Dr. Karl Kapp is a professor, consultant, speaker, scholar, author, and expert on the convergence of learning, technology and business operations. Dr Kapp is on a blog book tour promoting his latest book, Learning in 3D. He agreed to write a guest post to discuss his writing process. His own blog, Kapp Notes, is an invaluable resource for anybody in the instructional industry.

To write “Learning in 3D” or even my “Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning” books I typically follow this process. The first thing that I do is gather information that might be useful and place it in my blog, Kapp Notes as a virtual note card so I can refer to it later.

Then when the writing process starts, I create an outline of what I want the book to look like and then I spend a good bit of time on the first chapter. To me, getting the first chapter right is the most important and hardest part of the book. I spend a disproportionate time on the first chapter. I divide my writing into two different “modes”. I call them “wet work” and “dry work”.

The Wet Work is the deep thinking and conceptualization that takes place when I am figuring out how to write something or describe something or if I am just trying to figure out something. I do this in the morning because it is the most intense and I need to do it when I am fresh and thinking clearly. This usually involves large chunks of time, like 2-3 hours at once.

Also, if I am having writer’s block, I keep writing. I work my way through writer’s block like an athlete runs through a cramp. Sometimes I write nonsense just to write something and then I delete it later. I have to keep writing to make something happen. Conversely, when things are flowing, I feel comfortable walking away or taking a break because I know it will come back because it is flowing.

The Dry Work is work that I can do in short chunks and doesn’t take as much brain power. So for example, in the morning I will create a list of seven principles of design in a virtual immersive environment, then in the evening or during the day, I will “flesh out” those seven items. I already know what they are, I know what I want to say, I just need to sit down and write the paragraphs. To me, actually, that is the most boring part. The fun is the “wet work” but I still need to write the other parts to make the book complete. Then I just deal with the editing and images, always an involved process.

So for anyone interested in writing, I think the most important part is to just write. Once you write, and get into the habit of writing, it becomes easier and easier. I think my blog is a good example, I try to blog every day and when I first started, I thought I would run out of things to say if I blogged everyday, instead I have the opposite problem. I could probably blog 4 or 5 times a day if I had the time. So, start writing and you will then become, almost by default, a better writer who has ideas pop into your head all the time.