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How to Write Articles Fast: 10 Pro Tips

How to write articles fast is an art form I’ve spent some time perfecting. See, I don’t really want to spend more than 20 minutes a day writing an article. And I spent no more than 20 minutes writing this article.

I realize this is writing blasphemy. But when I have a daily schedule to post on and a business to run, I can’t find more time to write . There simply isn’t time to spend hours polishing every single blog post or writing 2,000-word articles.

Writing quickly doesn’t mean compromising on writing well , though. I’ve got 10 tips to get you in and out of that composition box fast – without sacrificing quality.

1. Keep an idea list

When inspiration for a post strikes, scribble it down in a notebook or word file.

For many bloggers and content creators, finding the topic to write about takes up half the time. Keeping an idea list to capture more creative content ideas lets you leap in to a new post quickly when you’re ready to write.

2. Let your ideas incubate

If you try to force yourself to come up with supporting information for your brilliant idea right away, it’s going to take ages.

Let that topic sit for a few days, though, and you can add new ideas as they occurs to you. And when you’re ready to write, you’ll already have all the supporting info you need.

3. Edit before you start

You’ve probably got twice as many ideas as you need at this point, so it’s time to be brutal with your content editing .

Cut out any supporting idea that doesn’t fit with the main topic of the article. Remember, we’re talking about how write articles fast, not an epic. You can always use the ideas you don’t need for later posts.

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4. Use bullet points

When you learn how to write bullet points , it can make writing an article fast a lot simpler, in terms of organization.

You no longer have to figure out transitions from one idea to the next. The great side benefit is that readers like lists. They’re easier for the eye to follow.

5. Keep it short

If you want to finish that article fast and stick to a schedule , try to keep it under 1,000 words.

Don’t feel like you’re skimping on quality content, either. This article isn’t more than 1,000 words but it’s chock-full of information. Make every word count and you’ll save time without letting quality slip.

6. Stay distraction-free

It’s easier to learn how to write a short article when you can dedicate time to focus on the task. If you can stop distractions and commit to 45 minutes of solid writing time, you’ll be surprised by how much you can get done.

Turn off notifications on your phone, or put it in another room. Only use your web browser for research related to your article.

7. Write in pre-defined time intervals

See how I mentioned committing to 45 minutes in the tip above? It could be 30 minutes or 90 minutes as well.

The point is to set a certain period of time specifically for writing. You can even set a timer to keep you on track. When the time is up, you can do other work.

8. Don’t overthink it

Once you’ve carved out your distraction-free space, you want to start writing as quickly as possible.

Second-guessing your idea is just going to eat away at the time you’ve set aside to write. You can explore other content ideas later. Use this time to complete your assignment.

9. Come back later

When you don’t feel like writing , don’t try to force the words to come.

Save the article and work on something else for a while until you’re no longer stuck. If inspiration strikes, open up that document again.

You can even switch from one blog post to another, spending a few minutes on each as ideas comes to you. It’s a huge time-saver.

10. Never save a good idea

It’s tempting, when you look through your list of content ideas, to save the best ones for later because you think they’ll be easier to write.

You don’t want to save time later, you want to save time now . Do the articles you know will come easily and make the most of that time.

Follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way to writing articles fast.

Jim Estill is the CEO of Canadian computer product company SYNNEX and the author of the Time Leadership blog and book .

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Reader Interactions

Reader comments (424).

September 5, 2008 at 10:17 am

This is superb. Simple & It hit me hard… Keeping life simple yet meeting deadlines are best ways to avoid procrastination.

September 5, 2008 at 10:23 am

Writing doesn’t usually take too much time, but the proofreading is what requires an immense amount of revision and fine-tuning. Fortunately (or unfortunately), I have a dedicated readership who are all too glad to correct grammatical and spelling mistakes in the comments 😉

January 19, 2011 at 9:04 pm

Totally true about proofreading taking longer. I have a bunch of articles an seo company did on my website and I probably spent more time fixing the inaccuracies. The funny thing is, it takes me just as long when I write the articles myself! This site totally helps you stay focused though on whats important.

Thanks for the great tips. I need to work on the time I take to write a post.

September 5, 2008 at 10:25 am

Jim, I do something very similar to this. I have written 770 articles since March of ’07 by using these methods. Every morning I look at my notes from the evening before and turn them into articles. I also keep a notebook with me at all times and have one in my car as well. It can be done! Connie Ragen Green

September 5, 2008 at 10:28 am

I agree whole heartedly that the writing comes quickly when the inspired ideas are there. I also have a full time job apart from my blog, and actually, I blog as a part of my paying gig that’s already writing-heavy, so it can be a challenge.

I think it’s important to interject cretivity into the process and also just be observant. Some of my best ideas are born out of metahpors within my own life or experiences. Mowing the lawn, watching a friend’s kid, things that don’t have anything to do with my topic, which is thrilling, really.

November 17, 2010 at 7:48 am

I often do this same thing, metaphors of everyday happenings are sort of like the melody that my words/lyrics ride in on. What’s really awesome is when a particular experience can go past the metaphor and all the way to allegory – identifying on many many points. Not that I’ve achieved that, but I know it’s feasible. Now I want to read your blog!

September 5, 2008 at 10:30 am

Articles written in a short amount of time are often better than well-researched ones because they come across more original and with more real language.

September 5, 2008 at 10:32 am

I do this all the time. It’s really not that hard to do. Good article and love that they are short and sweet.

September 5, 2008 at 10:41 am

Wow on the 770 articles.

Thanks for the comments.

September 5, 2008 at 10:44 am

My wife always wonders how I can go back and forth between topics. Writing about my kids, then gymnastics, then what is going on in my own head. I thought I was the only one who did this.

Thanks for the great post. I will have to try the game of “have it done by…” sometime this weekend.

September 5, 2008 at 10:52 am

writing several articles about a topic permits me to utilize the research and speeds the development of each article. Frequently one feeds others.

Getting started is always the most difficult part. Once I’m on a roll, I should write day and night. But, you know how that goes.

September 5, 2008 at 10:54 am

I am ADD…I keep a kitchen timer with me and set myself a goal to get a certain number of tasks done before the bell rings…usually for 20 minutes. I have the little wind-up ones and keep them in multiple places around the house.

February 13, 2011 at 11:33 am

I love the kitchen timer idea! It is so easy to lose track of the time while doing anything related to my website. Minutes can easily turn into hours while doing something we are “into”. It’s like the law of entropy. “A gas will completely fill it’s container.” With me, if I don’t set a limit and make a plan of specific things to get done, also within a specif period of time, I will end up spending all my time on just one thing instead of may. Again, thanks for the “kitchen timer” idea/reminder! There are so many good ideas/suggestions on here. Thanks to everyone for contributing. Please keep it coming!

September 5, 2008 at 11:00 am

I agree with the last point of advice…I have found that using bullet points really helps me to figure out what to say by making it easier to see what looks good and what doesn’t. Maybe it’s an organizational or structural thing- but it works wonders!

September 5, 2008 at 11:45 am

Hmmm….Very interesting

You see, I could give you ideas, but I need them for my blog!

September 5, 2008 at 11:48 am

Aside from anything else, point number 4 is excellent advice (it’s all good, I’m just focusing on that one). Don’t hold back your good stuff. Give it when it comes because there’s always more to come.

September 5, 2008 at 11:56 am

Blogger’s best friend: Clarefontaine notebooks. Unlike spiral pocket-size notebooks, you can carry these in a hip pocket for years and they won’t fall apart – and the texture is great. Marvelous tool. Best, they’re exactly the right size to slip 3×5 cards inside the cover.

September 5, 2008 at 11:57 am

Oops – that’s “Clairefontaine.”

September 5, 2008 at 12:06 pm

You had perfect timing with this article. I was struggling with this very thing yesterday. I’ve been working in PR for many years, mostly writing the last few, and I can whip up a press release in 15 minutes if necessary. When it comes to writing for my blog, though, it’s taking me half a day. I have a bad habit of underestimating transitions. Blog writing is different from the more formal writing of PR/marketing materials and I’m trying to get used to writing in a more conversational tone.

September 5, 2008 at 12:10 pm

Oh, this is probably really geeky, but I carry around a digital recorder so when I think of an idea I won’t forget it. It also allows me to start writing if I think of a great title or opening line and I can work through it out loud instead of struggling with a pen and paper.

September 5, 2008 at 12:22 pm

The writing isn’t what takes up time for me, or coming up with ideas. Proofreading and editing are time consuming, looking up links (to my own posts or to other sites), and then finding the right image for my posts. But 20 minute definitely sounds like a timeframe to shoot for.

September 5, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Thank you for the great tips! I’ve been blogging for almost a year, and I can see how this strategy will really help me write better quality articles faster.

September 5, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Great tips. I can’t say I have ever tried writing several articles at once, but I have definitely done the incubator. It works great, especially when I feel I might not have enough ideas for the post. Just write a few, tuck it away and think about it subconsciously.

September 5, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Very good article! I liked it because: 1 – It was clear 2 – It was concise 3 – It was relevant to my needs 🙂 In summary, I have used your techniques to become a better comment writer. Notice how thoughtful and informative my comment is. About the author: John Pash is a veteran blogger with over one dozen posts on his website. In his spare time he likes to spread his unique brand of humo(u)r by commenting on other people’s blogs. John is not and will never be CEO of anything, unless you consider a blog to be a company. In that case, John is CEO, CFO, head of IT and the guy who makes the coffee in the morning.

November 17, 2010 at 8:02 am

John, 1) I appreciated your use of Brian’s Rule of Threes. 2) It was nice to see a mini demonstration of how you comment on other blogs. 3) Your humor is actually intelligent, witty and even funny.

Thank you… for giving me more than a grunt, a smile or even just a chuckle this morning!

September 24, 2011 at 2:26 am

John, man! Your comment made laugh so hard and loud, my wife came to check what was going on. Really, I’ve never laughed so hard with a comment.

The article was great, but your comment is 100x better!

Thanks for this great moment.

September 5, 2008 at 12:44 pm

Love the tips! I must agree with you about the ideas, not the writing…takes so long for me to write an article due to putting ideas together to write a brilliant piece!

September 5, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Great information! I’m definitely adding this to my toolbox.

Kudos for the title.

20 minutes? That’s a really short amount of time and I am unsure I’ve ever pulled that off. Nevertheless, lots of good tips in this article.

I utilize many of them.

September 5, 2008 at 1:22 pm

great tips, I use some of them too, I also carry the notebook to jot down ideas. I forget ideas from one end of the house to the other so I have to!

@ Shae, I also have a mini recorder, and yes I feel geeky sometimes. Especially in public – grocery store or the like, but I don’t care if I look geeky, I just chuckle and do it anyway. Usually embarrassing whoever is with me (the best part).

September 5, 2008 at 1:53 pm

In my experience, articles written off the cuff (or in 20 mins) don’t get many natural links. The articles that I’ve written that were the most popular were also the ones that took the longest to write and rewrite.

I’ve never had a 20 min article get to the front page of Digg or the Top of del.icio.us. Not naturally, anyway 😉

September 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm

A really short time for a good article! Which means that the preparation matters a lot…

September 5, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Thank you for this article, I just started writing my own blog and this is so incredibly helpful.

September 5, 2008 at 3:03 pm

Good tips – it’s all too easy to spend way too long writing a post.

One writing tip that I’d add (though it may lead to violation of the 20 minute rule) is to let the post morph into something different if you find a more interesting angle. I’ve had some great posts grow out of topics that were originally quite different. To keep the time down, when I see that I need to redirect the post I’ll jot down the key points and, as Jim suggests, I’ll let the new concept incubate until the next day.

