If you want to write a book or if you want to write for a living, one of the biggest factors that will determine if you make a good living with writing is your writing speed. Writing faster is not just a matter of how fast you type. You have to actually compose your thoughts and reduce them into words in a short period of time. Study the information below so you can boost your writing speed.
The bedrock of fast writing
The foundation of writing fast is thinking fast. You are simply recording what you are thinking. The faster you think, the faster you can write. Simple enough, right? The problem is that most of us are undisciplined thinkers. Trying to write down your random thoughts is like trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant. Not a good idea. The key to writing fast is fast but disciplined thinking. You have to edit your thoughts into a form that is ‘good enough to write down.’ This doesn’t happen automatically. It takes constant practice to be able to think in a methodical way so you can easily grab your train of thought and write it down. With enough practice, the result won’t be rambling or illogical but smooth and following a solid logical progression.
Take care of the basics
Before you can type out your disciplined thoughts, you should also work to build up your typing speed. What’s the point of being able to discipline yourself to think at a pace of one thousand words per minute when you can only type thirty words per minute? The good news is that you can work to increase your coherent thinking speed as you try to increase your typing speed. Preferably, you should work on your typing speed first, but you can work on both at the same time. Your goal is to type fast so that you can capture your thoughts faster.
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Lay down an outline that ‘writes’ your content for you
One key part of disciplined thinking is having a solid outline. Your outline helps discipline the flow of your thoughts so you can come up with relevant information or ideas based on your outlines. This increases your chance of quickly writing something that flows easily from the central thesis or theme of what you are writing. Outlines are so powerful because they lay out supporting ideas to the main parts of the idea you are writing about. With the right outline, supporting ideas flow naturally, quickly, and smoothly.
Write first, edit later
Writers who have a tough time writing fast find themselves editing themselves as they write. They want everything they type to perfect. This is a recipe for a slow writing process. Writing and editing happen in different parts of the brain, and switching between them is not efficient. Write first. Write as quickly as you can capture your thoughts. Later, come back to what you wrote and edit your text line by line. By writing this way, you can write long pieces very quickly instead of agonizing over portions of your text. You will be able to finish more text in shorter periods of time.
As long as you have a clear system, writing faster should not be a problem. The more you practice, the more you’ll get at writing quickly. Don’t expect to write rapidly at first. However, as you keep practicing, your speed will improve. Just stick to a daily schedule and keep at it. Writing a lot makes it easier to write more and write faster.
