Faster and faster
A guest post by Ali Luke from Aliventures.com.
If you can write fast (and well), you’re set for success.
You’ll be able to pump out blog posts, newsletter content, free ebooks and more – without killing yourself in the process. You’ll be able to meet deadlines. You can price by the project, and make a great hourly rate.
But … chances are, you’re not yet able to write as fast as you want.
Maybe it takes you two hours to complete a 500 word blog post – on a good day. Maybe you just can’t find time to get that ebook finished.
Here’s how to massively increase your writing speed, in seven easy steps.
Step #1: Find Your Best Writing Time
This is crucial. Don’t kid yourself that all hours are equal.
You need to know when you’re most productive.
For me, it’s mornings, around 8am to 11am. If I’m lucky, I’ll also get an afternoon spurt, maybe 2pm – 4pm.
For you, it could be morning, noon or night. You probably have a gut sense already of your best hours. Now, real life might be getting in the way – perhaps you have to drop the kids off at school at 8.30am, or you’ve got a day job. But you can still use your best hours at the weekends, or look for ways to shift other obligations.
If you’re not sure what your best writing time is, experiment! Try out different time slots and see what feels best.
Step #2: Minimize the Risk of Interruptions
So, you’ve got two golden hours set aside to write – 10am – 12 noon on Saturday. You sit down at the computer, ready to type.
And the phone rings. It’s a sales call.
Then your partner comes in and asks if you want to go out to lunch later.
Then a chat window pops up on your computer, from a friend you’ve not talked to in a while.
Is it any surprise that you don’t get much writing done?
Instead of snapping at your partner and moaning about sales calls, here’s what to do:
- Turn off your mobile. Unplug the landline (or make sure that your partner/kids/roommate knows that it’s their job to answer it).
- Tell people in your household that you’re going to write. Explain that you’ll be free to chat at 12 noon, but you’d appreciate not being interrupted before then.
- Work in a room on your own, and close the door. If you’re sitting downstairs in the kitchen, you’re much more likely to get interrupted.
- If you really can’t get any peace at home, grab your notepad or your laptop and head out to a coffee shop.
Step #3: Cut Out Distractions
Reducing interruptions helps a lot. But distractions are death to writing, too.
They look like this:
- You decide that you really must tidy your desk before you start writing.
- When you get stuck, two whole sentences into your piece, you find yourself opening up your inbox to see whether there’s anything exciting in there.
- After writing 200 words, you tweet your word count. You then click on a link to an amusing YouTube video, and remember a blog post that you wanted to read. An hour later, you wonder where your time went.
- Half-way through your piece, you realize that you need a particular statistic. You stop immediately and look it up. While you’re doing so, an advert for cheap laptops catches your eye, and you can’t resist checking it out.
Some distractions might seem legitimate. After all, your desk is untidy. And you do need to know that statistic.
The thing is, you don’t need to tidy your desk or look things up right away. All of that can wait for an hour or two.
There are plenty of ways to cut out distractions. You might:
- Unplug your internet cable (or switch off your wireless).
- Use a program like DarkRoom (PC) or WriteRoom (Mac) so that you’ve got a plain, clean, full-screen writing environment.
- Clear away any distracting objects from the room. Do you really want to spend two hours trying to solve that Rubik’s cube?
Step #4: Write an Outline
One huge mistake is to leap into your piece without planning ahead. If you do that, you’re going to end up writing for a few paragraphs, then getting hopelessly stuck.
Outlining doesn’t need to be complex, especially if you’re writing something short (like a blog post). This post, for instance, started out as a title and seven subheadings. I spent less than five minutes on the outline – and it’s saved me a ton of head-scratching time.
When you write an outline:
- You can spot (and fix) any obvious flaws or problems. Perhaps it becomes clear that you’re trying to tackle too much, or that your topic isn’t very well thought out.
- Your subconscious immediately starts coming up with ideas for each point. Once you start to write, it’s a lot easier to get your thoughts down onto the page.
- The whole project looks much more manageable. You’ve broken it down into small steps.
As you write, the outline continues to help, by keeping you motivated. You can see exactly how far you’ve come – and how far you’ve got left to go. It’s easy to keep on writing when you know you’ve only got three points left to cover.
Step #5: Set a Timer
I’ve come across a few writers who hate using timers, so – as with any advice – feel free to ditch this if it doesn’t work for you.
Having said that, I think timers are brilliant. When I know I’ve only got 20 or 30 or 45 minutes, I stay focused. I write faster. I don’t succumb to the urge to check emails – they can wait till my writing time is up.