September 5, 2008 at 3:14 pm

I end up composing many of my articles on the move — especially if I’m running or showering or the like. But I don’t think I can have two or three articles going at the same time and do five minutes on each. I like to think in terms of “writing blocks,” giving myself a solid, undisturbed block of time to crank something out from beginning to end. My projects are frequently so diverse that I have to take what I call a “think around the block” to switch from a pediatrician’s website to a technology company’s white paper.

Still, great tips. Thanks for being such a helpful resource for us all.

September 5, 2008 at 4:13 pm

Picasso used to draw a taurus in five seconds charging a thousand dollars for the job. The Problem is, he worked 40 years to perform such a task

September 5, 2008 at 4:49 pm

Writing an article in 20 minutes is no big deal, editing it in 20 minutes is another story altogether.

September 5, 2008 at 5:33 pm

I find #6 particularly helpful. I’ve usually got a few posts simmering away. First I knock out some subheads, then I fill them in as I can. I often tell myself I’ll just do one section, then end up writing the whole thing.

I usually don’t post the same day I draft, I’ll let it sit overnight and then do at least one edit. Like WDOC, editing takes me quite awhile.

September 5, 2008 at 5:47 pm

Writing articles does take practice but the nice thing about it is the more you write, the better you get.

But you’re right, getting ideas is probably the toughest part, then it’s the proofing.

I like to keep note pads laying around my house (including my nightstand) and jot down things as they come to mind. It’s funny, most of my best ideas come in the middle of the night, …hmmm kinda weird.

September 5, 2008 at 5:48 pm

Great article – simple and to the point. Love the ideas!

September 5, 2008 at 7:56 pm

I’m a huge fan of #7. Whenever I feel like I’m “in the zone,” so to speak, I like to carry that momentum and work on as much as I can while I can.

September 5, 2008 at 10:06 pm

20 minutes per 400~500 words?! I bet the proofreading is not yet included. As your 2nd commentator mentioned, it is the checking that takes an article to finished.

I must admit, I am spending around 2~3 hrs for the same number of words and maybe another 15 minutes while I read it again after posting.

But I am really impressed on how you make different articles simultaneously, as I might be loosing focus if I will be in your shoes.

September 6, 2008 at 3:53 am

Those are great advice. The problem I think a lot of people face is what to write, not the writing itself. I also take about 20 minutes once I know what to write.

That was a problem when I first got started but I’ve since tackled the problem using some tactics I shared on my blog.

September 6, 2008 at 4:27 am

> coming up with the ideas is the tough part. Ideas anyone? Yes. Carry a yellow sticky pad with you in the car, to the movies, wherever. You have more ah-ha moments than you’re remembering. You just need to free up your brain.

To give you an idea of what’s possible, when I first started, at the end of the week, I would have about 10 good ideas (write one idea per sticky post). However, the more I dumped my brain, the more I freed it up for more. I go through a couple of full sticky pads per week now. Now, I use Dragon Speak to put the ideas into Word docs at the end of the week.

Also, here’s a few keys: 1. Edison used personal invention quotas – http://sourcesofinsight.com/2008/01/07/personal-invention-quotas/ 2. The book THINKERTOYS exposes Disney’s imagineering techniques – http://sourcesofinsight.com/2008/05/05/thinkertoys-book-nuggets/

September 6, 2008 at 9:41 am

Thanks for these Great Tips, definitely hits the mark. I keep trying and failing to complete a post in 30 mins.

I like the idea of coming back to the article over time.

I’m using the timer on my cell phone to help me keep to schedule with my blog writing.

I also use its recorder for taking notes that pop into my head when I’m out and about and sometimes when I wake up in the night with a ‘great’ idea. How sad is that.

September 6, 2008 at 9:42 am

very very helpful article! thanks! Really a PRO!

September 6, 2008 at 10:29 am

I can sometimes whip out an article in 20 minutes, if I don’t get interrupted!

When I have a topic that is difficult for me, I start with a title, then write as many separate sentences as I can, quickly getting the facts on the page. Then I rearrange what I have into paragraphs, add an opening, closing, and a few transition sentences…. then see what I have. Often, I have exactly what I need to send to a client!

September 6, 2008 at 10:47 am

Getting ideas IS another story. Brainstorming with other bloggers works best for me when I am stuck.

Sometimes I ask someone who does not blog what they think about “X subject”. That type of conversation often triggers at least one or two points I can use as a starting block.

September 6, 2008 at 10:52 am

i really relate to the third point – dropping ideas. I have a post in mind and but i like to keep my posts short. It’s a challenge but being succinct and focused on only a couple of main points makes for better posts.

September 6, 2008 at 11:08 am

Some interesting ideas Jim, i`ve just launched a blog at http://www.adelto.co.uk/blog (take a look and let me know your thoughts) the problem i am having is finding the stories to begin with. since we write about contemporary living (architecture, interior design, products etc) and also good descriptive pictures. The writing part is the easiest!!

Have a good weekend Richard

September 6, 2008 at 11:33 am

Interesting read, for a number of reasons: I found a confusing use of English grammar in the first paragraph, (“Many of my blog entries are actually less than 500 words so take me less time”) perhaps confirming that you wrote this in 20 minutes or less 🙂 I relished your use of techniques discussed in this very blog about headlines. The article is ‘churned out’ in 20 minutes, but it is an ‘attitude’ of writing that actually gets a good piece of writing (like this one) out in print. And that attitude can not be quantified in any number of minutes, now can it? I also found this article of great use because I can plug in a relevant link to my post about writing good blog posts right about now blogging made easy, I promise

All in all, a great post. Thanks 😀

September 6, 2008 at 1:33 pm

I write a lot of software reviews. To get acquainted with really good software I need at least one to two hours! An example:

http://blogorama.eisbrecher.net/2008/09/04/businesscards-mx-heute-zum-halben-preis/

Do you count this solid preparation too? Can’t imagine that you can do it faster.

September 6, 2008 at 1:57 pm

nice article. must needed for a lazy blogger like me.

September 6, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Ha! It’s not the writing that takes time: it’s the flippin’ formatting problems on Blogger that take ages to sort out. How I wish posting something only took 20mins!

September 6, 2008 at 2:12 pm

These are certainly good tips. My problem is that I procrastinate far too much for keeping to this routine for long. Any tips on how to beat procrastination ? I guess not… the subject is too personal and too complex. W

September 6, 2008 at 2:51 pm

I’m all over the place when it comes to writing. I keep notes and I keep adding to them till I have something that resembles an article. Then I put it into word and clean it up. It usually takes me less than a half hour when it gets to this point. I know this sounds kind of crazy but I actually get even more idea’s for articles this way.

Best regards, ChrisS

September 6, 2008 at 6:14 pm

I like Brian’s advice about only writing (and posting) when you have something to say.

September 6, 2008 at 11:38 pm

I think an excellent idea for a post or better yet a GROUP post would be for us to brainstorm ways to come up with article ideas.

Maybe you should take the lead and in the end make a post with links to our articles with ideas on how to create blog post ideas.

I’m game…. anyone else?

September 7, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Great post. I love articles that have 8 tips or 5 ways or 9 methods. Easy to read, easy to write

September 7, 2008 at 6:56 pm

I never thought that much about my process for writing. But 20 minutes is a small pittance of the time it takes me to produce a post so I’m envious. I’m often guilty of creating two posts in one, which I guess, makes me the Queen of editing.

September 7, 2008 at 9:26 pm

I’m struggled for over 3 months to write for my blog after the first post. At last when I started to write on morning, I completed the post in half an hour. but the editing took me a quite a while. Each time I look at it, I want to change it. At last I posted it in my blog. what matters I believe your confidence and conviction to say what you thought right in your own way. Copyblogger inspired me a lot! thanks!

September 8, 2008 at 3:55 am

I usually write my posts while I’m on the bus or train – about 20 minutes. But as Chris F says, it’s the editing and proofing that takes up a whole lot more time.

September 8, 2008 at 3:59 am

Interested in the start point of 20 minutes. George Bernard Shaw is reputed to have written to a friend with a note saying “sorry it is such a long letter I did not have time to write a short one”. The quality versus quantity versus input time is such a personal judgement that the key question for me is “will 20 minutes do justice to this topic and this readership?” then make the call. All your tips are really valid when that judgement has been made.

September 8, 2008 at 5:10 am

Nice outline of the process. I always wanted to know how to write a good enough content without spending to much time with it. My usual takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours including quick research which is quite a lot.

September 8, 2008 at 12:21 pm

Good stuff …. I’m just launching my webcomic’s blog and was already getting a little writer’s/blogger’s block. This helped clear my head.

September 8, 2008 at 1:07 pm

The advise given here would be useful for sure.

Since there are quite a few bloggers here who are prolific I wanted to know how much time on an average do you spend to write a post? Honestly, for me 20 minutes seems too less a time to write a post. I end up spending an hour usually and it is the images, tags, slug, trackbacks and links which take the most time.

Any advise would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

September 8, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Thank you for this post. I have so much trouble writing material for my website, http://www.garbarrassing.com . So instead of writing them myself. I started to find friends who wanted to post their stories and tales on my site. A few hundred people visit my site a day so convincing my friends that their posts would be seen was easy. I also love to help people out, so if you have any questions about anything, or need some advice, you can follow me @Garbarrassing on Twitter.

September 9, 2008 at 4:19 am

Aren’t we all looking for ways to improve our time management and this his is a great way to really shorten the time for writing great articles. Congratulations for that insight Have fun and success Yani

September 9, 2008 at 5:59 am

good one 🙂 thanks a lot will try to follow this now onwards

September 9, 2008 at 8:28 am

thanks for this wonderful piece. As you have said, the path to good writing is by writing. It is always amazing how much one can do taking this step.

September 9, 2008 at 9:34 am

Blogging can indeed be quick when one is writing for one’s own blog, especially when so inspired. This being written, it’s been my experience that writing for a client, especially multiple clients across various industries, takes more than 20 minutes. It may even be in the best interests to take more than 20 minutes to write a blog article for someone else. Do you have any tips for “agency” type blog writing?

September 9, 2008 at 11:48 pm

Nice to read your tricks….its really hard for me to do the all practices ….. i always confused when writing some type of article, most of time my attention goes to multiple direction, i mean if i am writing an article on mobile technology, so at that time also thinking some thing about how to interrelate other things with it….ok any way really nice post i try to be like you…thanks

September 9, 2008 at 11:53 pm

Thanks for the suggestions! I actually often write my articles in short sessions (I usually don’t hit publish right away, but that is to make sure it reads well an hour later!) and I sometimes worry that I write them “too quickly” but I definitely am always on a clock and don’t want to spend hours on each article. Take care!

September 10, 2008 at 12:16 am

This is truly an insightful post. This post gave me the idea on how to over come writers block. Most of the time i wonder on how to get started on writing an article for my blogs. Usually i writes articles on a single sit. The tips provided above especially the incubation factor found to be an interesting one.

http://www.simplewayoflife.net

September 10, 2008 at 10:51 am

Wonderful post! You were tips were really good. I need to speed up as I have heard of many people saying they write an article in less than 20 minutes.

September 10, 2008 at 11:25 am

I am not a great writer and I learned a lot from your post as I plan to start writing articles and blogs in the future. I especially liked the part about warm up writing, makes a lot of sense.

September 10, 2008 at 11:16 pm

This is great. For me it’s really hard to get most of my articles completed even within an hour, may be since I’m writing more articles on computer programming.

September 11, 2008 at 10:49 am

Heck, that’s really fast!

September 11, 2008 at 9:15 pm

My personal philosophy on this is drawn from Nick Lowe, musician and former record producer, who was (and I guess still is) called “Basher” as a nickname because his creative philosophy was “bash it out now, tart it up later.” (In other words, just get something out quickly, then fix it so that it’s actually, you know, good.)

