Shuffle a paragraph's sentence hints; rebuild their order a week later.
WhenWeekly writing practice
“Therefore I took some of the tales and turned them into verse; and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them back again. I also sometimes jumbled my collections of hints into confusion, and after some weeks endeavored to reduce them into the best order, before I began to form the full sentences and compleat the paper.”
In Benjamin Franklin’s words
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, chapter II, in Frank Woodworth Pine ed. (1916); events c.1720; retrospective manuscript written 1771–1790. Read the source ↗
Why it works
He explicitly used scrambled hints to practise arrangement. Comparing the rebuilt order with the source gives the exercise a check.
Start tiny
Write three hints and shuffle them in 90 seconds.
What you’ll notice
Look for a clearer reason one idea belongs before another.
When it slips
Do not merely remember the original order. Explain your sequence, then compare.
DocumentedRecord: DocumentedIn their own writing, or a record made at the time.
CEvidence grade CPractitioner method or editorial idea
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, chapter II, in Frank Woodworth Pine ed. (1916); events c.1720; retrospective manuscript written 1771–1790. Read the source ↗
Growth: Practices that need preparation, a recurring slot or a useful tool.
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