1. Start by writing down everything you know about what you want to write about in a disorganized way.

2. Read the disorganized text and figure out which information goes together, then put that information together.

3. Elaborate on the points you've now brought together.

4. Turn each elaboration of points into a proper paragraph.

5. Reread the whole document and figure out if the paragraphs make sense together, and if not, edit them to integrate them.

6. Edit out everything in your text that is besides the point you are trying to make.

Let me make an example:

1. Trees are tall. Trees are living and have lived for millions of years. The bark of a tree is hard. Trees are immobile.

2. Trees are tall. The bark of a tree is hard. Trees are immobile.

Trees are living and have lived for millions of years. Trees bring up nutrients from their roots and absorb sunlight in their leaves. The branching patterns of roots and branches are similar. There is a reason for this.

3 - 4. Trees are tall living creatures that have existed for millions of years. They can be so tall because they are very hard due to the strong structures that cellulose holds. They can't be too hard, and some flexibility is necessary so the tree doesn't snap, but they are still much harder than they are flexible. This hardness makes them immobile, which requires the static form they take to be reliable and robust enough to keep them alive.

The best static form a tree can take is the one they evolved to take. The fractal branching pattern is the pattern that exists in the equilibrium of three requirements: it needs the strongest possible structure, allows for the greatest surface area of leaf coverage, and takes the least amount of volume up. These requirements lead to the formation of the fractal structure of tree branches. The fractal structure of roots is governed by two main forces: the need to fill as much volume of earth as possible with the least amount of root matter. This leads to branches being slightly different from roots, and according to these requirements, one would predict that roots have a much shorter distance-to-divergence of their branches than tree branches.

5 - 6. How are trees so tall? Why do they branch as they do? Over millions of years, trees have evolved into the form they take. Several forces guided this evolution, and the properties of trees reflect them. What lets trees get so tall is that they are very hard and flexible due to the strong bonds that cellulose holds. This hardness makes them immobile, which requires the static form they take to be reliable and robust enough to keep them alive. What determines the properties of this static form?

The best static form a tree can take is the one they evolved to take. The fractal branching pattern is the optimal pattern that falls in the equilibrium of three requirements or forces: it needs the strongest possible structure, allows for the greatest surface area of leaf coverage, and takes the least amount of volume up. These requirements lead to the formation of the fractal structure of tree branches. The fractal structure of roots is governed by two main forces: the need to fill as much volume of earth as possible with the least amount of root matter. This leads to branches being slightly different from roots, and according to these requirements, one would predict that roots have a much shorter distance-to-divergence of their branches than tree branches.

------

As you can see, it's a simple process that allows for rapid expansion of ideas, starting from me simply dumping information about trees, to making a point about why trees take the structure they do.

user:	circlemaker
created:	December 26, 2020
karma:	18