Written on December 30th, 2008 at 12:12 am by Darren Rowse
How to Write Fast
Alisa Bowman from projecthappilyeverafter.com shares some tips on writing fast.
So you haven’t quite monetized your blog. That means you’re still working 8 or so hours in the non-virtual world for that paycheck. You may also have many other time commitments. They are called marriage, parenthood, friendships and Twitter.
With all of these variables vying for the same 24 hours, how do you follow Darren’s advice and blog at least every day?
You have a few choices.
- You could stop sleeping.
- You could give up the family and friends.
- You could learn how to write really fast.
If you’re tempted by option #2, I can’t help you, but I wish you the best of luck with that. If you want to know more about option #3, keep reading.
I first learned how to write fast when I was on deadline as a newspaper reporter. I, at times, had just ten or so minutes to crank out at least 800 words. These days I blog 4 to 5 times a week at projecthappilyeverafter.com, twice a week at Capessa.com and two more times a week at savorthesuccess.com. I also write guest blogs and magazine articles, and I ghost and co-author books.
All told, I’m typing somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 words a week. Yet, I spend only 6 to 7 daily hours in my desk chair. Over the years I’ve developed this 6-step system for writing fast.
Step 1: Know what you want to say before you sit down. As soon as you finish any blog, start thinking about your next one. Think it over as you walk the dog, while washing dishes, or even while staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m. What will it be about? What do you have to say? Go over lines in your head. For instance, at 3 a.m. last night, I heard the line, “Throw up on the screen.” You’ll hear it again, too. Real soon. Promise.
Step 2: Pick the basic format you will use to organize your blog. Most blogs fall into one of the following organizational templates:
- Q & A – Someone poses a question and then you answer it.
- Tips: You start with a couple paragraphs of explanation followed by a list of tips. This “how to write fast” blog follows this format, only the “tips” are “steps.”
- Story: Once upon a time something happened to me, I learned someone from it, and now we’re at the end.
- List: This might be a list of great websites, great books, or great people to follow on Twitter.
- Quiz or Test: You pose a series of questions or offer a check off list that allows the reader to figure something out.
There are other formats, too, but the key to writing fast is knowing and perfecting a few. That way you can create them quickly and easily.
Step 3: Throw up on the screen. (Told you.) Start writing and don’t stop until there are no words left in your head. Don’t stop for typos. Don’t stop for grammar. Don’t stop because you lose your train of thought. Insert quick notes as you write, such as CHECK NAME SPELLING, FIND URL, or WHAT IS THE WORD I WANT HERE? I use that last one quite frequently.
Step 4: Read your blog from beginning to end. Fill in holes. Tinker. Replace your all caps notes with real text.
Step 5: Read out loud once or twice. This will help you catch typos, pinpoint really awkward writing, and help you tighten things up.
Step 6: You’re done. Post it.
I just followed these steps for this article. So far I’ve been writing for 10 minutes.
What’s your best advice for speeding up the writing process? Leave a comment.
Alisa Bowman writes about the ups and downs of marriage at projecthappilyeverafter.com. She’s also the relationships editor at Capessa.com. Follow her on Twitter @alisabow.
Tags: Writing Content
184 Responses to “How to Write Fast” - Add Yours
Amit Bhawani
December 30th, 2008 12:40 am
I too write a lot of stuff daily at http://www.amitbhawani.com/ which gets xxxxx visitors every day, but the only reason the posts get slow down is the IM’s, email’s, Twitter Tweets and Phone Calls. May be i should switch off everything and setup a goal something like yours at xxxxxwords/week which is originally achievable if dedication is given!
BTW Good article :)
Wesley
December 30th, 2008 12:42 am
Tip nr 3 does it for me, just start writing, don’t ever stop even if you find you’re writing about something completely else 5 minutes in, you can take that out later and build an individual blog post around it.
After an hour, stop and clean things up. Works every time.
Carol White Llewellyn a.k.a. The Travel Maven
December 30th, 2008 12:48 am
Alisa -
Thanks for this article! One of the challenges I’ve been having is taking too long to write, which means I spend more time than I should on blogging.
This will be most helpful!
michael
December 30th, 2008 12:52 am
thanks for the great information…
Tumblemoose
December 30th, 2008 12:56 am
Excellent. Some of the basic tenets of good writing for sure. You can be speedy and accurate and focused if you get your head in the right place.
I tend to stop and fix errors as I go. BIG no-no. I’m working on it though…
Cheers!
George
Tom - StandOutBlogger.com
December 30th, 2008 12:58 am
It’s so simple when you put it like that :P
Cheryl Smith
December 30th, 2008 12:58 am
Just what the doctor ordered for this week and the year ahead. I find that sometimes posts take far too long by the time I add a graphic and links. Good tips, which I’ll be implementing pronto!
MillionMaker
December 30th, 2008 12:58 am
Hi that are really good Tips,
write everything down before correcting is a very usefull tip.
To read the post loud before tiping helps to order your thoughts and is usefull for correct writing.
Chris
December 30th, 2008 12:59 am
Step 3, throwing up on screen, is great for any form of writing that’s causing you trouble. I think a lot of people, myself included, sometimes feel that they should only type/write the good stuff, the stuff that’s going to actually end up in the finished piece. Instead, it just causes writer’s block.
When you throw up on screen, it inspires you, and a lot of times will make you think of something you wouldn’t have otherwise.
The rest is all good advice, too, and inspiring in and of itself. Thanks for posting.
Nicola Quinn
December 30th, 2008 12:59 am
Great article with some nice ideas I will try, thanks.
My tip is to close down your mail client and browser before starting.
:)
Corey Freeman
December 30th, 2008 1:00 am
Nice process! Not sure if I like the “throw up on the screen” imagery, haha. Like you said, I’ll usually map out the entire post in my mind (even images) during idle time, sit down, write it, and move on. Learning how to type fast doesn’t hurt either ;)
I think the most important part is to get the crux of the information down and then go back and tweak.
Mark
December 30th, 2008 1:01 am
Hehe, giving up your family as last resort on making money? It is possible but you will end up with no friends but money and in a social dead space.
If it’s worth the money.. go ahead.
Other than that, great tip on writing fast :)
Steve Nimmons
December 30th, 2008 1:04 am
I tend to start with bullet points which cover the main topics and provide initial structure. This speeds my process. I do get bogged down in repeated re-reading of drafts and find it difficult to just write everything in one pass. I must give that another try!
Jean Wise
December 30th, 2008 1:05 am
I know I lose time waiting for just the right first sentence. Your advice is very good and helpful. Thanks
Alex | Kolakube.com
December 30th, 2008 1:09 am
That’s a really simplified look at things. Wish I had thought of half the things mentioned in this article last night.
christy
December 30th, 2008 1:09 am
Great stuff, Alisa. Thanks.
One bit I’d add is that knowing how to type really helps. I mean actually type. It can seem like a simple thing, but when you’re not having to search for the letters on the keys, and instead can actually type at the speed of thought, things go both more smoothly and a heck of a lot faster.
Just my two cents.
Michelle Rafter
December 30th, 2008 1:10 am
Nice summary Alisa.
Here’s my own blog post of the very same title, written in March 2008, about how to write anything faster, blog posts or reported pieces.
http://michellerafter.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/how-to-write-fast/
Michelle Rafter
WordCount – Freelancing in the Digital Age
Yu Yu
December 30th, 2008 1:11 am
Ya I like thinking elsewhere before I sit on the computer because I can be more creative. Once you’re in front of the screen, words can go blank at times. Also, switch all distractions off like, don’t read twitter, don’t answer phone calls, turn off your instant messengers etc. will help you save time.
Frederic
December 30th, 2008 1:13 am
electronic pencil is another good one: write anytime anywhere and upload
Sheila | Live Well 360°
December 30th, 2008 1:15 am
Great “how-to” article. I often get stuck with the WHAT IS THE WORD I WANT HERE? type blockers. By the time I figure out the right word, I have totally lost my train of thought. This article is great because I do often find myself asking, “how in the world do these other people write so much, so often.” I guess I need to just let loose and do some major screen throwing-up.
The second issue for me is distractions in my surroundings, which always seem to appear when I am in the middle of a really fantastic thought…I think I will be soon investing in some of those noise cancelling head phones that Darren has recommended in the past.
Thanks again.
Sheila
http://livewell360.com
Kate
December 30th, 2008 1:16 am
Choosing subjects that you are interested in, really helps with how much you can write about them, my main interests are making money online and find that if I sway a long way away from this genre my natural flow isn’t there, I think your brain becomes intuned with your main topics.
Toby
December 30th, 2008 1:18 am
There’s only one problem with writing too fast. . . you tend to make mistakes like writing “someone” where you mean “something.” (Point three, Story, under “Step Two”)
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to fix mistakes like that one:I find them often in my own writing, and I don’t know what to do, except stick everything you can in a drawer for a day or two before re-reading.
