How to Improve your Writing Speed – 8 Tips
When your line of work involves plenty of writing, shaving down the writing time means you can spend the extra time to do other things. So how do you improve your efficiency and get things done faster? Here are 8 tips that can help you to do just that:
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#1. Set a clear goal
Why do you write? What do you wish to accomplish with your writing? Set the object upfront and write it in bold. That should keep you focused on the goal and prevent your mind from wandering off.
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#2. Use a template
Companies often enforce of templates for any business communication. This is not just for the sake of clarity and consistency but also to ensure the documents can be written quickly.
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#3. Make an outline
When you don’t have any template to follow, just make an outline when you start writing. List the main questions your passage must answer so you can deal with them sooner than later.
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#4. Research THEN write
Getting your research done is especially important when you’re writing non-fiction. Schedule all research and interview before you have everything right there when you start writing. Breaking off the writing session to look up things will hinder your progress.
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#5. Skip the edits
Editing takes time. When you alternate between writing and editing you’ll waste plenty of valuable time. Save the spelling and grammar checking for much later when you’re done. And when you edit, do NOT add new stuff in. You’ll end up having to edit them too.
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#6. Use placeholders
Want to elaborate a point but you can’t the right words for it? Use a placeholder. Journalists often use TK (To Kum) to mark points that should be added later. For instance, when you want to add a quote from a well-known businessman to build your arguments but you don’t want to Google it up now, just write “TK businessman quote” and move on.
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“What’s a TK?”
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It’s just a letter combination that journalists of old used. Since the combo rarely ever appear in English writing, it works. What character combination you use as a placeholder is really up to you. For example, you can use “###”, “***”, or anything else that’s easy to search.
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#7. Take short breaks
When you sit down to write, set up a timer to mark when you should get a break. The recommended interval is 20 minute of writing with a 5-minute break. Forcing yourself to stare at the monitor and squeeze your brains out for hours is bad for productivity.
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#8. Set a deadline and stick to it
George R.R. Martin’s novel is long overdue. He is way past the deadline he had set himself. And if the words flying around is true, The Winds of Winter still won’t hit the bookshelf anytime soon.
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While it’s kind of obvious, setting a deadline gets you up to speed. It didn’t do squat on George’s case, but most writers agree that a deadline is crucial to get the work done ASAP.
The deadline doesn’t have to be for a completed job. It could also be “I must finish the first draft by next morning” or “I must get all party interviewed in three days.” Any deadline is better than no deadline at all.
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Alright, that’s all for now. We hope these simple tips can help you get your writing done faster. Now you are fully armed to get your next work done in a timely manner. Cheers!
