Did you know that I once hiked the Pacific Crest Trail? Don’t get too impressed — I only covered a few miles out and back, from an easy roadway access point in the Sierras.

The distinction between my quick jaunt (with a light daypack and water) and the through-hikers around me was as vast as the views. You could safely say we were doing entirely different activities. If I’d tried to continue on the trail without a tent, food, lots of water, and a plan, it would not have turned out well.

How does this relate to writing?

I have known people to start writing a book as if they were throwing together a blog post or two, without a vision of their reader and their needs. Sometimes they end up with tens of thousands of words that don’t serve what the reader might need from the work. Restarting these projects can be painful.

When we write, we embark on a journey through ideas—ideally bringing a reader along with us. Depending on the journey, we need different levels of planning or preparation.

Stroll? Hike? Trek? Know your goal.

Strolling, day-hiking, and trekking all are forms of “walking” but the amount of effort, and necessary preparation, clearly vary. For fun, let’s match them to writing.

(Apologies to those of you in the UK. You might swap “rambling” for strolling and “walking” for hiking.)

Stroll: In a writing stroll, you explore your thoughts or survey the terrain. You might write in a journal, or in “zero drafts” or “inner research.” Poets may spend more time in this exploratory phase than, say, nonfiction writers. But rarely do we invite others along on our rambling without doing the work to make them welcome.

Hikes: A quick blog might be analogous to a short hike. You start with a known destination and purpose, with a few guideposts along the way. A longer post, report, or well-researched article might resemble a strenuous hike. And dealing with a dense or difficult subject is like covering tough terrain. You need to support the reader through the process, and make sure they end up in the right place.

Treks: You wouldn’t offer to guide a paying client on a multi-day wilderness trek without adequate preparation. Writing a book is like taking the reader on that trek. Even if you’re a “pantser” and improvise as you go, you’ll need to make sure the reader sticks with you to the end.

It’s easy to forget about necessary preparation. Caught up in excitement about an idea, we may set out on a longer project without contemplating the reader’s needs. We’re so excited about hitting the trail that we forget about our companion. (Especially in nonfiction, we really need to understand the reader’s needs.)

Blog posts don’t present much danger to the reader. If you’re one of my regular subscribers — first, thank you so much! And, I realize that not every post will resonate with you. That’s why I try to signal where we’re going through the title, subtitles, and introduction. Then you can decide if you want to come along this time, or wait for the next post. No hard feelings.

But books and lengthy works require planning to keep the reader with you, so they don’t bail partway through, lost or exhausted. That requires planning.

Pack extra cookies for long treks

Let’s say you’re writing a substantive piece on a tough topic, or even a book. How do you make sure the reader stays with you on the journey?

Just as in hiking—with breaks and snacks!

Breaks: Subheads. Chapter breaks. Breaks within chapters. Pull quotes. Even short paragraphs. Anything that gives the reader a chance to rest their minds for a moment and absorb what they’ve done so far.

Snacks: Stories, humor, pictures, pithy sayings, clever analogies. Snacks include anything that entertains the reader or helps them grasp your ideas clearly.

Pack appropriately

If you buy into metaphor, how do you apply it to your life? Here are three thoughts.

1. Embrace the exploratory strolls—for yourself. This post began with me jotting down quick thoughts on the metaphor. It took shape only after I’d written a bunch of stuff that I ended up leaving by the wayside. (Alas, you’ll never see the Gilligan’s Island analogy that I tossed.)
2. Be clear about who you are bringing with you, where you’re going, and what you need to bring for them. If the terrain is tough, bring more treats.
3. When setting out on a trek, remember that the best-laid plans can run amok. If you explore as you go, you might veer off path. Leave time to explore with the reader, but make it to the end of the trail on time.

Related Writing

If you want a full menu of nonfiction “snacks” to use, check out Writing to Be Understood.

Can’t get enough of those outdoor metaphors for writing? Read Take the Next Small Step.