Cindy
December 30th, 2008 1:19 am
And don’t forget practice! Just like anything, you will get faster with practice. Great stuff, as always, Darren!
Tracy
December 30th, 2008 1:19 am
I’ve always been able to write fairly fast my problem is waiting for that mythical perfect moment (house quiet and clean, nothing on the horizon for hours) to begin writing instead of taking advantage of little chunks of imperfect time throughout the day.
Hmm, perhaps I should write on how to write a post with two fighting toddlers at your feet, one whining preschooler at your ear in the fifteen minutes between lunchtime and having to leave to pick up kid #4 (editing is done while in the pick up line).
One thing I’ve noticed is that the more I write, the more efficient I am at it. Over Christmas I took about a week off and am finding it’s terribly hard to get started again!
Nathan Pralle
December 30th, 2008 1:20 am
The only thing I would say in response to these thoughts are this: Once you’re done “throwing it up” and editing it, walk away. Go get a coffee, go have a cookie, go read a few pages of a book. watch a TV show to the first commercial — something else. Remove your mind from the posting.
Then come back to it. I amaze myself how many times something new strikes me or I notice something awry with my post if I allow my mind a break.
TheDutchSchoolKid
December 30th, 2008 1:22 am
Great tips!
Alan Hammond
December 30th, 2008 1:24 am
Great post, Alisa!
The one of my many pitfalls is failing to consider something other than the typical paragraph format. Lists, tips, QA, anything other than lengthy paragraphs is essential to web writing.
If you don’t mind, I’m going to pin this post up on my wall. Oh, and link to it from my blog.
Thanks!
Alan
Steven-Sanders
December 30th, 2008 1:27 am
The thing I do is just stop sleeping. It seems to work well for me. :)
I actually work in much the same fashion.
Before I ever sit down to write though, I’ve already got the topic, the main points, and each sub-point I want to discuss quickly scribbled out on paper that I’ve been carrying with me throughout the day.
So by the time I start writing, I just step through the list one point at a time and write a little paragraph or two about it.
If find this the be the easiest and best method for me thus far.
Anne Wayman
December 30th, 2008 1:31 am
lol… takes apart what I’ve been doing for years without much thought about it. Instead of caps I’ll use *** where I know I need work, and I don’t know why I never thought of reading blog posts out loud before I post… I tell all my writing coaching clients to do that with their books!
Anne Wayman, now blogging at http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com – who doesn’t always have a firm grasp of the obvious.
Shanel Yang
December 30th, 2008 1:32 am
One of my constant goals is to write faster — but without sacrificing my equally important and often conflicting goal of becoming a better writer (improving word choice, sentence structure, and the whole shebang). One method that works for me is to have several series going on at the same time with the introductions and conclusions to each one basically the same within each series, so all I have to do is fill in the “meaty” middle of specific posts in each series. I find that the intros and conclusions are often the trickiest to keep fresh yet still tight, interesting, and meaningful — and this takes care of that problem nicely. Great post, Alisa! 10 minutes? Wow! : )
My Little Norway
December 30th, 2008 1:35 am
The best advice? I think you need to write what you know. (Usually you always know your own opinion, at least.) Then if you still don’t know enough, write what you WANT to know (I sometimes even guestimate), then research it. This will give you a clear direction of what to research, rather than doing a broad read from the start – and it is a lot quicker to correct than to make perfect from the beginning). Then, I just fill in the blanks (stats, facts, names etc). Very quick.
diamondTearz
December 30th, 2008 1:41 am
Thanks for the great productivity suggestions. I chuckled about the list when you mentioned shutting out friends and family. I briefly went toward shutting out friends and family. I’m fortunate enough to have a wife who pointed this out to me.
One technique that I have been using more often is to babble a voice memo into my blackberry. That way if I’m stuck in traffic for an hour I can get a good thought out in pieces without losing the details or causing a 6-car pileup.
A Maui Blog
December 30th, 2008 1:43 am
Very helpful tips! Thanks.
I am currently developing A MAUI BLOG and these tips will come in handy :)
Steffeni
December 30th, 2008 1:45 am
Very useful. Thanks for sharing. =)
JB MacHine
December 30th, 2008 1:46 am
I gravitated toward this process naturally, out of necessity. Additionally, here is something I tend to do, which may seem to be very wrong to any proud writer: I post the article immediately and before any checking. I convinced myself that the necessity to correct the errors before someone reads them will mean that I do the correction ultra-fast also. It works pretty well as a motivator for me.
Oh, the need to send our opinions spiraling through web space, balanced against the precious little time available for such luxury!
Stiennon
December 30th, 2008 1:47 am
One more thing. Don’t forget to save! How many times have you hammered out a great post only to have it get eaten by Word or your site? Save, save, save.
@Stiennon
Blog Expert
December 30th, 2008 1:53 am
Well, I have definitely stopped sleeping so that is what I have done. I know it is probably one of the things that shouldn’t be doing but that is the way it goes. I think the more you write the faster you will begin to write. Some people just think a lot when they are writing. Instead, write everything down as it comes to your mind. Then go back to fix things later.
Jenny Cromie
December 30th, 2008 2:01 am
This is a great post Alisa!
Speaking for myself, I know that my perfectionist streak gets in the way of fast writing sometimes. A couple of the tips you mention also work for me. And like you, I’m “writing” even when I’m not writing—meaning I’m always planning the next post or story.
But when I really need to force myself to write fast, I use an alarm for 15 minutes at a time. My recent post, “Want To Jumpstart Your Muse? Get A Rooster,” talks a little bit about this technique: http://tinyurl.com/5oub98
In fact, I need to pull out that rooster alarm today. :-)
-Jenny
Alice
December 30th, 2008 2:03 am
I find that number three is one of the best tips when you want to crank out a blog post fast!
I usually just keep writing and writing until there are no more words left in my mind. I usually end up cutting 70% of what I write because either its incoherent ramblings, or because Iv covered the point earlier. It normally just takes a few minutes to correct grammar and spelling.
Phew, it took me 2 minutes to write that, had I sat there an laboured over ever word and pondered the significance of each sentence, it would have taken me a lot longer.
Excellent tip, thanks to you Alisa Bowman!
-Alice
carrotmadman6
December 30th, 2008 2:04 am
Thanks for the tips… I’ll definitely try that “throw up on the screen.” :P
Cleanse Body
December 30th, 2008 2:06 am
Thanks Darren. I really need this information as keeping 6 blogs going is taking too much time.
Kate
December 30th, 2008 2:11 am
Step 3 is a good one. I am constantly stopping to check references, spelling, wording etc & so stopping the flow of ideas and I think my article structure is worse for it.
I’m already constantly practising Step 1 – I think I should actually get myself a dictaphone, sentances, concepts and wording come to me at the most inconveniant of times – recording would be far easier than jotting!
Peter
December 30th, 2008 2:22 am
Probably the best thing, is that you have a plan, and thanks for sharing it.
When I sit down to blog without a plan, and then try to come up with a topic, how I should get it up, that takes way too much time.
Know the general structure/s for posts.
Then fill it up.
Finally, polish it off.
Nick
December 30th, 2008 2:23 am
Nice article, however whats your opinion on the length of an article. It has being said that people read 40% slower on computer screen than they do on paper, how long should you make your articles?
Shirley
December 30th, 2008 2:23 am
Haha. Great advice. That was a nice 10 minute post.
I guess I follow some of those tips. In my day-to-day life things do inspire me. Maybe I read a post at a favorite blog, perhaps I head about some interesting news… Whatever it is, I write it down. And I usually have a long list of at least 20 topics to write on.
So for ‘writing fast’, I suggest always having a topic that you WANT to write on. This way, the words really flow.
When you ‘force’ an article, it may take hours to churn out something worth reading.
Cliff Allen
December 30th, 2008 2:26 am
These are all good tips — especially reading copy out loud when editing.
I’ll add that it helps to decide where you want to take the reader before starting to write. For me, that means knowing what action I want the reader to take after reading my article or blog post.
As for tools, my productivity increased when I started using Microsoft OneNote on a Tablet PC. I can drag clippings into OneNote, scribble some preliminary thoughts, and sketch a diagram before I write or type my post in OneNote.
mike
December 30th, 2008 2:31 am
I was lucky to take typing classes in college which helped out a lot. I can type extremely fast.
Bill Lowden
December 30th, 2008 2:32 am
Love the pointer to dump everything then go back and make grammer and spelling corrections. I generally make corrections as I go.
Mike
December 30th, 2008 2:37 am
Nicely put, and essentially how I blog now, although there still aren’t enough hours in the day! Only thing I would add, and which I do, is to make a list of the key points I want to get in before I actually “throw up on the screen”, It prevents getting so in depth on one point, that you can’t remember that scintillating idea you had for the next!
RC Bonay
December 30th, 2008 2:57 am
My workflow:
First I draw a picture or take a photograph that relates to the topic
Then I cluster and/or word associate the topic.
Then I throw up on paper for 5 – 10 minutes.