I find this works pretty well. The “bashing it out” can take twenty minutes for, say, a 500 word piece. The “tarting it up” is a whole ‘nother story. Don’t know how anyone can do it, but hats off to those who can.

September 11, 2008 at 10:38 pm

I find the whole list style blog post a bit over done. I agree that great posts (for me personally) start with a bulleted list but I find it much more enjoyable to consume when the post is a flowing thought vs. chopped up, ordered list. Here’s why:

1. No thought 2. Over used 3. haha, just kidding.

Great post! Check out my blog at http://ryanagraves.com

September 12, 2008 at 10:26 am

Great advice! I write weekly articles and feel like I’m spending way more time on them than I should…and I am! Thanks for the tips, I’m going to give ’em a try right now!

September 12, 2008 at 2:55 pm

With this advice you promote a Quick & Dirty attitude to blogging. It took me a whole day to write “WordPress BackStage”

http://blogorama.eisbrecher.net/2008/09/12/wordpress-backstage/

and it’s still not finished. I intend to “finish” (in the web nothing is ever finished) it on sunday evening.

Why do I take this much time for an article? Because a good article needs it. Content is King! The article, not the clock tells you when it is well done.

For example: When you’re in bed with a fine woman you love: you finish this also in 20 minutes?

September 27, 2008 at 8:48 am

Impressive. I currently write 500 words at about 40 to 50 minutes total but 20 is definitely one goal I’d love to shoot for. Thanks for sharing how you do it!

September 29, 2008 at 2:43 am

Thanks for a great post. Very inspiring and I can’t wait to put your suggestions to the test!

For those of you who commented that you keep a pad with you, voice recorder, sticky notes, etc., I’d like to suggest a Blackberry. With a BB, you can do all of the above and more without carrying all of the extra equipment. Just a thought. 😉

November 6, 2008 at 2:27 am

Thanks for a great post. Very inspiring and I can’t wait to put your suggestions to the test!

November 17, 2008 at 6:10 am

Great Post.I’m going to give ‘em a try right now!

Regards, Novina Ravi http://novinaravi.blogspot.com

November 27, 2008 at 9:37 am

Nice list. Want to earn from google and you don’t know how to make website visit http://quality-website.blogspot.com

December 1, 2008 at 12:27 am

I love it! Great article! I read every word and still want more!

December 6, 2008 at 5:36 pm

suggestion?

How about write what you like, with a full of passion?

Regards, blogged from Indonesia.

December 7, 2008 at 1:04 pm

Great Tips! Will definitely try when I’m writing

Thanks a ton

December 15, 2008 at 2:18 am

Hi! Great Post Jim! The whole article is wonderful and very helpful, but the most I like is #8. Well good work done! keep it up!

December 22, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Excellent post, I find this to be true with me and my writing, I also just sit down sometimes and write what ever the heck flows from my fingers, takes me 10 minutes to write 400 words then I come back in 1 hour and edit the errors for another 15 minutes and post 🙂

January 6, 2009 at 11:58 am

Firstly, thank you for all tips Jim. When it comes to incubation I suppose you’ve considered it as a matter of time in order to come up with fresh mind productions. But I did not get you well when you said about sorting out your ideas, about reducing them to the smaller number. I’d like to learn how you’ve been managing to filter your ideas. I am not experienced in writing articles, but I would like to learn much and with your tips I have partly accomplished it.

January 8, 2009 at 9:51 pm

Number 4 (“Never Save a Good Idea”) looks sensible, but I wonder how hard it is to really let go! I think I’ll stick with the security of a notebook for ideas, for now.

Thanks for the great tips.

January 10, 2009 at 7:04 pm

Thanks for the tips. I find that reading bulleted information online helps me to get to the point quickly and I especially love it when bulleted topics link to longer treatments, when applicable.

I am new to blogging and need lots of help. Love this site and plan to visit often!

Question: Does anyone know where I can find a class or blog on tightening up your writing?

I tend to talk too much, even when I write…lol!

Brevity…any classes on this?

Why some folks have told me that blogging may be just the thing for me.

January 11, 2009 at 12:02 pm

Excellent, I have to agree with Michael, more goods will always come so don’t hold back, simply deliver it hot off the press! 🙂 Remember people, tips like this help get us going in the right direction, the aim is to be efficient at what ever it is you’re doing, in this case it is writing a blog post. Blog writing isn’t always an easy as we like to think it is. Thanks for sharing!

– Mig

January 14, 2009 at 6:06 pm

Twenty minutes is about right to bang out a quality post. My problem is the flow of ideas. When I’m writing, I tend to come up with 10 other ideas for posts and articles and have to fight to keep my focus on the task at hand. I sometimes go from one post to the next without realizing just how much time I’ve been spending writing instead of concentrating on my real work that pays the bills!

January 22, 2009 at 3:53 am

The thing is this 20 minutes is only for writing your first draft. But there’s lot more things to do after the first draft. Proofreading is one of them that is not mentioned here that takes a bit time.

But overall the post is a good post for the people who want’s to write articles daily.

January 22, 2009 at 6:19 pm

All great ideas. I also like to carry a notebook especially when out riding in the car it seems I always think of something that I want to jot down. I think my best thinking comes when driving.

January 23, 2009 at 7:34 am

Very useful post, huh for me good article creation sometimes take all day, but I enjoy what I do and at first must grow to the knowledge level when really You can teach something.

Until that, I think it’s pretty hard. Would be great to hear why I’m not true. I hope I’m not at least 🙂

January 24, 2009 at 4:26 am

Wow… 20 minutes is damn impressive!

January 24, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Just for fun, here are ideas for a blog to bloggers about blogging:

1. Know and Write About Your Readers (People like to read and learn about themselves)

2. The Power and Persuasion of Sincerity

3. Ghost In Your Computer? (Dealing with your PC’s artificial attitude)

Writing in twenty minutes? Inspiring idea!

Thank you for the read.

January 27, 2009 at 4:40 am

Deadlines are always good inspirations, specially when you are writing somethings, these tips are really useful specially the notebook carrying point as ideas keep striking and if we don’t note them at the same moment they can vanish. This is something i have been doing for some time but after reading here i felt good that other people also follow this.

February 3, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Exquisite writing, how luck I am to have found another word smithy that entertains and informs. Thank You Michael

February 15, 2009 at 12:59 pm

I liked the idea of carrying pen and paper. It’s still a very quick and enjoyable way of jutting things down. Your method is helpful for developing several different ideas when they flow in themselves. Cool … I still think about the 20-minutes …

February 17, 2009 at 2:45 am

Although the act of writing may take 20 minutes, it’s still interesting to see all the background incubation that goes into writing an article – which is why, as freelance writers, we charge an hourly rate.

The common argument from cynics is that anyone can write so why should I pay, but as you can see from the steps above in this post, writing is a process and if you want good writing you need to invest in it.

February 17, 2009 at 12:23 pm

Similar to a photographer always carrying a camera with them – carrying a notebook, digital voice recorder, PDA, etc, to keep track of ideas is essential.

February 18, 2009 at 6:20 am

Very well written. It is a good guide for aspiring article writers or just to anybody. With your helpful tips, it makes article writing more fun. Thanks.

February 22, 2009 at 4:42 pm

This is one of the main reasons I keep coming back to Copyblogger, so I can be encouraged to keep writing every day.

I don’t write as fast as the author of this post but am a lot faster than I used to be.

I really liked the suggestion of using your ideas as you are writing rather than trying to save them. This will help me tremendously because i am constantly coming up with thing as I am creating my articles that I think I should put in a different article.

Thanks for a great post!

March 12, 2009 at 1:33 am

But HOW do you monetize your blog and track the results? I like to write, but it gets daunting writing all the time and not seeing a dime! thanks for your advice, [email protected]

March 14, 2009 at 5:19 am

I find I can write much more quickly when I’m writing an article on something I know about. If I have to research first it takes longer – I’m not referring to research time, just the time taken to reread research notes.

March 16, 2009 at 10:59 am

So, your 20 minutes in fact is much more than 20 minutes.

I understand that you used “20 minutes” only to get readers attention. Anyway, it does not matter if it take you 20 or 200 minutes to write an article.

What really matter is that all your articles are really good.

March 17, 2009 at 12:26 pm

I find #4 particularly important. As a creative writer (poet) who has written daily for a long time I can wholly agree that the ideas will come effortlessly when you’re in the zone. So don’t worry about anything except getting started (the warm up idea is great too) and then capturing the stuff that is delivered.

March 25, 2009 at 6:32 pm

Jim … good ideas. In addition to your ideas of “batching” your articles, or writing several at one time, I find that writing article series helps a lot. I sometimes come up with a list of related or serial ideas that I want to cover. Most of the time I have more content than will fit in one article, so I end up writing a series of articles, which sometimes covers beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Other times it goes part 1, part 2, and part 3.

More recently I’ve started taking pictures as I run around town and using the pictures as ideas or jumping off points for my blog posts. For instance, I just snapped a photo of the adult diaper aisle at the store, and used the concept of “embarrassment” as the key theme in a blog post about helping new people in MLM get past their embarrassment of prospecting. I snapped another pic of a local business person who is really successful, even in this recession, and used him as a topic in another blog post. Right now, photos are keeping things interesting for me, sparking ideas. When that runs dry, I’m sure I’ll find another way to keep things interesting. When I’m interested, the writing just flows, and blog posts to come out in 20 minutes or so.

And, as always, practice, practice, practice. Writing 10 blog posts a week kind helps with that! The Hemingway approach. Cheers, Stephanie

April 9, 2009 at 12:56 pm

Well Brian, I’ve never managed to write a complete article without spending of about 20 to 30 minutes of research unless I’m particularly obsessed with the topic.

And I found that it’s a lot easier to write when I have had enough sleep 🙂

April 19, 2009 at 1:56 pm

I have hundreds of topics ready to go, but often I work on one at a time. It takes me HOURS to get a whitepaper finished. Maybe I’ll try this method for a while…

Have a look at the free whitepapers, and let me know if they are doing the job well….

April 22, 2009 at 1:46 pm

This is a great article, and I’m of the opinion that everyone should make a point to write fast. I wrote a book about it several years ago called Writing FAST: How to Write Anything with Lightning Speed which looks at some of the ideas in this article and systematizes the process.

Writing an article in 20 minutes is only half of the equation. The other half is to make sure it reads fast, too.

May 6, 2009 at 10:52 pm

thanks for all the comments (including the challenging ones because I believe in some of them)

May 8, 2009 at 11:22 pm

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject. Very helpful.

How to come up with New Idea for articles ???

1. Find a (need) problem faced by a targeted market 2. Do a research on the issue at hand 3. Provide a solution by writing a post

Everyone loves a solution provider. I think we just need to find some issues , fix it and share with the readers in an entertaining way. In simple terms, find a need and fill it. Cheers

May 11, 2009 at 7:49 am

I usually work the same way, but i didn’t realize that i work systematically.

May 12, 2009 at 12:51 am

I really admire your self-discipline, because I realise that writing blog posts in a fast and productive way and providing quality ideas at the same time must require a lot of patience and skill.

I think we should all learn from your routine so that we can become more efficient at being bloggers, because the most important part of this activity is to enjoy writing and to provide lots of good content for our readers and subscribers.

May 14, 2009 at 9:00 pm

Wow, you write so fast, it takes a lot of time for me to write anything.

May 21, 2009 at 11:33 am

Lovely, i like a lot these tips and i will use it on my articles

June 2, 2009 at 8:06 pm

You are dead ON!! So many times, I have been tempted to “save my best ideas”… even thinking I was “wasting” them on my blog BEFORE I had a bunch of readers!! NOW, I “love on” my list through my blog and e-zine.. really trying to serve them and bring them tangible solutions to build their business. My FAVORITE blog post is the one in which I “debuted” by “Rated R marketing” report… the only one of its kind based on the marketing tactics of drug dealers and prostitutes! Fun Stuff! Thanks for the great post!