Timers help you to write for short bursts. At the moment, I’m trying out a system where I write for 20 – 25 minutes then take a break to exercise for five minutes. It’s been great for my energy levels, and I’ve been getting more writing done in less time.
You can use your phone or an alarm clock as a timer, or use a site like Tick Tock Timer or e.ggtimer – whatever works for you.
Experiment with different timed bursts: try just five or ten minutes if you’re new to this, and gradually work up to more. While that timer is going, write. No excuses.
Step #6: Start Wherever You Want
You do not need to start off by writing the introduction or Chapter One.
In fact, it’s often a good idea not to. Instead, jump in to the middle of your piece. Write the first subsection – or the third.
That way, you’ll get moving much faster … and by the time you’ve finished the bulk of your piece, you’ll have a better sense of what needs to go in the introduction. Since you have an outline (see step #4), you won’t need to worry about getting off track or writing something that doesn’t fit in.
Conversely, if you like to start at the beginning and work through to the end, that’s fine too. There’s no “right” way to do this.
What matters is that you don’t spend twenty minutes staring at a blank screen, wondering how to begin. Just get moving!
Step #7: Don’t Edit While You Write
Hmm, I didn’t phrase that very well. And should that comma go there? Maybe I’d better split the sentence into two. Would “gigantic” be better than “huge”?
If your thoughts go something like that when you’re writing, then you need to switch off your internal editor.
Write. Then edit.
Keep repeating that to yourself until it sinks in. Because it’s really important.
When you’re writing, you’re creating something. You’re putting words onto a formerly blank page, and you’re telling a story or explaining an idea or sharing your thoughts in a coherent form.
Don’t make this even harder than it needs to be. Don’t demand instant perfection.
Once you’ve created something, then you can start to be critical about it. You can look at whether your paragraphs are in the right order, and whether you need to add more transitions. You can tweak your subheadings to make them snappier. You can reword any clunky or confusing sentences.
I’m not going to suggest that you tie yourself in knots over this. It’s fine to hit the “delete” key occasionally, if you type something wrong. It’s okay to change your mind and restart a sentence if you need to.
Just make sure that most of the time, you’re making forward progress. And don’t stop half way through to edit paragraph one – that can wait until the end.
If you follow all the steps here, you could double or even triple your current writing speed. So give them a try – and let us know how you get on! The comments are open…
Ali Luke is a writer and writing coach. She’s got a free mini-ebook, How to Find Time For Your Writing, with ten short chapters and ten exercises to help you get your writing done – however busy you are. Find out more – and get your copy – here.
Only recently did I start disconnecting the Internet while working but sometimes I have to switch it on because of the dictionary. Otherwise, switching it off makes me more productive. Thanks or the tips
Yes, it’s very handy when you want to look something up quickly — though personally I’d save switching it back on for when you’ve finished the writing and you’ve just got the looking-up bits left to do!
Thanks so much for this post! I enjoyed it. It’s so ironic that I’ve been working on many of your suggestions and just today–I’m serious–the thought crossed my mind to start using the timer on my cell phone to write for 10-15 mins a few times during the day. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Thanks! Hope the cell-phone-timing goes well.
Editing while writing is a big drawback. It is natural that one feels the urge to do that. But by practice one should tame the thought. Writing speed improves only when it is un-interrupted.
These are all excellent and time-proven suggestions. A variant of #4 which I use (and so does Darren Rowse among others) is to do a mind-map instead of an outline. Doing a mind-map is a very flexible process and works well in getting down the points you want to make and them narrowing down to some manageable number. It’s essentially brain-storming by yourself, so–as with editing your work–you should get your ideas on paper quickly without worrying too much. Then go back and combine, revise, and delete until you’re satisfied. After that you start writing.
There is mind-mapping software out there, but I no longer use it. Using paper and pencil is simple and fast. Darren has a video or two at ProBlogger about mind-mapping for blog posts.
Great variation, Madeleine! I often use mindmaps myself — they’re a great way to brainstorm. I’ve used XMind but, like you, I prefer pen and paper.
Step 6 is hard to do but really effective. Sometimes to write fast you have to write the scene or passage you’re stoked about, not the part that logically ‘comes next’.
All good tips! I would add one more. Eat before you write. I am much more productive on a full stomach.
Good one! (Though a heavy meal can make you a bit sleepy…)
I really appreciate this post. Tremendously helpful.
I would say step 8: coffee (or Green Tea or Yerba Mate). That slightly caffeinated hot beverage with the morning writing time is like a super-focus-laser-beam tonic. For me at least.