Then I read it into my PC using Dragon Nuance.
Then I edit it down to an even 300, 500 or 700 words (this part is really important).
I’ve done this over 600 times over the past 3 months and it allows me to do what needs to get done and still have a life with my wife and 4 kids and 2 grandkids and my full time job.
Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home
December 30th, 2008 3:01 am
Wow–what excellent advice! I have fallen into a really bad habit of trying to type out everything perfectly from the beginning, which doesn’t create a fast work flow. I’m going to try the “Throw up on the screen” advice.
Howard Yermish
December 30th, 2008 3:01 am
This is similar to the techniques that I always used as a composer. Because I was not an agile pianist (rather a percussionist), most of my composing was done internally. In otherwords, I paced around the room, took bike rides, walked, etc. to work out the music in my head. Then I would literally sit down and “write” (rather, write it down) very quickly.
One thing that I must add to the topic is this. People would always ask me if I was worried about forgetting the ideas that were in my head before a piece made it to paper. The answer was simple: If the music was truly memorable, I wouldn’t forget it. If it wasn’t good, best to let my brain filter it out by forgetting it.
@hyermish
Tressa
December 30th, 2008 3:05 am
Great tips! I usually have trouble producing regularly with a full time job and two blogs. But this process really helps. I will try and think more about the blogs, when I am doing my day to day routine.
Thanks as always
T
Kayla
December 30th, 2008 3:20 am
Wonderful tips, thank you. I often use #1 and the step format quite often, and I can say from my own experience that it helps things go faster. I always feel I know exactly what I’m going to saying throughout the entire thing, minus a few details.
I will keep the other tips in mind, and even try to improve on the ones I’m already using. Thanks again!
Mihai Secasiu
December 30th, 2008 3:32 am
Great Post. I realized I was already doing the “throw up on the screen thing” somehow.
Alisa Bowman
December 30th, 2008 3:35 am
Wow–I’m so flattered that you all found it helpful. I’m honored that many of you offered so many additional tips and strategies. I realize that I left off a few really important ones:
1) Coffee–I cannot write before coffee happens
2) Quiet–I write faster if there is no music (classical or jazz are ok if they are soft, but music with lyrics is distracting)
3) Never change your keyboard: I do not type classically (I’m self taught), but I do use at least four of my fingers and I can type really fast because I have memorized my keyboard. Whenever I try to use a new computer, it slows me down a lot.
4) Write what you want to write in that moment. Today I planned to write Alisa’s Free Marriage advice, but my brain was like, “And what free marriage advice would that be?” It just wasn’t there, whereas “Is Chivalry Dead?” was so ready to come out of me. Give yourself permission to change topics based on what your muse is telling you to write.
Philippa
December 30th, 2008 3:39 am
That is awesome advice. Great outline and format to follow. Im interested now in learing the other formats you have. Nice to know what the other methods are, im sure each person will find one method more efficent then others. Thanks!
Rich Russell
December 30th, 2008 3:54 am
The best advice I have heard is to separate writing and editing.
Set a aside a specific period of time for writing and just write.
Depending on the length of the piece, go away and have a coffee or leave it for a couple of days.
Then come back and see what you have got.
Knowing that there will be an editing period later, frees you to spend your writing time writing.
Any tips on typing faster?
Cheers
Rich
Annita
December 30th, 2008 4:10 am
I was getting ready to scour the net for just such an article…thanks for the timely tips!
Chris Foley
December 30th, 2008 4:26 am
Great article. From personal experience, I would spend more time on #5 – proofreading. Fortunately, my blog has a large and dedicated audience that is more than glad to correct my spelling and grammatical errors in the comments.
Demian Farnworth
December 30th, 2008 4:33 am
Can’t recommend this process at all.
You’re teaching people quantity is more important than quality. If people don’t have the time to add value, then they should re-evaluate their priorities. Writing six blogs means you’re going to have six second rate blogs. That equals spam.
Susan
December 30th, 2008 4:46 am
I like the “know what you’re going to say” tip. I keep a schedule of which stories will get posted on which days, so when I sit down to write I already know what I’m going to write about.
Jodith
December 30th, 2008 5:01 am
As a strong introvert, this is basically how I do all of my writing *laughs*. I think things out and then put them on paper (or on the computer screen as the case may be). It’s harder for extroverts who use the writing process as the way to work out ideas, but for me it’s perfect.
I used to drive my college roommate crazy, because I’d do all the research for a paper, and then I’d just sit around thinking about it. The day before the paper was due, I’d sit down and type it all out, review it, make corrections and print it out. And I’d get an “A”. She’d agonize over writing her paper for weeks, doing multiple revisions, writing and rewriting, and make a “B” if she was lucky.
Jodith
December 30th, 2008 5:03 am
I forgot to add…I use my commute time (about an hour a day) to do a lot of my blog “thinking”, that and time in the shower. Between the two of them, I have most of my blogs posts figured out and ready to write.
se7en
December 30th, 2008 5:13 am
hahahahaha! I have indeed stopped sleeping.I have learnt to shut everything else on my screen DOWN! no distractions thank-you very much… don’t quickly read a feed, check your stats, look at your email… you know – nothing till that post is posted!
WTPD
December 30th, 2008 5:15 am
Great post! I will definitely be putting these techniques into practice to make the time spent blogging shorter and more productive. Thanks.
Clarke
December 30th, 2008 5:39 am
Great, practical advice. Especially the “throw up on the screen” bit, I use that myself, though I call it “Just write, don’t give a shit about how much it sucks till later.”
Stephen D
December 30th, 2008 6:40 am
Number 3 is an excellent point – throw up on the screen – I often find myself agonising over spelling and tense as I write a post and this is bound to have a negative impact on the idea stream.
If possible, I like to ask someone else to read a post before publication to check for duplicated words, points that have been missed and any other suggestions, especially if the post is long and detailed or in the format of a “how to”. On “how to” posts I will check every step at least three times, sometimes more.
I have never tried reading out loud though, I think I will give that a go.
Dr Wicked
December 30th, 2008 6:41 am
I wrote a web app specifically aimed at writing faster, it’s called Write or Die, it lets you set a word goal or a time goal and punishes you if you don’t write. Give it a try. It can help you throw up on the screen even faster.
My philosophy is “bang it out now, tart it up later.”
Anyway, the address it http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html
Hope it helps someone.
The Overnight Site
December 30th, 2008 7:20 am
Nice and to the point. What I do is surf the internet all day looking for posts that interest me and I am conscience of what I type into google to find them. What I type into Google will become my post title and I build around the title always
Lisa
December 30th, 2008 7:27 am
When I’m writing, the two biggest wastes of time are: 1. Putting in my hyperlinks as I go. 2. Backspacing for typos. If I can avoid both things and do them at the end (which is very hard for me to do), I could save more time. Thanks for the tips. :)
Sarah Bell
December 30th, 2008 7:27 am
As I read this – ideas just started popping into my head. Wow…! what a fantastic blog – so much value in such a short blog. Thank you for your experience.
Sarah Bell
December 30th, 2008 7:29 am
As I read this – ideas just started popping into my head. Wow…! what a fantastic blog – so much value in such a short blog. Thank you for your experience.
Gina Chen
December 30th, 2008 7:30 am
Love your tips for writing fast, and they really do work.
I’ve worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 20 years, and in that time I’ve learned to write very quickly. (Anything you do, you get better at, at least most of the times.)
I think you’re pre-writing tips are right on. When I’m in the midst of a story — or a blog post — I write it in my head, edit it in my head, etc. (in the shower, driving to work, going for a run.) When I finally get to type it, it’s like I’m just copying what I’ve already written in my head.
Katharine Robinson
December 30th, 2008 7:32 am
I find this tool, called Write or Die, is great for step 3!
http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html
Ray Welling
December 30th, 2008 7:37 am
What I struggle with is how much research to do. I start looking up something, then start following other leads, and sometimes even forget what I started out doing. Otherwise, I often keep looking for more information, for that elusive hook that puts the whole thing together. I’ll try and work on just “throwing it up on the screen.”
Zara Green
December 30th, 2008 7:37 am
“Throw up on the screen.” I LOVE that!
I always ponder where I’m going and end up spending too much time trying to organize all of my thoughts…which are always plentiful.
Stream of consciousness writing with CAP fill in Instructions just gets it all out, then I’ll organize it.
Just throw up on the screen…So, simple…Will Do!
Zara
@ZaraGreen on Twitter
Troy Corley
December 30th, 2008 7:37 am
I too learned how to write fast on deadline as a newspaper reporter. Your tips are what I tell other people! In 1977, at my first newspaper job as an intern, I wrote by hand then typed, until my mentor editor set me straight: just sit at the typewriter and type! Gulp! I’ve been doing it ever since from typewriter to VDT to computer.