June 17, 2009 at 1:58 pm

For me its the opposite.Lots of ideas but so hard to write without spending hours with changing and editing.

June 19, 2009 at 6:04 am

3. Ghost In Your Computer? (Dealing with your PC’s artificial attitude)

June 20, 2009 at 10:41 pm

Very well said… It is the best approach to practice article writing at the start and eventually, you wouldn’t know that your writing skills have developed in no time and become a pro.

June 25, 2009 at 7:49 am

An interesting guide of tips to writing a an article in just 20 minutes. It will help me to write more content in a short time.

June 26, 2009 at 6:39 am

I’m actually not sure if I really would be able to work on multiple articles at the same time – I think I would lose time in switching – by losing concentration on the topic.

June 26, 2009 at 9:30 am

Sam Steiner identifies a genuine challenge to multi-tasking which is called “task switch loss”.

July 3, 2009 at 1:08 am

The momentum factor really helps as i have noticed with my writing. When i get started with just some random writing, or comment on other articles/blogs or twitter, i tend to get more ideas and a better flow is induced and hence the ability to put up some nice articles.

July 3, 2009 at 7:21 am

Yeah right said, Time management is the key . i used to waste 2 hours atleast to research re-research and then writing. thanks, you owe me

July 7, 2009 at 10:48 am

Great List! Your thoughts on incubating ideas was a good one, so often we try to do it all in one sitting…but prepping and then cooking is sometimes the better way to go. I’ve written in my blog about “being creative”…getting ideas, similar thinking…

http://maverick-dean.com/tamora/index.php/archive/how-to-be-creative/ Thanks again! Tamora

July 7, 2009 at 12:12 pm

great article, I always have time problems in writing articles

July 16, 2009 at 8:35 am

very informative article! I need to do several articles and I have no idea how I am going to do it! Now i am more knowledgeable and I hope I will do a great job! 😉

July 25, 2009 at 2:15 pm

I was searching for ways to write faster and came across this entry. These are some good tips, thanks. I guess I just need to get a bit more organized and practice.

August 1, 2009 at 11:34 am

Thank you very much for writing this wonderful article about how to write article and believe me I have learn something wonderful things from here.

Thanks Again Alam twitter.com/alamest

August 7, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Some great tips in here for article writing 🙂

I am just about to indulge in writing 10, so these tips could save me quite a bit of time.

I particularly like the point about writing more than one at the same time, and writing it in chunks.

Some great tips

August 10, 2009 at 7:35 am

Very good list. I have been using a few of these tips myself and find that writting in batch is very helpful and now that I read this when things are flowing. spend 5 -7 minutes a couple articles at a time also works well. I usually work on my stuff in 3-4 stages.

Idea’s > Deeper dive > Find some Revelate links and picture > Final Edit proof and review.

Very helpful post.

August 23, 2009 at 1:02 pm

Thanks for the simple and useful tips. I am also working full time and still trying to follow writing as a second carrier. It is nice and releiving to see that there are other people like me and they are finding ways to get over the problems.

September 1, 2009 at 10:13 am

Excellent article. I’ve been trying to come up with ways to write quicker that would actually work for me, and this sounds do able. Thanks.

September 11, 2009 at 10:08 pm

I’m in line with the great thinkers like you. I use to have ideas-useful enough, but never in written form for other to glimpse. I need to sit down and learn to put ideas down, having come across these wonderful tips from Jim Estill. Pls, accept my warmest regards.

September 12, 2009 at 8:31 am

Nice post. thanks – I just started writing articles – non-corporate and I have so much information and I normally write 3-6 articles and somehow combine them, this makes me feel much much better – thanks.

September 12, 2009 at 11:53 am

Really helpful tips, indeed. The point that writing an article in 20 minutes is amazing because it saves time and utilize the brain while it’s fresh. But, on the other hand if you nothing flows out of the latter, then it doesn’t work. That is why, I liked your idea of putting down ideas that might come anytime and anywhere. For instance, I get very creative and inventive among people or in the street. I even wrote some poems while being amongst people. That is also obvious when we put good ideas in an article better ones come later and that is how we get richer and riches in their production. Thanks a lot for your tips.

September 19, 2009 at 5:32 pm

Since I committed myself to contribute weekly articles to an online magazine, I find it harder and harder to get things done. I read your article and find your tips are very helpful.

September 21, 2009 at 11:42 pm

Great advice for sure. I am looking to boost my daily writing output as a freelance writer and I love the tips about “get X amount done by X time” and the “warm up writing.” I may try the warm up writing trick soon. Thanks!

September 25, 2009 at 2:00 am

Wonderful post! You were tips were really good. I need to speed up as I have heard of many people saying they write an article in less than 20 minutes

September 28, 2009 at 2:31 am

I enjoyed to see this site and I am searching for this kind of site if available .pl. mail me. thank you. Majid

October 2, 2009 at 10:58 pm

A really short time for a good article! Which means that the preparation matters a lot…

October 6, 2009 at 10:36 am

You said it, “coming up with the ideas is the tough part.”

October 12, 2009 at 9:07 am

Thanks for the information. This was very helpful. It is hard to write articles, specially when you ran out of ideas.

October 15, 2009 at 3:00 am

Typinator Spell Catcher Diigo Ulysses And working on three or four articles a week are does it for me. But I’m still not down to 20 minutes. Seems like I spend more time with rewites and careful revisions.

October 19, 2009 at 3:15 am

I suffer from punctuation and organization my ideas I appreciate any professional one want to help mea

October 20, 2009 at 7:33 am

Thanks for your tips, I usually take at least 2 hours to make one article.

October 20, 2009 at 12:59 pm

Great piece and one I recommend to friends who want to try blogging and also in my blog on procrastination. What I like about this is that it forces one to start writing without getting stuck on structure. Editing is always going on but once you take that leap and write the first draft, it becomes easier to finish the project. Thanks! Cheers, E

October 25, 2009 at 9:42 am

Thank you for your great tips! I thought it is very hard to write article and spend much time on writing but it’s not bringing the good results be cause idea is come and gone so quick.

November 2, 2009 at 2:38 pm

I’ll be honest – As an article marketer, I hate pumping out article after article. Can get very boring, BUT – the info you’ve outlined here is something that anyone can follow to bang out informative articles quickly! Good post 🙂

November 6, 2009 at 10:46 am

This was very helpful. It is hard to write articles, specially when you ran out of ideas. And when you are not that good writer!

November 14, 2009 at 9:52 pm

20 minutes…!!!Really after reading that I agree with that may be not definitely it’s possible to write an article in 20 minutes… But don’t know about me..I could do that or not!!

November 17, 2009 at 5:42 pm

I get my ideas from read ing other blogs. I have a backlog of blog posts that need to be fleshed out–the 20 minute part.

I liked this post by the way.

November 20, 2009 at 11:03 am

Thank you for tip number 5.

It’s so hard to get past writer’s block. I’m going to start doing it. Most of the time, when I see something interesting on the net I just bookmark the page so when the time comes that I need it, it’s just right there on my toolbar.

Excellent post! Love it.

November 27, 2009 at 12:33 am

20 minutes? That’s amazing. I spent at least 1 hour due to editing and making sure my grammar and spelling works.

November 27, 2009 at 12:30 pm

I like this , keep it simple and let it flow. I often do what I call priming writing when I lack courage( that is what my problem is most days when I am afraid to write.) When I just writing anything to get the juices flowing. Good deal!

December 2, 2009 at 12:55 pm

Probably one of my biggest stumbling blocks is writing. Perhaps I am too much of a perfectionist. Great tips, I hope to incorporate them into my regimen.

December 17, 2009 at 6:56 pm

I love the fact that you break it down into a couple 5-7 minute sessions on each blog. When the juices aren’t flowing it is very easy to daydream or procrastinate. If you hit a block you can come back to it later and do something else more productive. Great advice!

December 18, 2009 at 7:50 pm

I do love bullet points, I think it’s the way forward in sharing information on how to get stuff done. It’s always harder to massive chunks of text. Saying that, I’ve never written in bullet points – unless it’s the planning part. Maybe I should try it out.

I love this website, glad I found it =]

December 22, 2009 at 11:48 am

I start with bullet points and expand from there. Most of the time the finished article format is not in bullet structure when it’s posted. I think of it more as an outline of what I want the information to cover.

My ideas seem to come in waves so I’ll scribble down several topics and hold for later when my mind has gone to mush.

January 10, 2010 at 6:10 am

A top 5(or whatever) list like this is easy in 20mins because the format is already given. You simply take your idea points and add a couple sentences. Where as a narrative type article will and should take you longer. There’s more editing to get the concepts in proper order and your ideas to flow. Just my 2cents. Cheers.

January 10, 2010 at 11:50 am

January 14, 2010 at 7:31 pm

Thanks for the tips. I think the bullet points are especially useful to get the ideas outlined.

January 15, 2010 at 3:25 am

I shoot for 20 minutes, but somehow it always seems to take a couple of hours. Haven’t been at it long though so I’m hoping it gets easier and faster with practice. I read recently that the secret to article writing was simply to 1. Tell them what you are going to tell them 2. Tell them 3. Tell them what you told them.

January 22, 2010 at 8:56 am

I like this article and it’s good to get an insight into how other copywriters work. With regards to #7 I would struggle to jump from one article to another like that, I much prefer to concentrate on one at a time.

January 27, 2010 at 2:19 pm

The way you write is great enough. Although it varies man to man. I can’t write on this way as it’s not possible for me to concentrate my mind on a topic if i leave it now.

January 28, 2010 at 6:41 pm

Great list. Maybe this will help me over come my inability to finish an article on time.

February 1, 2010 at 5:40 pm

You just inspired me to write a new newsletter article in under 20 minutes – so yes, it can be done. Great blog – wonderful information here.

February 9, 2010 at 8:34 am

The incubate idea works. I do that all the time. 🙂

February 19, 2010 at 6:38 pm

20 minutes! i wish i could get my articles done in 20 minutes, takes me hours to get each one to a state that i feel ok publishing it, and even then ifeel the article could do with more time spent on it to make it flow better. wish i could afford a proof reader but i hear they charge almost £20 per article and i can’t afford that much

February 21, 2010 at 12:23 am

Those are some great tips for writing!

February 22, 2010 at 4:31 pm

I can write it in 20 minutes too – no problem. But translation to english takes me hours.

There is a big trade off for foreign writters since english is not our language. How can we compete against native speakers? Hmmm it’s impossible.

February 25, 2010 at 1:33 pm

Writing 3 – 4 articles at one time is so helpful. I take it you mean on related themes. And, yes, the idea of “incubating” an article is so necessary.

So you carry around a notebook? Principles for organizing ideas will never change.

March 3, 2010 at 12:41 pm

I can sometimes get a post written in 20 minutes but the editing always takes me a lot longer. The tips you give in this article are really useful. But even more useful is the example you set by your behaviour.

March 26, 2010 at 1:25 am

Thanks for the “quick tips” – I’ll implement these right now and pump out some content 🙂

What about getting ideas from reading other blogs?

What about building content from prior blog posts?

What about rehashing old content, updating, revising?

March 30, 2010 at 9:21 am

This is so somple for me to practice. I have practice half of these techniques its great for my time and the quality of my articles.

April 6, 2010 at 12:29 pm

great article thank you for share

April 12, 2010 at 6:26 pm

When I first read the title I was like, “No way!” But then I guess if those steps were properly implemented, you are a living proof that it can be done.

