Speed Writing
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Speed Writing
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 4
Research ............................................................................................................... 5
Outlining ................................................................................................................ 6
Typing Speed ........................................................................................................ 7
Practice Often .................................................................................................... 7
Dictation ................................................................................................................ 8
Eliminate Distractions .......................................................................................... 10
In-Home Distractions ....................................................................................... 10
Software ........................................................................................................... 11
Writer’s Block ...................................................................................................... 12
Free Writing ..................................................................................................... 12
Switching Subjects ........................................................................................... 13
Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 14
Resources ........................................................................................................... 15
Speed Writing
Introduction
No matter what type of business you’re in online, you probably have to
do at least some writing. Whether you’re a blogger, a website builder,
an indie book publisher, a freelance writer, or even an online shop
owner, chances are you need to write content of some sort.
We all know that time is money, and when you’re writing for your
business, the faster you write, the more money you can potentially
make. But can you really change the speed at which you write? Yes!
You’ve probably heard of speed-reading, but did you know you can
actually learn to write much faster, too? Some people can write up to
10,000 words per day, or even more, without spending every second of
their time doing it. Would you like to learn how?
That’s exactly what you’re going to learn about in this guide. You’re
going to learn how to write any type of content faster, no matter what
it is you’re writing!
You’re going to learn about things such as the importance of outlining,
how to do research, how to improve your typing speed, and much
more. All of these techniques will help you learn how to write more
quickly, and without all of the stress and frustration that can so often
go along with the writing process.
Let’s begin.
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Research
The first step to writing quickly is to gather as much of your research as
possible before you start writing. Even if you’re writing fiction, you
may need some research before you begin. For example, historical
novels must be as accurate as possible, so research is critical. Reviewers
are likely to tear you to shreds if you make mistakes in your research!
And with nonfiction, research is just as important.
Research may consist of:
Internet searches
Books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Notes you create for character profiles, etc.
Physical objects you may need to describe
In fact, research could be nearly anything as long as they pertain in
some way to what you’re writing. Just be sure you keep your research
organized, as it can be distracting and unproductive to have to keep
looking for the information you need while trying to write.
You may still need to do some research during your project, but pulling
together most of what you need before you start will help eliminate a
lot of distractions that can take you away from actual writing.
Try to anticipate the information you’ll need before you start, and
hopefully you’ll only have a minimal amount of research to do
midstream.
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Outlining
Once you have all your research gathered, you can start outlining your
work. Even if you’re just writing a short email for your mailing list or a
simple blog post, an outline will help you remember all of the key
points you wish to make.
An outline doesn’t have to be extremely detailed. Some people work
better with simpler outlines, while some prefer more complex versions.
Find what works for you. Start with a simple outline first, and if you find
yourself constantly facing writer’s block, you may want to move on to a
move complex outline.
Your outline will probably be much more detailed for in-depth work like
books or long-form articles, because more information is needed.
You don’t even have to put it in a standard outline form. The traditional
outline has tiered bullet point or numbered lists, but that isn’t
necessary unless you happen to prefer that type. Instead, it can simply
be a list of points you wish to make in the order you believe makes the
most sense.
You can always edit your outline later, but it’s important to write down
all of the most important elements of your work before you begin so
you aren’t as likely to experience writer’s block. Writer’s block is one of
the number one speed killers, and an outline can significantly reduce it.
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Typing Speed
It may seem like a no-brainer, but a lot of people never even try to
work on improving their typing speed, and that’s a real shame. In fact,
you could potentially double your writing speed just by increasing the
speed at which you accurately type.
There are a lot of programs you can use to assess your typing speed and
improve it. Any program will work fine as long as it also takes accuracy
into account, because you need to learn to type with both speed and
accuracy, as typos can really slow you down.
It’s actually recommended that you write without editing and go back
and do your editing later. Editing midstream can actually cause writer’s
block in some people, but if you are a persistent midstream editor,
learning to type with both speed and accuracy can reduce the number
of times typos distract you.
Practice Often
Even if you think your typing speed is up to snuff, it can probably still be
improved. Even if you have a brain that works quickly and the ideas
flow rapidly, it won’t do you any good if your fingers can’t keep up to
get those words down on the page! Keep practicing your typing and
measure and track your results. The more you improve your typing
speed and accuracy, the faster you’ll write!
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Dictation
Another great way to improve your writing speed is to use a dictation
like Dragon Naturally Speaking to turn your spoken words into text on
the page.
You can check the program out here:
> [Link]
Dragon Naturally Speaking (and other similar programs) will allow you
to speak your words into a microphone and it will dictate the speech
onto your screen.
So what makes dictation so great?
Well, most people speak faster than they type, so it’s more natural for
many users to speak what they want to write instead of having to type
if. Some people double their words per hour, or even more, once
getting the software trained to properly understand their voice.
Keep in mind that text written with dictation software will often need
heavy editing to fix any mistakes the software makes and improve the
punctuation and grammar, but editing is generally easier than the initial
writing.