My problem is that the blog I plan to write, even with lists, needs some research (which I’ll reuse for printed books, ebooks and articles). Also, I’ll need to put in hyperlinks. Time intensive! I did this for my Free For All blog, which died when I tried to upgrade WordPress :( so I decided to start a new blog: http;//freeandfrugalfun.com
I’m wondering how to make the process more efficient.
Oliver
December 30th, 2008 7:42 am
Good, challenging advice. There is a lot of complexity hidden in step 1, I think–if you have a good idea of what you are going to write about, it makes throwing up on the screen a lot easier, and you don’t find yourself dry-heaving for lack of words.
@hyermish — I am fascinated by your mapping the memorable to the worthwhile. I don’t know if I trust the default workings of my brain to act as primary filter -and- aggregation point. Maybe this is because in step 1, I find myself surrounded with too many distractions. Or maybe I am deluded in thinking I have something worthwhile to say, when I find myself having lost the drive to explore something that previously capitvated me.
This really frightens me, that I might be more engaged to the *idea* of having a voice, rather than communicating something important. That is something to grapple with if you are trying to produce something that will remain relevant.
@darkolives
saundra, event engineer
December 30th, 2008 7:56 am
I’m not a writer, I’m an event engineer (planner). However, because of my ability to write as I speak (matter of factly) I receive quite a bit of traffic to my wedding blog.
Great tips, I’ll stop correcting as I go and “throw up” on the screen. It’s the photos that drag me down. I think my readers need the photos…..they have a short attention span. As I do.
maarten
December 30th, 2008 8:03 am
Maybe you should also add: Practice makes perfect.
Because have written a lot of times and under stress of a deadline, you are now trained to do this.
theBandwidthHog
December 30th, 2008 8:12 am
For me working on just one thing at a time works best. I need to turn off phones, pagers, instant messaging, email, anything else that can interrupt me. Even if something comes up and it sounds like a 5 minute task, I’ll spend 5 mins switching gears, 5 mins to do ‘the task’, and another 5 mins to pick up where I left off. Do that 4 times in one day and an hour is out the window.
David
December 30th, 2008 8:15 am
Awesome post! Good tips. I always correct myself along the way which i shouldn’t do, but i’ll try to fix. I’m a slow typer too which is one of the reason i’m kinda slow too hah. won’t fix that i don’t think. hopefully i can use any and all methods of speeding up my blogging seeing that i’m toooo sloooww
Thanks!
ATLANTA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
December 30th, 2008 8:39 am
Hey did you write for the movie “finding forest?” LOL …. thanks for the post.
Anthony Lawrence
December 30th, 2008 8:39 am
Great advice (I use those same techniques myself). I’ll add two more:
Don’t be a perfectionist.
Learn to read quickly, both because you do have to read your own stuff and because if you read everything else more quickly, you have more time to write.
Carla
December 30th, 2008 8:50 am
I love the organizational templates under step 2 and I really need to follow the advice from step 3. I tend to stop writing and check for spelling and grammar errors, That definitely slows down my flow.
Matt Haupt
December 30th, 2008 9:10 am
Love this article. I was just wondering to myself how I could write things a lot faster and still have time for my 40 hour a week (sometimes more) job and my blog.
One other thing I would suggest is keeping something on you were you can write quick thoughts or topics you want to talk about in your blog. That way you don’t waste time searching your brain about the one thought you had while grocery shopping, but can’t for your life remember what it is.
Thanks for the tips!
Karen
December 30th, 2008 9:10 am
10 mins. is very impressive! I’m going to have to practice throwing up on the screen. One of the things I also need to work at is writing up posts when the topic is hot in my mind, and not waiting and losing the thoughts.
Thursday Bram
December 30th, 2008 9:34 am
I have to admit, I’ve been kinda snickering about all these bloggers and writers who have been committing to writing 500 words a day. On average, I write 5,000 — using a method very similar to yours.
RONALD HARRIS
December 30th, 2008 9:46 am
As always great work Darren. I’ll be using this one tonight for my blog. Wish me luck bude. –Ronald H. of Revenue Herald.com
Alisa Bowman
December 30th, 2008 9:55 am
A few people mentioned the time-consuming nature of hyperlinks. This is what I do:
1. Call the link something that I actually want to end up in the post, such as The Best Website for Bloggers Ever.
2. Cut and paste the actual URL next to that straight from the web browser (or type it if I know it and it’s simple like http://www.problogger.net). These C&Ps will not stay in the blog. They are just there for when I need them later.
3. I post the blog. I use wordpress, so you all may have different CMS. But in wordpress, you use that little link button to make that little window pop open. Then I just hit cut the URL from my blog and paste it into that little box. You have to make sure you don’t accidentally end up with two http:// doohickeys, but otherwise it’s pretty fast.
Taylor
December 30th, 2008 10:15 am
These are some great tips. It’s actually something that I can definitely use with my blog because I know that I do go back to make corrections quite often in the middle of my post. I also stop and think a lot.
Thanks for the tips.
silvino
December 30th, 2008 10:23 am
sometimes i like to write very slowly, so i’m suspicious to talk about this! eheh
«throwing up on the screen» is a great way to write a lot, not necessarily good stuff. that’s why i would say that step 1 «mindmapping» is the heart of writing well. because that’s the all point of writing ..being able to put your ideas out there, in an effective manner.
Chris Charabaruk
December 30th, 2008 10:54 am
Thanks for the great post, Alisa! While I’m lucky enough to have all the time I need to write, it still feels like I’m spending too much time considering the end result. Hopefully I can use your advice to cut down the time I take to craft each post of my own, and be happier with what I do write.
As for hyperlinks, my suggestion to people is a product called Zemanta. A really good blogging tool, Zemanta provides images, links, and related articles for blog posts. While it won’t catch everything you’d like to link, it usually does a good enough job, and sometimes catches things you might not have thought about linking before!
Writer's Coin
December 30th, 2008 12:06 pm
Good tips. I agree with the preparation part, that’s the biggest thing that helps me work fast and efficient. I also like the grouping of posts into certain kinds of articles (stories, QA, etc.), especially if you have a catch-all that can include other posts that may not fall into those categories. That way you don’t get yourself caught in a creative rut following the “rules.”
Lance Carr
December 30th, 2008 12:54 pm
Thanks! Just tried the “throw up on the screen” technique as opposed to the “staring at the screen and endlessly thinking” technique and your is much better!
Enduring Wanderlust
December 30th, 2008 2:39 pm
Interesting post, Alisa.
I find that free writing help the speed of my output. Just writing a stream of thoughts until I go blank then going back to improve structure and word flow. After doing this for awhile the structure and flow naturally flow with the thoughts.
I’ll select a travel destination such as Berlin. Then, let go with everything that comes to mind.
John R. Sedivy
December 30th, 2008 3:06 pm
Excellent article. I have found this approach especially helpful when writing papers in graduate school as I was (and still am) a naturally born procrastinator. The other aspect that I really enjoyed is that you provide a great amount of value to the reader in a short space, and therefore a short time commitment on my part.
chris
December 30th, 2008 3:51 pm
This has got to be one of the funniest articles I’ve read. Can’t stop laughing at:
“For instance, at 3 a.m. last night, I heard the line, “Throw up on the screen.” You’ll hear it again, too. Real soon. Promise.”
then as promised, I read it again at Step 3 :p
And i have to agree that stopping to sleep is not a good idea. I’ve done that before but it didn’t do me any good.
As said in the other comments, I’m also taking a lot of time in researching for my next post and also taking photos or finding copyright-free images for it since my blog uses images a lot.
As for writing fast, I agree that this is a must-have. I also attended a course on journalism and creative-writing and one of the suggestions in our class to avoid that writer’s block is to write up freely, as you said: “throw up on the screen” and just fix your write-up later.
Robby G
December 30th, 2008 4:04 pm
boss advice. my problem isn’t writing quickly, it’s finding pictures and putting them in and all that bs. just feep writing through errors and then editing is key.
Kelly
December 30th, 2008 4:21 pm
Another helpful tool is MS One Note. I can write fast on it and cut and past very easily. It can save and organize alot of material and it saves everything with out you doing anything. It is a notebook application for the computer. You can move things around, add side notes, and start new files and sections, I can’t say enough good things about it. . It’s marketed to students but writers would benefit from it more than anybody.
J.D. Meier
December 30th, 2008 4:52 pm
Nice prescriptive guidance.
I like your formula and the fact it’s based on experience.
I think mindset is key too — sort of like eye of the tiger. You have to put on your how to kick arse and take names hat.
I also like to use notepad and incrementally share. I dump quickly into notepad and then iterate as needed. Periodically, I post. if I get stuck, I just write it as an email to myself or a friend and it’s a great way to keep the flow.
luq
December 30th, 2008 5:13 pm
i was needing this, i always spend too long writing a post, and the fact that i have only a limited amount of time on my pc everyday its not helping, i’ll probably try following this method and it should get faster, thanks for the great read Alisa and Darren.
LisaNewton
December 30th, 2008 5:18 pm
Reading a post out loud can make all the difference. You gain a totally new perpective on what you’ve written.
