5 Ways To Get Up to Speed
I’m not a fast writer. In fact, I’m a ridiculously slow one. But lately, I’ve picked up a weekly column, a daily deadline, and another blog, so I’ve had to increase the speed of output. Here’s what’s been working for me.
1. Write. Then revise.
Instead of making that first paragraph brilliant before moving on to the next one, simply write everything in one go without worrying about the quality. Vomit out all the information from your brain to the paper, and then spend the next phase of the process in the revisions.
2. Use the TK marker.
One of my time-consuming habits is the need to look up things while I’m writing. If there’s a hole in my research or something I missed in the first go, I need to find it immediately, ending up spending precious minutes, sometimes hours on it. Instead, now I’m learning to simply leave that bit of information out, and do that extra research together after finishing the first draft.
3. Make the internal editor shut up.
The perfection syndrome tends to show up a lot during the first draft when the writing is awkward and you’re not sure how the article is going to be organized. It’s easy to get caught up in the little details and forget the big picture. Don’t worry about the spellings, the grammar, the sentence structures in the first go. Leave that for later.
4. Organize the article. Then fill in the blanks.
One of the techniques that work really well for me is simply to structure the piece by headings first, make a skeleton of the article by noting down bullet points of points that need to be made, and then to fill out the details.
5. Set out a fixed time for the writing to avoid procrastination.
Because I’m easily distracted, I tend to set 15-minute alarms that keep me focused for those few minutes. If you only have 15 minutes in which to complete say, a section of the piece, you’ll get right to it instead of surfing or checking e-mail. And if the work is really boring, the fifteen minute time period makes it easier to get it over with and move on to the next thing on your to-do list.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:42 am
Great list! Do you have any suggestions for *how* to make the internal editor shut up? I have trouble with this because I used to be a professional copy editor, and I can’t seem to turn off that part of my brain.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:21 am
This is a great rundown and I’ve found those short writing bursts are brilliant for productivity. I’ve faced a great deal of fear when it comes to writing. So knowing I can focus for a few minutes at a time helps me get the words down.
Turning off the inner editor is much harder and that’s where writing in short bursts helps too. Free writing is another good way. Giving yourself permission to write badly, or write junk can be very freeing.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Great tips and highly useful! I especially use the TK marker a lot when writing.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Shauna, I’m addressing your question in tomorrow’s post.
Thanks Rebecca and Hope!