A few people find they do better when typing because they feel self-
conscious speaking aloud even if they are alone. You might be one of
those people, and if you are, don’t worry about it. You can either keep
Speed Writing
trying—training yourself to work well with dictation software—or just
keep typing.
Remember, though, you’ll never be able to type as quickly as you
speak, so learning to use dictation software is the best way to
dramatically increase your writing speed.
Speed Writing
Eliminate Distractions
Distractions are a huge problem for any writer, and they can come from
many different sources. Children, pets, family, friends, Facebook,
Netflix, video games, television… the list of potential distractions just
goes on and on, and they can be extremely detrimental to the writing
process.
The key is to train yourself to eliminate these distractions so you can
truly concentrate on your writing without letting anything take your
attention away from your writing.
One important key to remember is that you don’t have to write
constantly all day long. Instead, you can break your writing up into
smaller segments during the day. You can write at the times that have
the fewest distractions, thus naturally improving your writing speed.
In-Home Distractions
If you live with other people, or even animals, those around you can
definitely hinder your progress. You’ll even have to deal with phone
calls, random visits, and other such distractions.
The first thing you should do is make sure you have a quiet place you
can go hide when you want to write. This may not always be possible if
you live somewhere without any privacy, such as a one-room
apartment with multiple people, but if at all possible, find that private
place to write, even if it’s a closet or bathroom!
Speed Writing
It’s also important to sit down with the people around you and let them
know how important it is that you aren’t disturbed while you’re writing.
Bring up the fact that they wouldn’t interrupt you at a traditional job to
ask where their jacket is or point out something on television, and that
they can’t do it to you while you’re working at home, either.
Software
There are a number of different programs you can use for distraction
free writing. Some can be programmed to take over your computer so
you can’t do anything but write with it for a certain period of time. Of
course, it will still take discipline to avoid being distracted by your
phone, the television, the refrigerator, etc. But these programs will help
with that by giving you set time limits for writing.
If you’re in a groove, you can always keep writing after the timer
expires!
One program that can help you with distraction-free writing is Blank
Page. They have a simple system that is easy to use and really works.
Check out Blank Page here:
> [Link]
Speed Writing
Writer’s Block
What should you do when you experience the dreaded writer’s block?
Well, the solution differs based on your personality. Some people
prefer to just step away from the work for a while, while others find it
useful to do some free writing as a way to recapture their mojo.
If you find yourself forgetting where you were when you step away
from your work for a while, and it takes you a while to get back into the
groove, then taking a break is probably not right for you. Instead, you
might want to do what is known as free writing.
Free Writing
Free writing basically means you write about anything you feel like
writing, not necessarily on the same subject you’re currently working
on, though it could be, without worry about spelling, grammar, or even
making sense. You just write whatever comes to mind, and you keep
writing without stopping for a defined period of time, such as five, ten,
or up to thirty minutes.
Free writing can help you break through a writer’s block by freeing your
mind from whatever is blocking it. This could mean writing in a separate
document on the same subject you’re trying to complete, or it could be
some entirely different subject—whatever works for you.
Here’s a quick example of a short free writing session just to let you see
how completely nonsensical and useless it may appear to be:
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I have writer’s block so I’ve decided to write about a flower. I’m
writing whatever words come to me as I picture a red tulip
swaying in the breeze. I’m not going to stop writing about this
flower until I decided I want to, and even if I feel blocked I will
keep typing words on the page until my session has lapsed. The
flower is swaying as a bee dips from the sky and crawls between
its petals. As it disappears, I wonder… (END)
The point is not to write something useable, but to kickstart your brain
and get the ideas flowing again. So you truly can write about anything
as long as you keep those words flowing!
Switching Subjects
Sometimes you can clear writer’s block simply by switching to another
topic for a while before going back to the original one. This could mean
writing a different fiction story, choosing a different subject to write
about, or even just researching your next project for a while.
Often, writer’s block happens because of burnout. If your mind burns
out on a particular subject, sometimes taking a step away to write
something else will help clear the block so that when you return to your
original work.
This may not work for those who tend to quickly forget what they were
working on before, but for a lot of people it really can help.
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Conclusion
Writing is never a simple task. It takes a lot of preparation, thought, and
time. Fortunately, you can significantly reduce the time (and potential
frustration) by following the tips we’ve covered in this guide.
Remember these important points:
Gather your research before you begin writing.
Create an outline to help you stay on track.
Work on increasing your typing speed and accuracy.
Use dictation software to write quicker.
Eliminate as many distractions as possible.
If you use these techniques and consistently practice, you will be able
to write faster and faster until you reach a point where you’re more
productive than you ever thought possible.
Whether you’re writing articles, blog posts, emails, short stories, books,
or even poetry, these tactics can significantly increase your production
and reduce a lot of the frustration that goes along with writing.
I hope you’ve learned a lot, and I hope this guide will help you write
faster than ever!
Best of luck!
Speed Writing
Resources
Here are links to some of the resources found in this guide:
Dragon Naturally Speaking:
> [Link]
Blank Page:
> [Link]
Speed Writing