April 12, 2010 at 9:16 pm

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about how to write posts or articles quickly. They help a lot even though the goal of 20 minutes is a tough one to achieve.

I wanted to find out that if you take into consideration writing down good ideas and incubating the ideas and then finally writing it down how much time do you think that takes on average.

Thanks in Advance.

April 13, 2010 at 7:33 am

im going to write my first article thanx for ur suggestions

April 13, 2010 at 2:57 pm

Thanks for writing this! After reading it I decided to try writing my first blog article, and I think it turned out fairly decent. (I spent 23 minutes on it … shh! Don’t tell!)

May 5, 2010 at 10:42 am

Great ideas, thanks! I just recently discovered a great tool that has helped me cut down on my writing time.

http://writeordie.drwicked.com/

Write or Die is a web application that encourages writing by punishing the tendency to avoid writing. You start typing in the box. As long as you keep typing, you’re fine, but once you stop typing, you have a grace period of a certain number of seconds and then there are consequences.

Check it out.

May 14, 2010 at 7:49 am

Thanks for the tips. Great starter for writing articles I have recently started looking at writing articles to make money on the internet, and happened to stumble across this product. It helped me to improve the standard of my writing, and over time, the speed of my writing as well.

May 24, 2010 at 8:26 am

May 25, 2010 at 12:10 am

I don’t think so that, it is possible for everyone to write a article in 20 minutes. The way you have mentioned in your post takes more then several hours. You excluded the brainstorming period from your 20 minutes. It’s embarrassing.

May 31, 2010 at 5:25 am

I was never very good at writing, so 20 minutes for an article is better than I could ever dream!

June 3, 2010 at 3:27 am

20 minutes? That’s amazing.Thanks for the great tips

June 7, 2010 at 10:54 am

Well pretty much spot on. It is also very important that you do not linger into a single thought when you’re having a hard time digesting it, proceed to the next thought than waste so much precious time in a single thought that could have been drowned with various others had you spent your time wisely on proceeding.

June 12, 2010 at 10:48 am

Thank you, it is very useful.

June 13, 2010 at 8:59 pm

Thank you for the guide. I hope one day it will take me only 20 minutes to write an article.

I am fairly new to blogging and it seems to take me forever to write an article. I think the time also depends on how much research you have to do.

June 15, 2010 at 5:59 am

Thank you for the guide!

Ebizdame, there are all sorts of ways to train yourself into writing quickly and concisely: I have in the past found Julia Cameroons small course ‘the artists way’ ( http://www.theartistsway.com/ ) particularly useful, especially as a way of training yourself to produce larger volumes of material.

June 18, 2010 at 4:40 pm

I have to recalibrate my blog expectations. After reading this, I’m spending waaay too long on my posts.

June 23, 2010 at 9:04 pm

The way you write is great enough. Thanks

June 30, 2010 at 10:07 am

thanks for the tips. it’s really helpful. great!!

July 5, 2010 at 7:27 am

Thanks for the interesting article 🙂 20 minutes sounds pretty reasonable.

July 9, 2010 at 2:30 pm

This is really superb, and it is very useful for me.

Thanks alot for this great post.

Thanks dude.

July 11, 2010 at 4:34 am

Great article and interesting approach. The only flaw for me personally, I am convinced tip 2 ‘incubate’ would work for most people though, is that ideas about work need to linger around in your mind for incubation to happen. My preference is on switching off completely after activities I consider ‘work’. Thank you.

July 20, 2010 at 5:23 am

This is exactly what I need! I’m an Asian guy and my tongue is trained with a different language which cause me to have some difficulty writing in english because constructing words in english is so different from my native language. This entry gave me the best idea on how to make it right. Thank you!

July 24, 2010 at 6:31 am

Great Post, I am a article writer and i write articles from last 1 year. Your post is very helpful. It has helped me lot till now i cant write articles in 20 min but it takes less time compare to previous. All the best for writing more same kind of helpful blogs.

Regards, Ana Watson

July 26, 2010 at 8:17 pm

Thanks for sharing! Your ideas will really help me.

July 31, 2010 at 7:30 am

Thanks so much for these great tips, please how can I achieve this feat from the scratch, I would like to start article writing seriously.

August 3, 2010 at 8:07 am

i liked your concept of writing the article in only 20 min and appreciate the way you do it. Altough i am not that intrested in writing articlz but love readin it.

August 3, 2010 at 12:32 pm

I write one article at a time. I just don’t like to divert my attention towards something else because it will easily mess up the thought flow.

August 3, 2010 at 1:29 pm

Hi, This is a very nice and informative post. When we write articles in 20 mints it may have some errors and grammar mistakes, can you tell us the way to be perfect in such a short span of time.

August 5, 2010 at 5:18 am

Nice Post, This is one of the best article writing tip. It will really help all the article writers specially freshers. Thanx for such a good information. All the best for future.

August 6, 2010 at 9:34 am

When you’re on the web, writing well but also writing quickly is a good skill to have. I’ve outsourced a lot of my articles but I never quite get the quality I expect, so I’ve reverted back to writing my own articles. This will certainly help. Thanks!

August 6, 2010 at 9:54 am

Whilst I fully agree with most of your points, and have written several articles on this subject myself over the years, I do disagree with what you say about writing several articles at the same time:

“I often write 3-4 articles at the same time. Spending 5 minutes on one, 7 on another etc. When I am really in writing flow, this works well.”

How can this be a recommended approach to writing? Do you see renowned authors switching from one novel to another every few minutes? Do people communicate well whilst having 3 or 4 different conversations simultaneously?

Write one article at a time, starting at the beginning and ending at the end, as this will certainly produce a much more fluid and properly structured article rather than the fragmented and confused articles likely to be generated using this method of writing.

September 1, 2010 at 7:06 pm

Hi, Justin. My experience leads me to disagree with you. I’ve served as an executive speechwriter for eight years and a journalist for seven years . With three to four speeches/articles all due by (the same) day’s end, I wrote as I thought. I happen to think in multiple streams of consciousness (is that just a nice way of admitting I must have ADD?). I rapidly switched among the projects as ideas occurred and bits of research surfaced. That’s how the writing got done.

And no, “starting at the beginning and ending at the end” is not the recommended way to go for me — it tends to stifle my creativity. Does anyone else find this true for them?

Case in point — when I wrote this reply, I started with what is now the last paragraph — ’cause that was the point I wanted to make originally. This paragraph is the last one I will write before I hit “Post Comment.”

Now let me be clear: when editing, I focused on one piece at a time. That’s where the cohesiveness and fluidity get built in, after the fact.

Having said that, I do think 20 minutes is more useful as a challenge to beat procrastination/writer’s block than it is an encourager of quality work. I’ve read a lot of writing on the Web that enticed me with their titles but let me down at article’s end. It’s obvious the writers spent a lot of time thinking about SEO for the title and gave short shrift to the content.

August 6, 2010 at 10:38 am

I’m with you, Justin. There is no way that writing 3-4 articles at the same time will produce quality work. Come to think of it, perhaps using that technique is why outsourced work is so awful.

August 10, 2010 at 11:12 am

This has to be the best writing advice I have received. I have always detested writing but after maintaining a diary, I find it easier to start writing. Writing blogs are different from standard college writing and business writing. Once I leave college, the process will be a lot easier.

August 12, 2010 at 5:57 am

I take no more than 30 mins to finish an article, but the extra 15mins I spend every time intentionally to work out the things I’ve missed out in my article.

So an overall article daily takes 45mins of my time. I would need to reduce my article writing time so that I could lessen the time taken by me to write an in-depth article.

August 15, 2010 at 12:49 pm

Hi, and thanks for the brilliant idea about writing 3-4 articles at the same time. I’m certainly going to give this one a go because I suspect it will greatly reduce the ‘down’ time I need to give to my brain between writing and editing by introducing a write/edit/write/edit regime.

Thanks for all your fantastic articles.

September 1, 2010 at 11:11 am

Love these! I too employ some of these tips and will definitely try out the rest! I’m interested to see how the tip of writing for a few minutes, then stopping, later coming back for a few minutes.. will work out for me!

September 2, 2010 at 1:03 pm

Very nice but not really practical as what works for you might not work for the other person at all, and i must say I find it very difficult for my self to achieve writing an article even in 2 hrs.

September 4, 2010 at 5:36 pm

Wow you are quite a multi tasking person.. doing several articles at the same time… I don’t think many can do that but nice to know how a real writer works ..A lot of thinking is involved.

Nice article 🙂

October 6, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Hi! I love the way you write your article. I will try to write like the way you did. I am a newbie in writing and I need a tips like this. Thank you

October 26, 2010 at 7:12 am

Bullet points and lists help me a lot too.

I’m much faster at writing articles than I used to be, but your tips may help me cut my writing time down a lot more. Fantastic list! 🙂

One thing that really slows me down with blog posts is finding images to include. I know that people like to see pictures in posts (I do too, when the pictures are good and/or interesting) but finding free images that are okay to use (yes, I follow the rules! :)) can be tricky sometimes.

October 27, 2010 at 2:53 pm

Thanks for the great tips about the bullet points. I need to work on the amount of time I spend on writing articles.

October 31, 2010 at 4:42 am

Thanks for the tips…Yeah, the time to write a 500 word article usually takes 20-30 minutes… But once I have written an article I get a sense of accomplishment which stops my desire to write another article immediately…

Also, articles with 400-500 words are ok for the blog posts..I prefer writing long articles sometimes even up to 2000 words.. I have got better results with longer articles than the short ones..

Here is an article that I wrote which agrees with all of the points you have discussed here: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/384745_how-to-write-an-article-a-step-by-step-guide

October 31, 2010 at 11:43 am

Is it possible to be so centered in your business that it’s hard to think of new and interesting ways to convey your information? That pretty much sums it up for me! I need someone who is good at writing articles, posts, blogs, whatever it takes. My site has lost rank since we redesigned it. Help! Taking offers!

November 3, 2010 at 10:58 am

This is an excellent article. Now it takes me about 1 hour to write an article. I need to implement the above plan to be able to write more articles in less time by making me a list of like ideas for few days writing as many details as possible. Then write the article.

November 5, 2010 at 3:10 am

That’s a great little guide, always writing articles, but this really help me in regards of time efficiency.

November 8, 2010 at 1:04 pm

Thanks for the tips. I do believe that planning to write and having ideas and points in your mind is the road to success

November 17, 2010 at 3:12 am

Nice post you have here. I know it’s tough to write especially if you’re not really a writer. I always carry a notebook and a pen with me. So, once an idea popped in to my head, I would write it down. Ideas usually come in when you are more relax.

November 17, 2010 at 9:44 am

Wow! No wonder that this page hits five in page rank. This is a great article with a very interesting tips. Keep on posting man.

November 26, 2010 at 9:16 am

Great Post. I am studying article writing at the moment and best ways to achieve more productivity. Great info on the site. Thanks.

November 30, 2010 at 11:11 am

I just wrote an article this afternoon, but unfortunately, it took me even more than 1 hour. It seems that I do have long long way to do.

December 8, 2010 at 11:43 am

Bravo! finally someone agrees with me, articles; particularly when written for the web no not have to be mine novels. Readers rarely have time to read articles which are multiple thousands of words long, better to create shorter four to six hundred( even 300 or 400 hundred words) word articles, which are informative and authoritative.

January 1, 2011 at 10:53 am

Awesome article! Read this and produced a great article in around 30 minutes. Have to shave 10 minutes off somewhere still 🙂

January 3, 2011 at 4:39 pm

How about this? #1 Audience (writing for whom?) #2 Why they would be interested? Content is King, Yes! #3 Keep it short, Yes!

Question, how to attract an editor’s attention?