Thanks again
Kapila
Same here – I definitely need my morning cup of tea before I start writing.
Everyone tells me not to edit my work as I write. And I understand that the processes of editing and creating use two different parts of your brain. But…I usually start work on my chapter by re-reading what I last wrote to jar some words out of me, and I edit as I go. It doesn’t interrupt my flow (in fact, it starts it), and the editor can be ignored again once I start really going, at least for the most part.
I do re-read and edit again whenever I get lost somewhere while writing. You know, I reach a certain point in my writing where I’m not sure what I want to say in the next sentence. So, instead of scratching my head and allowing panic to set in (oh, no! I’ve lost my writing talent!), I go over some of what I just wrote, reading through and editing, and it ALWAYS jars the next sentence out of me (without fail), usually followed by many more sentences.
Should I not let myself do that? To be honest, I can be a horrible ditz, and my mind starts thinking about something else while I’m typing my story and I lose track of what I’m talking about. The words stop flowing, I don’t know what to say, so I re-read, editing as I go. Is this what you’re talking about? I don’t re-read or edit when the words are flowing, just when I get stuck for a moment. Is it still a no-no?
Anyway, sorry to bother you with that. I just have heard this advice so many times, and I don’t know if I should apply it, or not. This process feels like it works for me, and I’m not sure if I could stop it if I tried. Thanks so much for the wonderful, thought-provoking article, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
Well, it sounds like you’ve got a method that works well for you! :-) There are no absolutes — and if I were you, I’d stick with what I was doing.
The sort of editing-while-writing that I’d discourage is the type when you write a paragraph, stop, delete the whole thing, write it again, delete it again … etc! So long as you’re making (generally) forward progress, you’re doing fine. :-)
Great, great tips! I would also say, have a writer’s group to hold you accountable!
I agree with all that you said. As a technical writer, I know the value of an outline. People often feel that it limits them, but you can always change things once you start writing, don’t let it limit you, use it as a guide and a good starting point. It is true that it will keep you from staring at a blank screen for two hours.
I am also a big fan of timers. Sometimes, I will listen to music when I am at work to screen out distractions and to help me work better. I use the length of an album as my “timer.” I keep working till its over, then I can return phone calls or check the emails that came in. I have also used e.ggtimer.
And lastly, I really feel that is impossible, no matter what, to edit and write at the same time. Fixing obvious mistakes as you type is not the same as editing the post.Get stuff on the page, then sculpt it into the final product. No diamond is ready for sale until it has been cut and polished.
David Goldman
Yeah, I find music can work well as a form of timer. Thanks for the tip, David! :-)
Loved this post – my best hours are 8 am – noonish, unfortunately I am at my stupid day job during the week and on weekends I am working outside. I’m still working on that.
The best way to avoid on-line/internet interruptions? Do what I do – live in the country where all you can get is dial-up. You won’t have the patience to wait for that post to load and You Tube will be a fond memory. Nothing left to do but entertain yourself by being creative!
Hehe, I love your cure for internet procrastination, Beti! :-)
Is there any way at all you can tweak your day job hours a bit, and give yourself 30 – 60 minutes to write in the mornings, before leaving the house? (Or, alternatively, get to the office 30 mins early and spend that time writing..?)
Dear Ali Luke:
First off, you look like a hippie. I have no clue if this works. I didn’t even read this. I saw your picture and gagged. How’s livin’ in that tree going for you? Anyways, have fun with Mary Jane. ;) Bye bye scary hippie man/lady.
Good list. The only thing I would add is that outlines are not always productive, and my best advice is to make one, but don’t be a slave to it. The outline should be as recursive as your draft is, and that way I believe the writer has a greater chance of surprising him/herself with character development and plot lines. Thanks for the article.
Great tips Ali, as always!
I think the one I need to start implementing the most is #4 – outlines. Often, I’ll start out writing a post and get stuck halfway through – and it’s only because I hadn’t fully thought out what I wanted to say before starting to write. Outlines would greatly help with this.
I’ve tried working with a timer before (I usually use an online one such as the E.gg Timer) and it works brilliantly. I’ll shut everything else off, have my document open and a Thesaurus handy and get loads more done.
Great blog post – I’d never thought of setting a timer and cracking on. I do struggle with point 7, editting while writing. I’ve even tried covering the screen of my laptop and just concerntaing on getting words down!
Ok if I link to this page from my website?
