Whether you’re writing an article for your own purposes (for your blog, to drive traffic to your website, or for your company newsletter, to give just three examples), or whether you’re a professional writer crafting articles for profit, speed counts.
Now, you don’t want to rush through your work and do a half-baked job. But, while being careful and turning out a quality article, you still want to minimize the time it takes you to do so.How?
We have five hints for greater speed in writing. Try these on for size:
1 – When possible, choose a topic you’re knowledgeable about. The less research you have to do, the faster your work will go. (No research at all is optimal, though not always possible. Minimal research, at least, will help speed your worktime.)
2 – Before you start actually writing, make an outline or simple list of the main points you want to put forward in your article or blog. You’ll spend less time staring at the screen wondering what to write next.
3 – Put yourself in the reader’s place. What does he or she want to know, to learn, or to read about? Now you know what to write about.
4 – Ask yourself what points you want to get across. You’re not just trying to write a general article about dentistry, or temporary office workers, or plant care. Your writing is undoubtedly more targeted than that. So keep in mind those points — you can even type them at the top of your document (but don’t forget to delete them afterward!) — and look up at them whenever you “lose your way.”
5 – Decide on a title first, even if it doesn’t wind up being the one you use. Creating a title can help you clarify your thinking. You may well change the title after you’re finished writing the article. You may have a better idea for a title as you write, or you may pick up a word or phrase from what you’ve written and play off that to create your title, but having a title to start with will help you focus.