Natalie

November 24, 2022 | Read time: 6 min

Is a Zero Draft The Cure For Writer’s Block?

Your schedule is clear, your coffee is hot, and you’re sitting in front of the computer screen, ready to begin your masterpiece. But as you stare at the blinking cursor on the blank page, dread and anxiety overwhelm you. How should you get started? How can you possibly begin, much less finish, dissertation writing?

Even if you aren’t struggling with thesis writing, this story might sound familiar. Writer’s block affects everyone sometimes, whether you are writing a dissertation or a blog post. While there are several techniques to overcome writer’s block, like taking a walk or reading something inspiring, the truth is that the blank page is every writer’s worst enemy.

Fear of the blank page is what has inspired the rise of zero drafts, a writing technique that is gaining popularity among novelists and students alike. Now, you might ask what is a zero draft, when and why do people use them, and will writing a zero draft help you complete your next writing project? Let’s dive in and see if writing a zero draft might just be the key to reimagining your whole writing process.

What is a Zero Draft?

A zero draft is a prewriting exercise. Unlike a first draft, zero people will ever read your zero drafts. It’s unstructured, unlike an outline or an organized brainstorming session. A zero draft is a completely unrevised, unstructured, free-flow of ideas and thoughts from your brain to the page.

A zero draft can be a couple of paragraphs or over twenty pages long. You can write it all in one sitting or over several periods of work. It’s up to you. The main thing to keep in mind is the purpose of the zero drafts, which is to jump-start your writing and get your thoughts out of your head and onto a page.

Once you get started, a zero draft can be the key to unlocking your creativity. This is because, often, as we write, the process itself helps us think more clearly and organize our thoughts. Once you have something on a page, it’s easier to add to it, revise it, move it around, and play with it. A zero draft helps you push past that intimidating blank page that every great piece of writing starts with.

How Do I Write a Zero Draft?

While the idea behind a zero draft is to overcome the fear of the blank page, creating a new writing process can still be challenging. However, there are a couple of techniques you can use to write a zero draft to make it easier and help you get the most out of this step of the writing process.

Set a timer
If you don’t think you can write much, set a five-minute timer and write whatever comes to mind. Then, if you want to stop at the end of those five minutes, no problem! You can come back to your zero draft later. You might even find that once you’ve started, it’s easy to keep going.
Write as long as you can
If setting a timer seems too limiting, try the opposite, which is to write as long as you can. If your thoughts seem to jump all over the place or do not connect logically, that’s ok! The main goal isn’t to write something nice for anyone else to read. It’s just for you to get your ideas out on a page where you can look at them.
Don’t use any formatting like headings or sections
You just want to write ideas as they come to you and not try to organize them. Organizing your ideas while you write can interrupt your workflow, which is the exact opposite of what you want to happen when you write a zero draft.
Don’t overthink it
If this sounds overwhelming to you, then let me assure you: You are overthinking the zero draft. If you want to get started on a zero draft, you only must bring a pen and paper (or pull up a new blank document on the word processor of your choice) and start writing. That’s it.

Writing a zero draft is a preparation for the rest of your writing. In fact, you can write a zero draft while you’re still conducting research on your topic! In addition, a zero draft is a great way to identify what you know and see where your knowledge still falls short, which is one reason it is becoming increasingly favored by academics and thesis writers.

Will a Zero Draft Help Me?

Will writing a zero draft help you? The only way to find out is to give it a try! In addition to writer’s block, a zero draft can help your writing in several ways.

First, a zero draft can provide a rough outline for later and help you form sections of your writing that you are struggling with. Maybe you have a vague idea of what things should go in a particular section, but you can’t seem to organize them or connect them without a few gaps. By creating a zero draft, you’ll have all of your ideas laid out in front of you. Once you see them on paper, it becomes easy to see how they fit together or experiment with different organizational formats.

A zero draft can help you identify weak points or gaps in your knowledge. Whether you’re writing a dissertation, a short research paper, or your thesis, writing is a process of discovery. Often, what we discover as we write is where we fall short on a topic. By writing a zero draft, you can help lay a solid foundation for your thesis or dissertation writing, even as you figure out what you still need to spend more time researching and understanding.

If you’re a student who has written countless research papers, you may think your writing process is pretty solid and doesn’t need any changes as you approach your thesis or dissertation. Frankly, you might be right. But you might also discover that writing a zero draft is a helpful way to break through writer’s block and get started on your next project. Writing is an evolving discipline, and trying new techniques never hurts anyone. So on your next project, whether it’s a short literature review or a dissertation, try starting with a zero draft!