Louise
http://www.facebook.com/louise.gibney.writer
Love this article. Can totally relate, especially to the distractions angle. Since it’s hard to initially get focused, I try to get it out of my system. So, for maybe 15 to 30 minutes, I answer emails, explore certain sites and make a phone call. Once the procrastination gene has been scratched, I am free of any resentment that I actually have to work and I get busy. I may “waste” some time in the beginning, but I make up for it later by being focused. I find that taking my reward in the beginning, rather than at the end, works for me. Boiling it down to one tip: do what works best for you. Thanks for all your great ideas!
This has to be one of the best, most well-written articles I’ve seen in a long time. So, obviously, you know your stuff! Nice work!! I personally like the “setting a timer” part of your post. I sometimes get into this sort of a zone (maybe it’s like an alpha state or whatever) when I write, where time just literally zips by. And I can easily eat up hours and hours and hours writing. So I use a timer to tell me to stop writing. It will only seem that 20 or 30 minutes have gone by, when actually more than 3 or 4 hours have gone by. I’ve never tried your suggestion about using the timer for short bursts. That sounds interesting. I’ll try that this weekend and see how that goes. Anyway, nice post, hope to read more articles you’ve written.
This is pure truth!
thanks
Greetings from Italy,
Luciano
I wanted to add that there is a Linux variant of WriteRoom, called PyRoom. http://pyroom.org/
This is a great list. The last point is my favorite. So many writers get hung up on making their writing perfect that they don’t move beyond the first couple of sentences. My advice: just write. You can fix it later.
Thanks for the great reminder!
I think that sometimes the internet can be helpful. I just finished the August session of National Novel Writing Month and one of the things that helped me stay focused and reach my word goals was sprinting with other people. It’s easy to find writers on Twitter or other places that will be willing to sprint with you. When you have a time limit AND someone to sprint with it’s even more motivating, unless you don’t do well under pressure… then I’m not sure writing with deadlines is a good career choice. ;P
This is an excellent writing guide, hopefully I will do fast posting on my blog now. Many thanks :-)
Your #4 and #7 are the ones I swear by most. I love outlines; without them, I’d totally forget what it is I want to do, although I only use them for large works such as books or white papers. I don’t need an outline for blog posts; once I start I finish minutes later and move on. And on the long pieces I may do what most people do, that being to correct spelling mistakes and blatant errors, but in general the idea is to get everything down as much as possible so I can increase my word count and push forward.
As for phone interruptions most of the day the phone that rings is in another room. When I’m in a zone I won’t hear it so it’s less of a distraction. However, I will get distracted by a couple other computer things here and there, and I’m going to have to work on that. Great post.
Ohh Great Really Great and clearly illustrate with proper points ,will try it and see my writing speed performance
Ali,
I couldn’t agree more – these are great tips and they work!
I have used these tips myself to make most out of my blogging time.
Writing during the early morning hours and with a timer is a great way to get lot’s of writing done.
I actually have a schedule to follow and I have dedicated time blocks for my writing activities.
Cheers,
Timo
The computer can be your best friend and at the same time your worst enemy. I definitely have been distracted alot by my own computer. Sometimes I just cant seem to keep twitter off, and aim off, its almost like a habit. I do feel like there are certain times when I can seem to write at my best level, so there is definitely something to it!
-Jean
It can be extremely hard to get going with writing sometimes, and other times the creative juices overflow and you cannot stop writing and writing. For me, there is no particular best time to write. Sometimes I feel like typing even one word is a lot of work yet sometimes it is like I am writing unconsciously almost. As for distractions, I stay on invisible mode in AIM so I’m not buzzed by everyone and can choose when I want to talk instead, like during a small break.
Good list. The only thing I would add is that outlines are not always productive, and my best advice is to make one, but don’t be a slave to it. The outline should be as recursive as your draft is, and that way I believe the writer has a greater chance of surprising him/herself with character development and plot lines. Thanks for the article.
Step 6 is hard to do but really effective. Sometimes to write fast you have to write the scene or passage you’re stoked about, not the part that logically ‘comes next’.
Thanks so much for this post! I enjoyed it. It’s so ironic that I’ve been working on many of your suggestions and just today–I’m serious–the thought crossed my mind to start using the timer on my cell phone to write for 10-15 mins a few times during the day. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I like your post since I need to focus more on what I am doing instead of thinking of what I want to do online. I don’t have problems with mobile phone and landline interruptions but I am prone of focusing on games and other interesting stuff. Maybe it will be helpful if I will minimize those things that distract me so that I could be able to work more and balance my time effectively. Thanks for the awesome insights.
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