January 11, 2011 at 2:39 am

This is a very helpful post on article writing. Article writing is the most challenging task if you are a blogger, and you’re not a writer, it’s really difficult. Thanks for the tips, this definitely will help me get through.

January 13, 2011 at 2:11 pm

Thanks for a very helpful post, I also liked your concept of writing the article in only 20 min and appreciate the way you do it. Thanks 🙂

January 13, 2011 at 9:00 pm

Spot on! Even before I had read this, I have already been doing my own version of coming back to it later when I’m stuck, and trying to discipline myself to stick to the 20- or 30-minute rule. Otherwise, you won’t be able to churn enough articles to pay for a cup of latte.

January 18, 2011 at 9:56 pm

Bullet points are my favorite way to shorten things up and make it easier to read.

January 19, 2011 at 3:31 pm

Wow very good tips from everyone that posted here about article writing this will really help me i am not much of a writer however need rticles out here to brand my business and expertise.

January 19, 2011 at 6:14 pm

I love all the tips about writing articles quickly. I can certainly use these tips.

Thanks for sharing.

January 28, 2011 at 12:41 pm

“…don’t try to force the words to come”. Good idea! But what do you do when you are running out of time?

February 4, 2011 at 12:27 pm

This is great! This really helps me as I just started writing articles and blogging. Thanks!

February 6, 2011 at 4:42 pm

I can write 4 articles an hour – it takes practice but entirely possible. The best I have done is 38 in one day…..which really helped my earnings!

February 12, 2011 at 12:39 am

Simple and effective technique for writing article in short time. Quite impressive. Really we need to follow something of this sort if we want to write many articles. Thanks for putting together all these ideas.

February 17, 2011 at 4:11 pm

Great tips especially to the novice writer like me. I always bring a notebook with me wherever I go because ideas often pop up when you least expect them.

February 17, 2011 at 10:27 pm

I’ve written a fair number of pages for my website and I am pretty sure I have never been able to complete a page in 20 minutes, from first keystroke to publication. And then there are other steps that I have to perform to bring attention to my newly completed page – updating Delicious bookmarks, site map, xml file to tell Google to come find the new page, announcing it on Facebook and Twitter. I suppose automation tools would be helpful. Furthermore, when I write new pages, I take the time to cross-link internally – this provides guidance to the reader to stay and read more plus it is important for SEO (internal linking is important for Google).

February 25, 2011 at 6:56 am

Can’t quite see me getting an article done in 20minutes yet, but your guide is certainly something to put in practice and see how I go. I am new to article writing, and haven’t thought of listing my ideas, I just struggle for ideas at time. Great tip , thanks.

February 25, 2011 at 8:17 am

I went back and read my original comment to this post, in September of 2008. It’s amazing to see how far I have come since then because of my articles. I encourage everyone to use article marketing to build a business online – it works!

February 26, 2011 at 11:49 am

I’m taping this to my wall.

Naturally, I assume that I have to create a masterpiece every time I write. I am addicted to over thinking and perfectionism.

Your awesome article forces me to focus on what matters, not what I think matters.

(Written in two minutes. Working on cutting this down.:)

March 3, 2011 at 5:52 pm

Great tips, I actually make a list, but I don’t really stick to it as always new ideas come up and I keep changing the list. What I’m finding useful recently is saving the drafts on my site so that I feel the article is started and I can go back to it easily. Not sure I can write it in 20 minutes though…

March 4, 2011 at 8:38 am

But, how long did it take to write this article?

March 4, 2011 at 2:41 pm

Wow, the universe does work with you when you are suppose to do something. I was preparing to write an article to submit to a article directory when I stumbled upon your article. Talk about great timing, it does not get any better than this. I believe this is my confirmation that I suppose write this article.

Thanks for all the helpful tips.

March 8, 2011 at 4:14 pm

I’m applying this article as we speak and came back to it for additional insights. Thanks for the list, thanks for keeping short, sweet, and to the point, and thanks for continuing to share great content!

March 20, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Wow, man! No way that I can write an article in 20 minutes, even if I’ve been prepared for it. But great tips, thnx for sharing and inspiring us.

March 22, 2011 at 9:12 am

I will have to be the proverbial exception. In the past 13 months, I have written, at a rough estimate, something approaching two million words in the nearly 3,000 reviews I have done on StumbleUpon.

My methods can’t be summarized because they’re organic and vary enormously from review to review. Some articles essentially write themselves: Some connection is made, some inspiration found, some metaphor dictates the flow, and the whole emerges fundamentally in its final form in anything from 20 to 40 minutes (that’s for a 900-word article, and I’m not a fast typist). Others are grueling: I need to seek half a dozen sources to cite and from which to add images, the information I’m presenting has to be checked and cross-checked with sources on both sides of the issue, and the resulting 3,000-word draft article must then be condensed to fit the space available; in such cases, an article may require several hours, but the result is often of such worth that those who read it are moved to commend my efforts, and — for me, anyway — that is enough to justify them.

Of course, I’m a notorious perfectionist. 😀

April 7, 2011 at 12:41 am

these are simple yet profound tips. I have found that I am spending way too much time and energy pumping out article after article. I am certain that I can write quality articles is around 20 minutes by following these tips.

April 8, 2011 at 8:34 am

This is great! I can certainly use these tips.

April 13, 2011 at 6:38 am

This post is great. Thanks for the information. It really helps me because I’m trying to write fast to be able to cope with my tasks.

Keep it up and good luck!

April 15, 2011 at 5:50 am

I always find that I have brilliant ideas for blog posts just as I fall asleep. Now I have a pen and paper by the bed, to jot them down. I have had some great ideas, and thought “oh well, it is so good I will remember it in the morning” and by morning they are well gone, never to return.

I write any ideas I have in the drafts page on my blog, so that when I have some writing time, I also have some topics ready and waiting. By having a collection together, it is easier to spend an afternoon writing up enough posts to last a week, and much more efficient than doing one each day.

April 21, 2011 at 12:19 pm

Excellent advice. I particularly enjoyed #7- “Never save a good idea”. That’s brilliant. I’ve found that if you strike while the iron’s hot, the best ideas flow fast and furiously. But if you wait for later, you may find yourself wondering ‘what was I thinking exactly anyway?” Thanks for sharing such sound advice in a world full of rehashed clutter.

April 25, 2011 at 12:23 pm

This is amazing…these tips really work. My writing skills are improved upto 20% after reading this article 🙂

May 2, 2011 at 12:39 am

This is excellent suff. 20 minutes certainly would be an excellent goal to aim for. Unfortunately for me I need more time so I can make sure my content is quality and not boring with fluff.

I like the idea to let my thoughts and my ideas to sit for a 3 days. Who knows what inspiration can start flooding through.

May 5, 2011 at 9:32 am

I have been spending altogether too much time on each article. I’m not going to bookmark this post. I’m going to print it, tape it up where I’ll see it, and memorize the ideas. Then my productivity will shoot through the roof. Thank you.

May 5, 2011 at 10:27 am

Thanks for these tips. I’ve been lucky if I can finish an article in an hour. I’m not going to bookmark this post and lose it among all my other bookmarks. I have printed it and intend to study it daily before I start to write anything. If I can even get down to half an hour (for my 1000+ word articles), my productivity will skyrocket.

May 5, 2011 at 10:29 am

Oops. Sorry for what looks like a duplication. I refreshed the page a couple of times and didn’t see my comment, so I tried again. But I mean it. These ideas will help me a lot.

May 9, 2011 at 12:19 am

I totally need to limit myself to a certain time frame to finish writing as I so easily get distracted and always ended up spending more time than it actually needs!

Thanks for the great article!

May 16, 2011 at 1:08 pm

Excellent article on how to write article in 20 minutes

June 13, 2011 at 10:44 pm

Sigh. I’m an economical writer, but there’s just no way I could write an article in 20 minutes, but now I’m starting to think seriously about this. One thing he mentioned that I’ve always done is to draft something up, then come back to it–preferably the next day, though I don’t always have that luxury. There’s something about a thought having time to percolate that provides clarity.

I also keep a list of ideas that I develop and repurpose on my blog, articles, newsletter and social media posts. I get a lot of mileage out of my writing. Many of these are pulled from the marketing newsletters and website to which I subscribe. Spend an hour/day perusing these sites to stay on top of what’s going on, sign up for webinars and best of all, steal ideas.

June 29, 2011 at 2:44 am

This short article proves the author is a real genius. Several text lines resulted in a long discussion. That’s what I call “alive text”. Don’t you think that most of the words we write should force human minds to work. Not to agree or disagree with us silently, but to think it over?

July 19, 2011 at 1:22 pm

wow, 375 comments… I just read your other post – top ten blogs and that is also nice…. this number of comments is a true evidence that your blog deserves the top spot.

July 19, 2011 at 1:31 pm

Great article, I really appreciated the main points of your writing. I’m always looking for ways to better my content, and this has helped immensely.

July 20, 2011 at 10:26 pm

I also happen to have a very tight schedule, so this post really lifted up the burden in my shoulder, as the quote strikes me: “Writing quickly doesn’t mean compromising on writing well, though.”

Thanks for the great post!

July 28, 2011 at 6:05 am

Thanks you so much for that list – I am the worlds best at saving my best content for later – to be honest I have around 20 pages of content on my computer right now (not to mention videos) just waiting for “the right monent”. What a douch 🙂 Great advice – Now I’m hooked on your blog, the next hour will be spend going thru your stuff – thanks man 😀

July 28, 2011 at 12:17 pm

Wow! I bookmarked this post a year ago but until now it’s still receiving so much traffic. No wonder because we can find so much jems in digging an old post like this. Cheers mate!

August 9, 2011 at 5:01 am

Well with the entry of more bloggers and creation of new blogs with innovative ideas readers now focus on a blog that gives them comprehensive, authentic and fresh content. According to me 20 minutes is unrealistic but to achieve success as a blogger one must spend at least 45 minutes in writing a blog post.

August 11, 2011 at 4:45 am

Thanks for sharing the tips for writing the article in 20 mins. I am very slow in article writing your tips will help me in writing the article fast .

August 23, 2011 at 12:19 am

Great Post and love how you broke it all down to 7 basic steps that are easy to follow. This should help me speed up my article writing.

August 24, 2011 at 1:37 am

I love the point of not forcing words just to complete the article. It’s wise to save that as draft and finish it once you get some more inputs on the topic.

September 8, 2011 at 4:02 am

Great Tips. I have to say, I was a little apprehensive when I first saw the title of the article, but after reading it, it all makes sense. Not saving the seemingly easy articles for later really hit home. I need to save time NOW not later.

September 8, 2011 at 7:28 am

Thank you so much for this article. It helped me to organise myself better. Now I follow the steps and it speed up my writing. I am so happy to have more time for my business.

September 8, 2011 at 10:22 am

This is very great, you have allot of information and have encouraged me to write better and faster than before. Thanks again

September 8, 2011 at 7:17 pm

That was pretty helpful!

I’m having one heck of a time trying to get my blog up on the right foot. But, what’s even worse than writers-block is a pile of forced, cruddy content. Quite frankly I’ve become a victim of both.

So, thanks for the tips. I’m about to use them right now..

September 24, 2011 at 10:02 am

If you scroll to the top of this list you will see that I first commented on this post in September of 2008. My business has changed dramatically over these past 3 years, but the one thing that has been a constant is my article writing and marketing. I encourage you to take this seriously, and know that you can do extremely well with this marketing strategy. And yes, it still only takes me about 20-30 minutes to write and submit each article.

Connie Ragen Green

October 14, 2011 at 3:17 am

Very interesting and useful post on 20 minute article writing. The problem I experience most of the time is finding quality content for research to enable you to put a quality article together, especially if it’s a subject about which your knowledge is limited. Finding sources of good info can be challenging and time consuming. Once that’s been accomplished then yes, it shouldn’t take too long to write the article. Great post though. Thanks.