I use this technique when I teach reading and writing, but hadn’t thought about it in regards to blogging.
Thanks………………….:)
The Happy Rock
December 30th, 2008 5:26 pm
I am slow slow blogger. 10 minutes post, maybe if it was like a 3 liner.
I think your 6 steps require someone with some proficiency with transferring their thoughts to word in a somewhat coherent and readable manner.
For me it just doesn’t work that way and I have been blogging two years. I am self-admittedly not a writer and the process isn’t natural.
Also, spending all your spare time thinking about an article, doesn’t seem like you are writing the article fast just typing it fast. If it takes an hour or two of thinking for each piece that is all ‘writing’ time IMO.
The article is still inspiring nonetheless. Thanks
Paul William Tenny
December 30th, 2008 5:41 pm
No offense intended, but if it takes you 6-7 hours a day — every day — just to get 5000-10000 words per week, I’m not sure you’re in any position to credibly hand out advice . 5000 words per week is only 1000 per day on a five day work week. It should take real significant effort to write that slow if writing is something you do as anything other than a hobby when you’re bored or have some spare time.
You may actually be in the well-off minority, at least amongst bloggers, to have that kind of production, but not at scale. Quick writing is 5000+ words per day, not per week.
I know a lot of bloggers don’t have that ability but that doesn’t mean that just because some people appear to be really productive by comparison, that they truly are fast writers.
They aren’t.
As for the advice..
Don’t ever do this unless you’re up against a deadline. The more tired you are, the slower you write. You may be more productive in the short term since you are writing instead of sleeping, and it may enable you to meet that deadline, but there’s a very real price you’re going to pay. If you’re pushing 20 hours, in all likelihood you’re going to be at least 1/3rd to half as slow as you might normally be when fully rested, if not worse.
Probably worse.
Probably the best possible advice of the lot. If you’re spending time being social then either writing is a hobby, or you’re not disciplined.
Moving on to the “serious” tips..
While it’s a good idea to leave your mind open to new ideas, it’s generally bad to spend that much time thinking about writing. You’ll be thinking about it literally every moment of the day. You’ll get no psychological relief after you’ve written because you’ll still be working even if you’re doing something else.
Moreover, because your mind isn’t focused on being creative, chances are any ideas you come up with will be of poor quality and whatever task you’re doing will invariably suffer.
Keep your mind open, but put some effort into not thinking about writing when you’re doing other things. Your brain needs rest and thinking about something every waking moment of the day is punishing it, not helping it.
Gotta remember folks, the creative well isn’t infinite.
Has nothing to do with writing.
Again, this is probably some of the worst advice that I’ve ever read. Most people will forgo proofreading because they are tired by the time they come to the end of a long writing session, and nothing is more embarrassing than simple typographical errors. If you’re writing for a living, the only thing more important than meeting a deadline (writing quickly) is producing quality on a schedule.
If your grammar sucks, then spend some quality time working on it and then get back to writing. If your grasp of English is poor, no amount of speed is going to help you — nobody is going to read lengthy material full of errors or something that doesn’t make sense.
Stop and correct typos and work on your grammar and spelling, that’s part of what being a good writer is. Get the fundamentals right before you throw caution to the wind.
Don’t write “until there are no words left in your head” either. That’s not writing, it’s rambling. The result will be poorly focused and boring. You want something that’s tight to keep the reader interested, hit all your marks to get your points across without digressing into asides and opinionated cliches, and then you want to get the hell out.
If you start and then “lose your train of thought”, your mistake happened fifteen minutes ago when you didn’t pay any attention to structure and purpose. It means you ended up going in the wrong direction with no idea how you got there or that you’re even in the wrong place to begin with.
Worse than writing slowly, you’ve just wasted time writing something of no value at all.
This is invariably the result of laziness. If you’re writing about someone and don’t even know how to spell their name properly, then it’s also very likely that you don’t even know what you’re talking about. If you want to blog about your breakfast, then by all means shoot from the hip. If you want to inform people, begin by being informed yourself.
As for synonyms, there are plenty of free thesauruses out there if you feel like your vocabulary is lacking. My advice to you is what they tell novice novelists and there’s no reason it shouldn’t apply equally as well to blogging: trust your instincts and leave well enough alone. If a word doesn’t sound quite right but it is a valid use of the word, then leave it alone and move on.
Do not go back to change it later.
What happens is you’ll end up going back to find the most impressive word without giving any thought to how it changes the sentence or tone of the text or even if it’s an improvement, or just a change.
Your first choice is usually the best choice.
Another blogging thing, not writing.
You wouldn’t have to rely on reading it out loud to find typos if you hadn’t left them there to begin with, but on balance reading it out loud will at least give you a better sense of how to structure complex sentences.
The last thing you want to do is stretch a single sentence across an entire paragraph because you don’t know where to put a simple period. If you can’t speak what is written on the page (or screen) in a single breath, put in a comma or end the darn sentence and start another one.
And don’t listen to bloggers about writing.
Dev
December 30th, 2008 6:40 pm
Nice post sir, i really like your tips. Thank you for sharing these tips
Jason
December 30th, 2008 8:51 pm
I started life as a web developer and so most of my sites consist of pages, that take ages to put together, including the copy. Initially, because of the lack of web dev skill needed to put a blog together, I did not like them, but now I put a blog on almost every website that I develop, this is mainl for SEO reasons because once you have the design of the blog set up you can spend all your time working on the copy and new pages (posts) are a doddle to put together. Now hopefully with some “write faster” tips I can save even more time – thanks very much.
Jon
December 30th, 2008 10:30 pm
Great tips but at the end of the day, practice makes perfect and the more writing you do, the better and more efficient you will get at it!
Jon
http://WoodMarvels.com – Create Unique Memories
Anthony Lawrence
December 30th, 2008 10:36 pm
I hadn’t really paid attention to how many words I write per hour – after all, wph is not my goal. But Paul William Tenny’s comments prompted me to go back and do a survey. I found that I write about 10 words a minute on average, so he’s right about that part: if it takes you 30-40 hours to write 5,000 words (not counting research time when applicable), you are very slow.
I understand his objection to the basic format advice, but structure IS important to writing if you are creating HTML pages. I use templates; they do save time. No, it’s “not writing” but we are talking about blogging. Templates save time in blogging.
I also understand his dislike for “CHECK NAME SPELLING” inserts and in general I agree but sheesh, sometimes my mind just goes stupidly blank on something I do know. Heck, I’ve stopped dead in mid sentence trying to remember my daughter’s middle name; items of lesser value do elude me now and then and I’d rather keep up with the flow than stop to dig that up.
Nor do I agree that you can’t go back and pick a better word. Yes, yes, usually my first choice IS the right choice but sometimes that “right” word is also on the tip of my tongue refusing to make itself known. Nothing wrong with noting that and coming back at the end, not to be “impressive” but simply to convey the nuance you intended.
As to “don’t listen to bloggers about writing”, I’d just say that while you might listen to writers about blogging, you need a bit of salt because blogging IS what we are doing – blogging is our goal. Words per minute aren’t our goal, neither column inches nor chapters finished matter to us. Our goal is to add a post or two to our blog. We are NOT “writers”, we are bloggers.
German Romance
December 30th, 2008 11:11 pm
I type quite slowly and been looking for tips and ideas on how to speed up the writing process for me. This post has helped me tremendously to get a grip on my writing, thanks again!
Stephan Miller
December 30th, 2008 11:47 pm
Now if only I could type faster. That is my bottleneck with writing fast. The most I can pull off right now is 40-45 wpm. Does anyone have a suggestion on increasing typing speed when you have already taken a typing class in the past and can’t seem to get any faster?
Natasha L
December 30th, 2008 11:48 pm
Thanks Alisa,
This is great advice. I have alot of writing to do soon, and will take your advice.
Natasha
Tom Lindstrom
December 31st, 2008 12:12 am
Great article Alisa! For those who doesn´t have English as their mother tongue writing fast and without spelling errors in English is not so easy.Off course you will get better with time, but in the beginning I would recommend guest writing and purchasing articles to get started,
Personally, I do the research and write a 400 word article in 1 hour.
MouthyGirl
December 31st, 2008 12:22 am
@StephanMiller practice practice – test yourself regularly. I type 70 wpm, but I have been a transcriptionist for a very long time, long before it was legal for me to be working.
Great post, I’ve printed it and stuck it in my “idea notebook” that I carry around with me. :) Should help polish me up a bit. Sometimes I can write four posts inside of twenty minutes, sometimes it takes me twenty minutes to write one paragraph. I do find that I need to spend more time thinking about my topics because once I’ve got that usually it’s downhill from there..
Tim Schreiner
December 31st, 2008 12:32 am
Tip #3 my wife summarizes as: Spit up, then clean up. The problem with a lot of blogs is that many forget the second half of the dictum.
