proof that writing can still feel playful and alive, even when I am balancing all my other responsibilities. If anything, the chaos is part of the charm of these articles, so learn how to embrace it.