October 18, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Nice Article!! I think we can add brainstorming as an important factor. Brainstorming ideas and comeback later would results in a high quality article!!

October 19, 2011 at 11:15 am

Apart from my personal blog, it takes me hours and hours to write articles for clients for peanuts! Any tips for that?

October 19, 2011 at 2:50 pm

Your blog is like a breath of marketing fresh air. Nice, clean and well written, thanks for the articles advice and keeping an ideas list simple but effective

October 22, 2011 at 10:13 am

I can’t write an article in 20 minutes but I sure will try will the help of these tips. I certainly can’t publish an article to my website in 20 minutes because there are other house-keeping tasks to perform such as SEO link-building.

October 30, 2011 at 9:17 pm

Wow! brilliant post.. 20 min is such a short time for me to write a single article. How I wish I can do that 🙂

November 13, 2011 at 3:30 am

I often find myself struggling to come up with relevant topics related to my blog, but in the end I always find something. Lately, I have been writing a lot of stories and that too is proving difficult at times and it can take me days or weeks before I come up with anything. I never know what to do with myself when this happens, but jotting down ideas in a notepad is very effective.

November 14, 2011 at 4:55 pm

Very useful post. Writing to the point articles have a lot of benefits.

November 26, 2011 at 6:06 pm

Writing an article is like writing a piece of music. It has to sound right or its useless and waste of time. I take a lot more than 20 mins when writing as I keep toying with the words and keep replacing till I strike the correct note to convey my piece. Makes me proud of my artwork when I look at it later.

November 30, 2011 at 8:48 am

Wow! Writing an article in just 20 min is quite too little of time. Better be organized!!!!!!!!!

December 23, 2011 at 11:26 am

i want to write article for my website and this tips will really helpful. keep going on…

December 29, 2011 at 6:17 pm

“so it’s time to be brutal” – that cracks me up.

Very good info!

February 17, 2012 at 3:26 pm

The article is delicious. Great points and some I had thought of. I approve this message! As a long time book coach, who published “Write your eBook or Other Short Book–FAst!” sill on Amzon, I’m now wriiting blogs to educate my audience. One blog that echoes this blog’s how to’s to help you spend less time ==>s http://bookcoaching.com/wp/blog-marketing-how-to-write-500-word-posts-in-7-steps/

Just thinking–it took me almost 10 minutes to scroll down the huge numbers of comments! What a successful blog and you are the one who serves coffee?

February 24, 2012 at 4:14 am

Something must be wrong with me- it takes me forever to write a blog post. And I feel like I get off on so many tangents. Then spend forever trying to figure out what to edit out- there’s that funny pun that shows my customers my personality, but does it draw too far from the point of the post?

I’m keeping a running list of posts and agree that this is the #1 way to save time writing blog updates. One of my favorite craft business bloggers posted this great post recently with a free printable for brainstorming and scheduling blog posts. Maybe someone will find it useful:

http://www.meaganvisser.com/2012/02/biz-challenge-schedule-1-month-of-blog-content/

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How to Write Faster: Writing Tips to Finish a First Draft in 6 Weeks

by J. D. Edwin | 0 comments

Do you have an abandoned or partial manuscript sitting in a drawer or on your hard drive, one you just couldn't finish, even after maybe years of chipping away at it? Me too. Until I learned how to write faster.  The Write Fast System not only boosted my writing productivity, but it has helped me finish numerous projects in record time.

Writing the first draft for any book is hard work, but it is also manageable. The amount of time it takes does not have to be daunting at all.

In fact, it's even possible to learn how to write faster and complete your book in less time – six weeks, even!

That's my goal for my upcoming blog series, to teach you what I've learned about writing faster, and not only that, but show you why improving your writing speed will make you a better writer as well.

How I Learned to Write Faster First Drafts

When you sit down in front of that endless blank page and think about your writing project, does it look utterly, incredibly vast, like a white desert waiting to be filled? Do you feel yourself wanting to stop before you even start, putting your book off for yet another day, because the idea of putting that many words on paper just feels too daunting? Do you find yourself going down that rabbit hole of “I'll never be able to do this”?

Maybe you are telling yourself, “One day I will start, that day will definitely come.” Doing this give yourself a little vote of confidence, even though you have no idea when that day will actually happen.

Maybe you get distracted by something shiny on social media, and promise yourself the writing will come the next day, when you “feel it”.

Maybe the “time of day” just feels wrong for writing. After all, it's morning and you work better as a night owl.

But sooner or later, you realize that these are just excuses.

My first book took me three years, and that’s just the time it took to write one draft. Altogether, if you count the time from the inception of the idea and the bits and pieces of poorly conducted planning, it took at least six .

I dreamed of the idea for at least two years, wrote bits and pieces, put it aside, changed my mind on and off, forgot where the story was going in between months of inaction, made notes, lost notes, renamed the characters, redesigned the plot, made the story too short, then too long, and everything in between. I even paid for several fancy book-writing tools. Mostly, I was wasting time.

By the end, I ended up with a 150K word behemoth and was so tired of looking at it that I couldn’t bring myself to write another draft.

What I learned in this experience, above all else, is how not to write a book.

Fast forward a few years, and I wrote my second book.

The  first draft of this book, 90K words long, took a little less than six weeks. I used Google docs for the whole thing, editing and formatting and all.

Not only that, it was a far more cohesive, well-plotted book with a tighter story and more well-developed characters. This book, titled Headspace , has become the first in a series and will be published this summer by Story Cartel Press.

So what changed in those years?

How did I go from a multi-year slog to turning out books that are not only fast and efficient, but also of far improved quality compared to that first disaster?

In a very special series of articles, I’m going to take you through the lessons, tips, and tricks in efficiency that I’ve learned over the past ten years so you can learn how to write faster.

These lessons have helped me improve my writing productivity greatly, even in a year like 2020. I hope that by sharing them with you, you will be able to write your best stories—specifically your first drafts, quickly and efficiently, without having to take a decade to figure it out.

Because, surprise of all surprises, productivity can be  learned !

How to Write Fast: The 3 Fast Writing Essentials

Learning anything takes time and that should come as no shock to anyone. However, the good news about productivty is that you can learn it while simultaenous accomplishing your goals and projects.

In this blog series, we will go into detail about how this process works,  but there are three core things you need in order to write fast:

• The correct mindset
• A set of writing techniques
• A good system.

Master these three and you will write faster, and finish your stories, too.

Develop a (Fast) Writing Mindset

Believe it or not, productivity begins with a mindset. This applies not only to your writing schedules and habits, but also how you view the first draft of your story.

The first draft is different from all the subsequent drafts. It is the starting point of everything. It serves as the skeleton of your story that holds up the flesh of the story.

In a drawing, it would be that first messy sketch under the final drawing that no one sees.

It is important to remember that the first draft does not have to be perfect. In fact, it doesn’t have to look anything like the final product. Remember that a first draft is a rough  draft. It can be ugly, flawed, and full of typos, but all it needs is to be written. The first draft is not the time to be a perfectionist. Accepting this will often help you conquer that first writer's block.

Rather than trying to write a perfect first draft, it’s far more productive to focus on producing a first draft that does its best to support future drafts.

This lesson was one of the most important ones I’ve learned on my journey.

Apply Writing Techniques

Writing can be taught.

More than that, writing can be learned.

The more you learn about the craft, technique, and act of writing, the more productively you will be able to write. This is the same principle as anything—you can build a house, paint a painting, or perform a dance choreography better when you are more familiar with the skills and craft involved.

But with endless resources, programs, seminars, and classes, how do you know where to start?

What’s going to be the most useful to you and what might turn out to be a waste of time? It’s easy to get overwhelmed or fall into the trap of feeling like you need an endless amount of education or even a university degree before you can write a decent book.

Good news—it’s a lot simpler than it looks.

With a targeting approach and a clear goal in mind, leveling up your writing skills – as well as your writing speed – doesn’t take nearly as much time as you might fear.

Use a System

What’s a system?

The word “system” can sometimes scare people off. It conjures images of computers and codes and complicated thingamajigs.

Many writers may not think systems have anything to do with their craft and shirk away from it. But it need not be that way—systems are your friends.

A system can be defined as “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method.” To put it in simpler, clearer terms, it means a way to do things that is organized and repeatable .

When you have a system for how you approach a book, you will never be left lost and stranded, wondering what to do next.

You will always know the steps to take, from the first to the last. In this series, I will show you the system that’s worked for me as well as guide you on how to build better writing habits and continuously improve your own writing system. 

Want the full Write Fast System? My new book just launched and with it, you can stop agonizing over a draft for years. With The Write Fast System, you can get that first draft down in as little as 6 weeks and develop a repeatable process for revision that will get your books in the hands of readers sooner than you've ever imagined. 

A Preview of My How to Write Faster Series

I’m beyond excited to take this journey with you all! Below is a list of all the topics that will be covered in this series. I hope to offer practical tips that can be implemented right away, for amateurs, professional writers, or otherwise.

What Should Be Included in Your First Draft?

In this first post we will get a better understanding of what you should accomplish in writing your first draft, including identifying important elements and goals, as well as what isn't quite a important in this process.

Read this post in full here !

4 Key Reasons Planning a Novel Speeds Up Your Writing Process

This post helps you understand the importance of planning and the role it plays in writing a book quickly. The better your planning, the more you can save time on your writing. Writing fast isn't just about your typing speed, but how you approach the project as a whole.

This post is ready for you to study here .

How to Become a Successful Writer: 5 Productivity Tools

You will want to keep this post close by. It's going to serve as a helpful reference of what you need to achieve productive writing, and we'll use a variety of tools for your writer's toolkit to improve your writing flow.

Add these productivity tools to your writing toolkit today !

How to Write Good Fiction: 4 Foundational Skills and How to Build Them

Overwhelmed and don't know where to start building your skills? This is the post for you. This is where we will talk about how to identify your strengths and improve your weaknesses by learning some foundational skills that will enhance your productivity and keep you motivated and focused.

Read more about how to strengthen four foundational writing skills and become a better fiction writer.

4 Practical Exercises to Improve Writing Skills (and Keep Practicing)

Practice is important. But blind, untargetted writing sessions can slow your progress. As Ernest Hemingway says— never mistake motion for action . We will talk in this post about the importance of the practicing mindset and how to make the most of it when trying to build your writing speed. We will also discuss free writing and how it may or may not work for you.

You can read more about the importance of practice (and how to practice writing) in this post .

Writing a Book Outline: 5 Essential Sections That Build a Solid Story

The very first steps of planning your book can determine if you finish your story and find the enthusiasm to start your next draft. In this post I will reference James Scott Bell's “build a bridge” method, plus a few tips of my own.

Start writing a book outline today; use this post as a guide. 

Ending of Stories: How Planning an Ending Will Help You Write Faster

It may seem a little odd to talk about story endings when you haven’t even started writing. Deciding on the type of ending you want, however, is an important part of planning a book.

When a writer knows how their story ends, they can figure out important plot points in between, all the plot twists that eventually lead to that climatic moment.

In this article, writers can learn the essentials of a satisfying ending. You can read it here .

Scene Outline: How to Write Faster by Developing a List of Scenes

A scene outline, or scene list, can give your story plan focus and prevent burnout or confusion when actually writing your story.

Some people dislike the idea of planning scenes, but you would not believe how useful this exercise can be in helping build your story. Even better, you don't have to stick to it.

In this article, you'll learn how to create a scene list that gives your big story idea focus, which will help you not only write faster, but give you a higher chance of actually finishing your book. Read more about outlining a scene list here .

