Writing Framework
Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge
This is a practical scaffold for a first-person guide to the four-stage writing model I learned in law school and use to move from raw ideas to clear final prose.
Attribution guidance: frame this model as Betty S. Flowers' framework, and explain the law-school context where you adopted it.
Madman
Purpose: generate without restraint.
- Write freely in first person about what you actually think, not what sounds polished.
- Capture examples, stories, and claims in rough form before you organize anything.
- Keep momentum high and postpone judgment until later stages.
Scaffold prompt: “When I start this draft, the one idea I keep circling is…”
Architect
Purpose: design the argument and order.
- Identify the core claim, intended audience, and the single takeaway for this essay.
- Build a sequence that moves from context to framework to usable guidance.
- Cut or relocate ideas that do not serve the main throughline.
Scaffold prompt: “If a reader remembers one sentence, it should be…”
Carpenter
Purpose: build clean, readable prose.
- Convert the outline into complete paragraphs with precise topic sentences.
- Use transitions that make section-to-section logic explicit.
- Replace abstract phrasing with concrete language and practical examples.
Scaffold prompt: “To make this usable, I need to show exactly how…”
Judge
Purpose: evaluate and tighten.
- Verify each section supports the central claim and remove repetition.
- Check rhythm, sentence clarity, and factual attribution before publication.
- End with specific guidance a reader can apply in the next draft.
Scaffold prompt: “The strongest revision I can make right now is…”