Scott J. Kreppein
December 31st, 2008 12:40 am
This seems to be the time of year for blog self-reflection. Wayne Scheiss had a related post a few weeks ago, http://blog.legalwriting.net/2008/11/19/time-pressure-in-legal-writing.aspx?ref=rss.
Ruth Stewart
December 31st, 2008 3:35 am
This is a really great post. If everyone did this then you wouldnt get those great boring lectures that some people post! Yuk that turns me right off!
Keep writing, I like it,
Best wishes,
Ruth
Jonathan Franzone
December 31st, 2008 4:17 am
Thanks for the great tips! I have a really hard time writing fast; I tend to spend way too much time on it and as a result I don’t publish that much content. I’m going to give your suggestions a whirl and see if it helps.
Thanks again.
Andrea Hill
December 31st, 2008 4:55 am
Thanks so much for the post! The joys of computers – we have the luxury of being able to go back and edit and find the right words.. that didn’t work so well on a typewriter. Now we can afford to get the ideas out, and refine (a bit) later.
GM Tristan
December 31st, 2008 5:30 am
This is great, Darren. Thanks.
However, writing fast might sacrifice quality. If a blogger wants to really keep up with content, being consistent – setting a number of blog articles per week, can also count
Happy New Year!
Scott
December 31st, 2008 6:59 am
This is a great post.
Part of determining the speed in which you write can be directly attributed to the type of blog you have.
Some blogs need wondefully insighful posts. Those take time and the writer should take the time to do it right.
A blog like mine is half and half. You want the really important content to be solid, but it is ok if some of it isn’t the best because the site is supposed to have lots of different flavors and styles.
Good post again, I love your guest bloggers.
adsense alternative
December 31st, 2008 7:08 am
i like this post. Even i always do some fast posting. But its short. I hope i can done long post with short time.
Maxwell Hoffmann
December 31st, 2008 7:14 am
Great article, great advice.
Here are a couple of hints I use if I really hit true writer’s block:
(a) if article (beyond blog) is complex, but basic ideas on post-it stickers, and move them around on a manila folder to find your structure
(b) write in a simple, plain text editor, with nor formatting just to get the words out
(c) if you have to get some raw content out … (no, I’m not joking) do your first draft on a typewriter, using abbreviations and no attempt to fix typos. You will be amazed that sometimes words just flow when it is impossible to edit
(d) when all else fails, write simple draft by hand with pencil or pen … again, use lots of abbreviations or even pictograms. Oddly enough, when you are not using a keyboard, and it “feels” like you are writing a note or letter … the tone of your writing can become more personal.
(e) To proof and catch typos … print your output (from blog/HTML) to PDF and zoom in. It sometimes makes errors jump off the page, including the many words that slip through spell check.
(f) “sleep on it” … if you have the grace of time, bang out a rough draft in the evening … don’t even look at it or print it out. Review it in the morning with “fresh eyes.” Amazing what will jump off the page when you do this.
i only occasionally use these techniques, but all of them work.
Caren Kennedy
December 31st, 2008 10:33 am
Alisa,
I too enjoyed your post which I read through to the end without pause. It has everything a reader wants: accurate information delivered succinctly. Moreover, it is lively and humorous.
Regards,
Caren
Kat Rice
December 31st, 2008 10:50 am
This has been one of the best tips/posts I’ve read in a while. Alisa this was awesome and useful, all things I knew but the reminder and having them all in one place was great.
Andre Williams
December 31st, 2008 1:15 pm
I personally use a similar approach when I write. I have a fulltime job as Tech Director, a wife and kids and lots of work to do every day. The only thing I do differently is I must print out what I write to change it. It seems when its on the screen I tend to skip something because my brain replaces the text for me and I dont see my errors. When I print it and read it out loud, I seem to catch errors better. I know this is not a “green” thing to do but its what works for me right now. I hope to get better at spotting errors on the screen. Overall, I agree your approach works. I was coached to do them in college by friend who was an avid writer and speaker.
Bonnie
December 31st, 2008 1:47 pm
Demian Farnworth: As I see it, Alisa’s recommendations do not have anything to do with quantity vs. quality. They are ways to suppress distractions (especially your “inner editor”), shelve the perfectionistic tendencies that bog down most writers way too early in the process, and get ideas out of your head and onto a screen.
Paul William Tenny: This blog is about blogging, so I DO want writing advice from experienced bloggers. Writing for the web is not the same as writing for paper.
And for those critical of Alisa’s word count, I imagine she spends a significant amount of time each day on research, answering email when she restarts that application, etc. I suspect you do, too. Very few of us have all the answers in our heads without at least a little fact checking. I personally wish those who do (or think they do) would quit blogging.
Kat
December 31st, 2008 2:01 pm
FANTASTIC article. Love it love it love it. My biggest hindrance? Not so much that I can’t write fast (although thanks for the reminder on pre-thinking before writing) – it’s more that I worry worry worry about all the other things I should be reading, doing, learning with regards to marketing and monetizing my blog. I feel like I just can’t keep up! But am holding true to the hope that one day I’ll look back and realize how far I’ve come. And am just starting to get regular comments on my blog ‘Body Incredible’ so I have to assume something is working!
Enjoying the ride.
Thanks again for this piece .. see you on Twitter!
Mike L
December 31st, 2008 3:59 pm
The caps note was the best idea. Thank you for that!
Roberta
December 31st, 2008 5:46 pm
I can’t really add anything to this. For those of us who manage multiple blogs, you’ve hit the nail right on the head. I usually select several sources at once then just run from there. Great post :)
Eight Women Dream
December 31st, 2008 6:32 pm
Start a blog with other people helps cut down writing commitments… I sometimes use a hand held tape recorder and record my story thoughts for my other blog at A Week In The Life of A Redhead .. where I seem to have actually hit the writers wall these days. To get over this hump i started another blog project with seven other women and find that is helping me write more … why I have no idea.
Catherine
Shane Hudson
December 31st, 2008 7:52 pm
Some very good ideas here. I usually correct spelling as I go along, but I shall try this format as I so often run out of time!
Thanks,
Shane
Joe
December 31st, 2008 9:54 pm
Should have been titled “How to Write Good Fast” leave “How to Write Well, and Quickly” for someone who understands English.
Michael Feddersen
December 31st, 2008 11:31 pm
Great blog, great points!
Ditto Ruth
How would the world be if everyone was just like me?
JeepnDave
December 31st, 2008 11:58 pm
Thanks for the tips Alisa, I tried giving up on the sleeping thing for a while needless to say that did not last that long. So i just try and stick to writing fast. Thanks for the WRITE IN CAPS tip to keep the flow going and just go back to that when I am done. I will try that instead of stopping.
Thanks again!
Demian Farnworth
January 1st, 2009 12:21 am
@Bonnie, I think you’re missing the point of Alisa’s article. It’s very much about quantity v. quality.
She wrote and posted in 10 minutes so she can write and post in 10 minutes on other blogs and articles. I don’t care who you are…most of the time you’re going to produce second rate content if you do that all the time. And eventually burnout.
Don’t get me wrong.
I highly recommend vomiting on the screen to overcome writer’s block. But I also highly recommend meticulously cleaning up that mess.
In fact, I beg you to back very far away from everything you write and let it sit. Sit for at least an hour. If not a day. Maybe a week.
Hemingway was noted for writing a short story, sticking it in a drawer, venturing off to Africa to hunt and returning to edit the short story. He was ruthless with his edits.
Blogging doesn’t deserve the same kind of treatment. But do something similar. Please.
Understand this: Alisa’s tip is a stop gap. It’s meant to fill a void when you are strapped by a deadline–not to be followed or lived like a lifestyle.
My point: If you find yourself constantly strapped, out of ideas, rushing or in crisis mode, something is wrong.
Writing faster isn’t going to help you.
You need to re-evaluate your strategy and, if at all possible, put yourself in a position so you aren’t writing fast all the time to publish content.
Otherwise you’ll burn out the goose who lays the golden eggs.
Andre Williams
January 1st, 2009 12:44 am
The article in my view was about writing fast so I agree with it since I used it throughout my life when I had to leverage it. I agree that it can lead to quality issue eventually or perhaps burn out for the writer. But I dont think its bad advice for those that need it and can handle it. The concepts she presents are applicable in many cases and I am not saying to forget quality. It provides a way to get your thoughts down on paper quickly without all the hangs up when someone tries to write anything. Doing it this way at least you get your main points down, review them, revise them then perhaps do the what Hemingway did then publish or if you comfortable with the topic, you can skip the Hemingway approach.
Divyun Raje Vaid
January 1st, 2009 12:46 am
Well, I actually spend hours writing a single article. Your tips might just help me speed up a little bit. Hats off to you if you wrote that article in 10 mins. When I am writing an article, 95% of time is spend in thinking how to go about the topic.
Vincent
January 1st, 2009 2:59 am
It is a great article and writing fast really help bloggers greatly. By having a blog, there are countless of guest articles, your own blog articles and also article marketing. Everything need new material and you must be able to write fast in order to do complete everything.
