Garner's Guide to Making Briefs More Persuasive: Tip 2 - Plan every writing project by breaking

Here's another tip from Bryan A. Garner's The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts.

In his second tip, Garner recommends writing a brief in stages. He references the 'Flower Paradigm' - advocated by Betty S. Flowers in her article, Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Rules and the Writing Process.

1. The madman - take notes on possible approaches to a problem.

2. The architect - makes connections between the madman's idea and generates a linear outline.

3. The carpenter - builds the draft. Garner recommends that he write rapidly, leaving holes if necessary.

4. The judge - a critic with a sharp eye who doesn't create anything - don't think about him until the end of the process. The judge will perform quality control on the draft, looking to improve optimal work choice and so forth.