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
Alisa Bowman
January 1st, 2009 3:18 am
Hi everyone:
Regarding the debate about quality vs quantity, I honestly think you can have both. That’s why I read out loud at the end: to find the bad stuff and get it out of there. It’s an important step.
Some of my best lines come out of me when throwing up on the screen. That step allows me to shut up the part of my brain that says, “Not good enough.” Of course, some of my worst stuff comes out of me during that stage, too. That’s why it’s so important to go back and edit.
It did occur to me in reading someone’s comment, however, that I am a trained professional writer (I majored in journalism). At one point in my life, I had to memorize the AP Style Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style. If one of your goals is to write more grammatically, I do recommend either or both of those manuals.
Yes, I do make typos–and these typos do sometimes find their way into my blog. The beauty of blogging? When I see them (or someone else points them out), I can fix them. I can’t fix the one typo here on problogger because I don’t have CMS access, though. :-(
I, of course, wish I never made a typo or used an incorrect word. I wish none of my jokes went over like lead balloons. I wish everyone loved everything I wrote. Alas, it’s not a perfect world. Whether I write quickly or slowly, I will still have typos (not to mention jokes that no one laughs at). Yet, with feedback–such as the wonderful feedback you are all offering here in the comments–I can get better.
As for the 6-7 hours I work a day, Bonnie is right. I spend the vast majority of it on the phone, checking email, on Twitter, checking Google analytics, on social bookmarking sites, reading other people’s blogs, and so forth. I also spend some of it eating lunch, going for a run, and, occasionally, napping.
I thank all of you–even those of you who do not agree with my methods–for your comments here.
Jim Gray
January 1st, 2009 3:48 am
Very helpful article, I’m experiencing this now with a lot of projects on the fly. Thank you!
Evelyne
January 1st, 2009 5:41 am
Great article! I was very happy to see an article like this on ProBlogger.net. I have been dealing with the dilemma of trying to find time to devote to my blogs as well.
As you mentioned in your article, real life has a way of preventing you from devoting as much time as possible to your blogs. My goal this month was to work on the design format of my personal blog, then devote time to developing my business blog. When I first started blogging, I felt very overwhelmed every day. I wanted everything to be so perfect, that I forgot to be ‘me’. I also wanted to make sure that I was keeping abreast of the research and articles out there because I knew I had a lot to learn. All of the information I found was great, but still overwhelming. There was so much information out there that I ended up being confused instead of enlightened. But I turned my confusion and desperation into something better-a blog post about the perils of a new blogger- http://arewethereyet-thejourneyitself.blogspot.com/2008/12/to-blog-or-not-to-blog.html -
I had to regroup and realize that Rome was NOT built in a day. Writing the blog post about my frustrations made me feel so much better; and really increased my confidence. I filed it away as ‘ A lesson learned’.
Needless to say, being a wife and a mother-along with this little thing we call ‘The Holidays’-has prevented me from accomplishing my goals this month. There is no way to completely stop the rest of the world from spinning, so I guess I will just bite my lip and enjoy the irony of frustration.
My personal frustration is my brain’s cruel joke of giving me inspiration in the middle of the night. I have quickly learned the importance of sleeping with a pen and a pad next to my bedside. Over the past week, I have graduated to emailing and making notations on my BlackBerry so I don’t lose the thought when it hits me. Last night I did my first “BlackBerry blog”. Although my husband thought that I had completely gone off the deep end, I explained to him the pain and perils of Writer’s Block, along with the importance of feeding creativity when it strikes. Lying in bed with a toothache did not excuse me from having to write. In fact, this toothache has been a blessing-laying in bed all day will definitely make you think. I blog EVERYWHERE!
I especially like the part of your article where you encouraged us readers to “keep going” even if you hit a stumbling block. I cannot stress how important it is to “write quickly”-even if you have to go back and edit. It has taken me 10 years, and 2 stints of “quitting” writing to learn that the best material comes from the heart and flows freely. Planned scenarios are just not my thing.
I thank you for sharing. It is especially heartwarming to someone like me who is now at a crossroads trying to re-establish herself as a writer. This gave me just the boost I needed to keep going! We can all learn a lot from each other. With that said…back to the blogspot!
http://arewethereyet-thejourneyitself.blogspot.com/
Demian Farnworth
January 1st, 2009 6:03 am
@Alisa, Andy Grove, former Intel CEO, wouldn’t let his executives leave the boardroom until someone beat up his idea.
And that’s the beauty of the blog…your original idea is shaped and honed through the comments.
Appreciate your boldness. It takes courage to post.
Bradford Shimp
January 1st, 2009 7:01 am
Great post. I am a slow writer. Mostly it is because I allow myself to be distracted and don’t focus in on the task at hand. Your tip to just keep writing, adding notes to go back and fix things later, is a great one.
As a result of your post I went back and finished an article that I had started earlier but was delaying. Thanks for the push.
I find that adding a quick list of the points I want to make and then filling them in as I go works really well for me, as well.
Franck Silvestre
January 1st, 2009 7:49 am
I like the seven tips method. I write an 7 tips article, and then, I make an article with each tip. That’s 8 blog post that I an write pretty fast.
Trading Hero
January 1st, 2009 8:09 am
I carry a notebook and a voice recorder to remember ideas that I have for posts. Sometimes a couple of words jotted down can provide a 500+ word post.
I just ordered a netbook from Dell and that thing is so small that i can take it anywhere and type up a post when the inspiration hits.
Nicola
January 1st, 2009 10:44 am
If you use dragon naturally speaking it is even easier – no need to worry about spelling at least.
~Kat~
January 1st, 2009 10:45 am
Timely post for me! So far my strategy has been to give up sleep so I can almost keep up with my blogs. Right now it takes me at least an hour to write a 200-300 word post. I think I need to try that “throw up on the screen” technique. I find myself stopping to check spelling, adding links, and formatting. Plus, while I do research I tend to get stuck reading other blogs. (Like this one!)
Chetz Yusof - ChetzTV.com
January 1st, 2009 11:45 am
That’s what exactly my roommate told me how to write fast! She was a journalist also, has been writing for more than 15 years. Recently, she wrote 10 ebooks in 10 days!
So guys, this method really works! I definitely going to use it.
Thanks for posting.
Chetz Yusof
D Jackson
January 1st, 2009 3:12 pm
Wonderful article and since I’m pretty new to blogging, this will help me a lot.
One thing I’ve been trying out is to write the opening and closing of an article first. I find that I have great opening and closing but the meat of the article takes time. So now I have 10 article started and finished and all I have to do now is put in the details in between.
I know this sounds like a weird way to write articles but I just find that the beginning and end tends to come out easy, it’s the middle that takes more fine tuning.
Thank again for the article
Karim
January 1st, 2009 7:24 pm
Thanks for these tips, especially having a few “template” blog post formats to stick to. I’d been using the old “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” format, which is good, but I still like having something a little more expansive.
One thing that helps me whenever I can’t seem to get started writing is just to write jibberish on the screen. Just the physical motion of getting my fingers moving on the keyboard seems to get me into writing mode, and then ideas eventually just start to trickle out. Thanks again for the tips!
-Karim
http://superaffiliatepayday.com
uwak
January 1st, 2009 11:53 pm
really useful tips…..cause very difficult for me writing fast and good…… sometime too tired,thanks
Justyn
January 2nd, 2009 6:50 am
I taught myself to type in Dvorak when I start to write for blogs like http://jpmgmt.com. I initially only saw 5-10% improvements in typing speed and accuracy, but I am now around 75% faster and 30% more accurate. When you do the math on the time I spend now compared to when I typed in Qwerty, it’s a huge improvement!
Great article!
Jeremy
January 2nd, 2009 7:16 am
Writing fast is just a matter of practice (possibly years of practice).
Giving up Twitter? Hard, maybe impossible!
Monevator
January 2nd, 2009 9:13 am
I wish I could follow these tips. You fast writers make it sound so easy! :) (I’m jealous).
I must spend 8 hours on some of my bigger posts over on my financial website, Monevator. Okay, so they’re big posts (1000+ words) but when I hear you spend that long at your desk *a week*!
:(
Andrew
January 2nd, 2009 1:50 pm
Thnaks Alisa,
I look forward to implementing some of your suggestions.
Personally, I have been able to keep a schedule of blogging just twice a week, and the main reason for this is that I tend to take a considerable several hours, sometimes up to seven or eight, in preparing each individual post.
So I hope that I am able to implement some of your suggestions effectively into my writing routine.
panah
January 2nd, 2009 2:57 pm
I type 85 words per minute (net), but that doesn’t mean can write faster. I personally think of posts in advance and draft them all up with small notes to remind me what they will be about. Sometimes, I sit down for a day and crank them all out. Sometimes, I’ll go day by day. Posting to 10 blogs every day is not simple, and there would be no way for me to do it if I was not doing things in advance (I even had to assume Obama was going to win 3 months earlier to finish up my November posts).
Brian
January 2nd, 2009 3:41 pm
Good advice. #1 and #3 are the key points. They helped me write efficiently as a student in college, and I use the same methods to guide me while writing up lesson plans as a teacher and while writing up posts on my blog.
If you know what you want to say before you start writing, and then you just keep writing until you’re done, it’ll go really quickly. It only takes a long time when you pause after every sentence or every paragraph to think, “Where should I go next?”
In writing this comment, I just noticed that I tend to spend longer writing comments because I _don’t_ have the luxury of thinking about what I’m going to say or write for hours or days before hand. That need to stop and think about the topic, the organization, etc really slows you down.
Nugroho Adi Pratama
January 2nd, 2009 7:37 pm
great tips, i’m a father of a nice 2 years old girls, babysitting her is truly time consuming, and i have real life jobs also. it is frustrating sometime that you know that you have improve the content of your blog with so little time available. thanks for the tips, will try to do it!
Vern at AimforAwesome
January 2nd, 2009 10:21 pm
Thank you for this blog post – I haven’t seen one about this particular subject so it’s fresh!
I write fast for short posts where I need to jam a lot of facts into the post only on occasion. When I’m writing a 5,000 word stream of consciousness post at my blog I’m flying. I can knock that out in a few hours. I did a huge post on “What is the Point of Life” that went just like that – I sat down and banged it out and got up and that was that. Sure I had to revise a few things after reading it three times.
I have Attention Deficit Disorder so for me to keep something straight in my head about what I’ll write about for the next post is out of the question. What I NEED is a digital voice recorder that transcribes accurately into text so I can talk and be writing at the same time – man I’m waitin’ for that day. I’m praying 2009 brings that to my house in a box.
Right now I have 19 sites and blogs. Of which I’m keeping up with about 6 of them. One of them at About.com requires constant blogging and articles if I want to keep getting paid.
Thanks again for this article – I’ll start jotting down some ideas for getting more productive with my time… I think maybe starting some lists for future posts might help. I think a pre-fab form where I just jot down topic, main headings, questions to answer and things like that might give me enough info to create a post quickly.
Anyone doing that?
Shivanand Sharma
January 2nd, 2009 11:41 pm
couldn’t agree more about the “WHAT IS THE WORD I WANT HERE” point. I’ll use it now-on.
I believe it is a good idea to underline words that you want to hyperlink to other articles on your blog. That way you’d really develop some great inbound links too.
startups guide
January 2nd, 2009 11:47 pm
A tip I like to use as often as possible is to “Write in advance!”
I seldom have time each and every day to update our blog, but next week I am off work, so am determined to write at least 3 posts each day. The trick is to stagger the publishing of them.
If your blogging site/tool doesn’t allow you to set a blog post to go live at a certain date in the future, then you can just as easily write in Word, notepad or email an article to yourself, then set an reminder in Outlook or whatever calender system you use.
That way, even when there are days that you have no time to write, something has already been written in advance, simply my making use of the spare time you DO have.
Catherine
January 3rd, 2009 12:15 am
I have such a hard time getting started; thanks for the tips.
Smart Boy
January 3rd, 2009 4:38 am
Alisa, your thoughts are wonderful. Thank you for an excellent blog post. What I find most beneficial from your points is to really have a good plan BEFORE you start writing.
This has helped me tremendously in writing posts faster – and actually trying to get through and prove the points I set out to write about in the beginning. Without some form of a thesis – a blog post lacks a direction and final “take away” value.
Heatheronhertravels
January 3rd, 2009 8:41 am
That’s all good stuff, but it’s not the writing that takes the time for me. I write a travel blog & what about all the time putting in the links to other sites, to your own posts, to your photos & then the time you might spend putting comments/links elsewhere to promote the post. And what about the time to add photos, putting them on Flickr, editing, uploading, downloading, and generally prettifying.
The writing is the least of my worries.
David A. Shaver
January 3rd, 2009 9:19 am
This is kind of what I do. I get an idea pretty well formed before I start and then write like crazy. If I run out steam in the middle I put it aside for later. I usually spend more time correcting than writing.
brian
January 3rd, 2009 1:26 pm
That is a some very nice tips. i presently have 2 blogs and I am often falling short of time for writing up on these 2 blogs.
I am sure following this advice will help me for sure. thank you.
Brian
junior golf camps
Lauri
January 4th, 2009 4:04 am
1. I open keyword tool (Google).
2. I catch up 4-6 good headers
3. I write one or two paragraphs under each header.
4. I’m trying to write as quickly as possible :)
This works only with my travelling blog because I’m blogging in Finnish.
Mrs. Accountability
January 4th, 2009 1:22 pm
I’ve already tried getting *less* sleep and that doesn’t work for me to be driving in the dark to work at 5am, falling asleep. Can’t neglect the family any more than I already am. So writing faster has to be the solution. I actually find writing fun and enjoyable; speeding through might make it less so. I’ll have to try it and see. Thanks for the tips.
Heather - Grab Bag Reviews
January 4th, 2009 3:55 pm
This is great! I worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar, while I’m typing. I can’t wait to put your tips to good use! THANKS!
6 Figure Blogging Strategies
January 5th, 2009 2:18 pm
Aside from planning my blog posts in my head before sitting down to write, my most effective speed tool is voice recognition software.
I use Dragon Naturally Speaking 9, which allows me to put together a draft post about 5 times faster than I could by typing it out (admittedly, I’m a rather poor typist).
It’s not perfect by any means… If I’m tired or there’s a lot of background noise (in my case, “background noise” generally means my five-year-old daughter), I end up having to correct some mistakes. Still, that just fits in as part of the overall editing process, so it’s not that big of a deal.
Mac Mendoza
January 5th, 2009 3:58 pm
I used to write on close to 10 blogs every week, many posts a week. I was doing well and found out why.
As stated previously; I turned off phones, cellphones and my wireless connection. This makes a world of a difference. I now have half the sites to run and thinking up new ones every day but my writing is as fast and as precise as before.
Having hand written notes on a notepad next to the computer helps a lot too. I scribble stuff down all the time and I find it easier and faster than opening a text editor to take memos down.
I am now running a new blog on Apple Games called http://www.AppleGameShop.com and am committing a post a day. So far so good! I also freelance on other blogs as co-editor and guest poster, as well as offline magazines in my area.
Great post as always Darren, thank you.
RSS Mage
January 6th, 2009 12:12 pm
Great method for conquering the blank page. I’ll give your methods a try when I promote my new site.
ann
January 8th, 2009 12:45 am
i’ll be doing step 3 more often :) i tend to be stuck with writing with good grammar that i lose my train of thoughts, lose some ideas…thanks for this blog post
how about tips on how to choose a catchy “Title” for a blogpost
sometimes people just look at an article title and not read further if it doesn’t interest them.
Aaron
January 10th, 2009 2:35 am
Very good advice, I usually take 40 mins to do 800 words!
aprilx
January 10th, 2009 2:42 pm
800 words in 10 minutes??? I knew it: you’re a robot!
Seriously, I don’t think most people could get there–even with your tips.
Spin Ready Articles
January 11th, 2009 11:12 pm
That’s an interesting one from Alisa. I also noticed that a very good way to write very fast is to use a voice dictation software. There are lots out there that are good but the best among them seem to be Dragon Natural Speaking. It’s a fact that we don’t have much trouble “talking” but lots of us have trouble “writing”. For those who don’t like to nor know how to write fast, fancy using a voice dictation software to “talk” your words out. You will be surprised how fast it can be. And yes – there’s the learning curve with using such software, but eventually they work pretty well.
John G
January 14th, 2009 9:24 am
My trick for writing fast is to always think about who I’m writing for, and to pretend that I’m speaking to her (or him). If I keep my tone conversational, I can write a lot more and a lot faster than if I’m trying to get fancy and “write a term paper” that’s perfect.
Allan Schmidt
February 4th, 2009 11:58 pm
Excellent post. Simple, to the point and yet, still holds great advice.
Eva Wallace
February 18th, 2009 3:46 am
Beautiful! Very good tips. I’ve actually discovered most of these through my own trial and error and it’s definitely the way to go! Very productive 10 minutes, Darren – thanks!
silentgirl
March 6th, 2009 1:20 am
Really great article! I found that #3 applies to me especially. Need to work on that. Thanks for sharing.
YourWritingDept.com
March 20th, 2009 7:58 am
Nice article.
Another way to develop fast writing skills is to participate in Nation Novel Writing Month (November). More information is at NaNoWriNo.org. The idea is that you can create the first draft of a novel (50,000 words) in one month.
Participating forces the writer to let go of certain tasks that tend to bog them down in the writing process.
Cheers
neon
May 5th, 2009 1:04 am
This is kind of what I do. I get an idea pretty well formed before I start and then write like crazy. If I run out steam in the middle I put it aside for later. I usually spend more time correcting than writing.
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