How to Revise a Novel: A Revision List to Edit With Confidence

My revision list is my best friend in writing draft one.

Not only does it serve as a central collection point for my notes, it also keeps me from having to revise as I write.

In this article , I share my revision list template with you as well as show you how to make it work for you. Used correctly, this tool will save you a lot of time during the editing phase.

Plotter vs. Pantser: When to Plot, When to Pants, and When to Combine Them

This series focuses heavily on planning. However, we are not all plotters.

Some of us are pantsers, but that doesn't mean some of these tips won't help you.

This article explores ways pantsers can make use of this series , and how planning in different ways can set writers up for success.

Writing Success: 3 Easy Steps to Develop Your Writing System

This article teaches writers what to do when it's time to actually write. After all the planning, all the ideas and thoughts and goals, this is where we put it all together into a system/writing process that you can use your first book and every book after it.

If you're ready to write but not sure how to start, learn about writing systems in this article .

Setting Writing Goals: How to Set Goals and Finish Your Book

The ultimate goal of this series is for you to not only start a book, but to finish it. But finishing the story is actually more than just a checkbox and in this post I will tell you why.

If you want to finish your story, you need to set writing goals that will push you to the end. This article can help you get organized.

Why Are Characters Important in a Story? 4 Ways Essential Characters Make Contributions

Part of efficient writing is knowing what's essentail and what's not. This applies not only to plot but characters as well.

In order for a secondary character —or any character—to matter in a story, they have to work as an essential character that impacts the protagonist, plot, setting, or another important aspect that shapes or moves a story forward.

This article teaches four ways that determine if (1) the character is essential, and (2) how they contribute to a story.

It also reviews the major types of characters and ways to determine if—for the characters who don't qualify as essential—you're better off revising their role, or cutting them from the plot.

Deadlines for Writers: 3 Easy Steps to Try as Your Deadline Looms

You're down to the wires. The deadline is coming up but you're not sure if you're going to be able to finish on time. This post teaches writers three tips and tricks that will help you wrap up your first draft fast.

It also shares how to set manageable deadlines that will ensure you finish instead of give up your manuscript.

Read more about deadlines for writers here .

The second draft will take work, and that is a lot more manageable if you get your first draft done sooner than later. Tweet this

J. D. Edwin

J. D. Edwin is a daydreamer and writer of fiction both long and short, usually in soft sci-fi or urban fantasy. Sign up for her newsletter for free articles on the writer life and updates on her novel, find her on Facebook and Twitter ( @JDEdwinAuthor ), or read one of her many short stories on Short Fiction Break literary magazine .

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How to Write Faster

Last Updated: April 25, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Bryce Warwick, JD . Bryce Warwick is currently the President of Warwick Strategies, an organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area offering premium, personalized private tutoring for the GMAT, LSAT and GRE. Bryce has a JD from the George Washington University Law School. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,069,468 times.

If you want to improve your writing speed, there are several steps that you can take to improve your efficiency and get assignments done faster. First, you'll want to do all of your research and organize your thoughts in an outline form. From there, you can set realistic goals for yourself and continue to practice until you improve. If you're struggling with the act of writing with a pen and paper, you should make sure that you're comfortable and have the right writing tools. With the right amount of practice and repetition, you can improve your writing speed.

Improving Your Handwriting Speed

• A mechanical pencil requires less force to write with than a traditional pencil.
• You can purchase a pencil or pen grip to make your writing tool thicker.

Tip: A gel pen may be easier to write with than a ballpoint pen.

• The traditional way to hold a pen or pencil is to support the pen in between your index finger and thumb while the pen rests on your middle finger.
• Angling the paper in a different way may also feel more comfortable for you.

• Whenever you feel yourself slouching, adjust your posture so you’re sitting correctly.
• If your chair is too low or your desk is too high, you may need to purchase new furniture.

Note: Maintaining good posture is also beneficial for your back and hips.

• Keep in mind that these shorthand methods aren’t known by everyone and can’t be used for assignments or on tests.
• It may take several weeks or even months to master these shorthand methods.

• If you still aren't improving after trying everything, just talk to a teacher and see if they have any techniques that may help you.

Note: If your hand cramps up or you feel fatigued, take a break and come back to writing later.

Finishing Writing Assignments Quicker

• Even if you’re a night owl, you may still be more productive in the morning. Write during different parts of the day to see what works best for you.

Tip: You can write during your productive times and go back and edit your work during your less productive times.

• For example, the main points of your article could be something like, "Describing circuits" and "Powering Electronics." "Describing circuits" could include points like "Explaining a simple circuit" and "Completing a circuit."
• Researching things in the middle of writing wastes valuable time.
• Include your sources in your outline to save time, especially if you have to make citations later. If you’re using electronic sources, bookmark them on your computer. Include notes in your outline about how you’re going to use your sources and what information you hope to take from them.

Bryce Warwick, JD

Our Expert Agrees: You will write faster and easier when you know what to put down before you get started instead of making it up as you go along. If you have 30 minutes to write an essay, try giving yourself seven to eight minutes of planning time.

• Wasting time on smaller details can drain time and make the entire writing process much longer.
• If you find yourself stuck in a section, move past it and revisit it later with a fresh mind.

• Clearing the clutter off your writing desk may also minimize distractions and improve your efficiency.
• If you can, put away your phone, tablet, or other devices you might be tempted to use to check social media or browse the web. You can also use productivity apps or extensions (like StayFocused) that temporarily cut off your access to time-wasting websites.

• Set incrementally higher goals for yourself rather than taking on too much too fast.
• If you haven’t written a lot in the past, you won’t be able to write quickly without practice. However, once you practice writing a lot, you will be able to write at a quicker pace.
• For instance, you can set a goal that you’ll have a certain number of pages or words completed within a day. If you’re still working on building speed, daily goals can feel more manageable than more short-term ones (such as hourly goals).

• Don’t let the timer stress you out. It’s merely there to remind you of how much time you’re spending on an assignment.

Tip: Take 3-5 minute breaks every 30 minutes to an hour so that you don’t burn yourself out.

Practice Exercises to Increase Writing Speed

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://effectiviology.com/how-to-easily-improve-handwriting-speed/
• ↑ https://omniglot.com/writing/shorthand.htm
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-faster
• ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/outlining
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/8-4-revising-and-editing/
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/faster-writer/

About This Article

To write faster by hand, use keywords instead of writing things word for word and use symbols like the plus sign, "@" symbol, and ampersand. Try learning a shorthand system and practice the techniques that work for you as much as possible. To write articles or essays more quickly, get all your research done first and create a rough outline. Focus on writing your ideas clearly and don't worry about making it sound perfect. Work somewhere you can concentrate and turn your phone off to minimize distractions. For tips on staying on track and more shorthand techniques, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The Radical Way to Write Articles Faster (Even When You’re Short on Time)

By Matt Giaro

✦ FREE EMAIL COURSE: 5 Secrets to create meaningful (and personal) content 10X faster with AI

Are you looking for a way to write blog articles faster?

Writing a lot of articles doesn’t need to suck out all your spare time.

You might have a full-time job. Or, like me, physical limitations like back pain that simply don’t allow you to sit 8 hours straight at a desk to bleed in front of your keyboard.

Here’s my updated process to churn out articles in under 30 minutes.

I’ve been writing articles on the internet for over a decade, and here’s my updated process to churn out articles in under 45 minutes.

As a result, you’ll be able to write more articles and grow your audience faster.

1. Capture your Article ideas on the go

I usually sit down at 7 AM to write my articles.

Problem: Trying to squeeze out an article at that time is like getting the last drop of an almost-empty toothpaste tube. Just doesn’t work.

I’m a grouchy grinch at wake-up.

Like an old-timer, it takes time for my gears to start grinding. Add to this that I found that my best ideas don’t pop up when I’m chained to my desk. Instead, they strike during walks or as I’m driving, and sometimes in moments too embarrassing to mention.

Double problem.

Take this article, for instance. The idea didn’t come in the silence of the morning sitting at a keyboard. It came at 5:28 PM during my daily walk.

The solution? Recording the idea as I have it.

There are two ways I save my content ideas:

Number 1: I either create a new note with the idea by typing it and saving it straight into my note-taking app.

Number 2: I pull out my phone and record it. (That’s what I’ve done with this article. More on that, later.)

Save your breakthroughs as they come. It’s the simplest way to ensure you never run out of content ideas when you have to sit down and write.

Our brains are wired to be idea factories, not storage units.

2. Write Your Shitty First Article Draft Like Speedy Gonzales

I used to think writing was a marathon, but I’ve since learned it’s a sprint, especially the first draft.

Here’s what I do: I start with a headline, just a few well-chosen words that set the hook.

Then, with the clock ticking, I dive into my notes. These aren’t just scribbles; they’re a distillation of everything I know. Within 2-5 minutes, I scrape together an outline that will guide me from start to finish and make sure the article fulfills its promise.

I then take this to AI. I wrote over 100,000 words with it and fine-tuned the process to make it sound like me.

AI is my co-pilot. With my outline as the runway, I let artificial intelligence take off, turning my framework into a rough draft. It’s not perfect. It’s not meant to be. But it’s a start. Something that saves me 30 minutes per article and doesn’t drain my mental bandwidth.

The goal isn’t about copying and pasting AI content and throwing it out there. It’s about having a starting point to start editing. That’s where I spend 70% of my time.

Use AI to draft your article in 2 minutes.

3. Write Faster Using Voice Dictation

On some of my walks or drivings, I feel like Superman.

Ideas are flowing so much that I think I’m having idea diarrhea. But typing would eat up too much time and cause me to run into strangers or break my ankle.

Safety first: Talking’s faster than typing.

That’s why I use a voice dictation app like Otter.ai. It’s like jotting down notes without needing a pen.

I dictated this article during my daily walk:

When I’m on the go and ideas start to flow, I don’t fumble for a keyboard. I open the app and spill my thoughts out loud. It catches every word. It’s like having a personal assistant who’s ready 24/7 to jot down my every word; no coffee breaks needed.

Editing comes later.

That’s when I take the rough edges of my spoken words and smooth them into written gold. And if it’s a bit messy, I lean on ChatGPT to tidy up. It’s like having a cleaner for your thoughts, turning a rambling voice note into a sharp article.

Next time you’ve got something to say, just say it out loud. Let robots do the heavy lifting.

4. Throw Half of What You Wrote in the Bin

Editing is what separates bad from great writing.

I learned this from master copywriters like Gary Halbert.

Editing isn’t just about grammar and punctuation. The part where you should spend the most of your time writing is by editing… Your first draft is clay, not porcelain. It’s meant to be molded.

When I edit, here’s some of what I do:

• Simplify complex sentences
• Adding personal stories
• Deleting repetitions

Pro tip: Never edit your articles the same day you wrote them. Let ’em breathe for a few days so that you can edit them with a fresh eye.

Trim the fat; keep the muscle.

5. Give the P**** Word the Finger

I used to chase perfection like a cat after a laser pointer.

But perfect is the enemy of done.

Stop thinking that you can produce quality and quantity. The market is the real judge, not your inner critic. You could polish a piece for days, but it’s your audience that’ll give you the real grade. If you hide all of your drafts, you’ll never get that crucial feedback.

As a result, you’ll keep spinning your wheels.

So, publish. Even if it’s a diamond in the rough, throw it out there.

Some articles you thought were duds? They might just be sleeper hits. It happens to me all the time. I now know that I don’t know what quality is.

The market will tell me.

And when something clicks, iterate, refine, and republish. Over time, you’ll have a treasure trove of content that’s not just good; it’s proven.

Writing a lot of articles is easy when you apply this simple process. 

Now go ahead and make things happen!

Want to write quality articles faster with AI?

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How to Write Articles Faster?

If you are into writing articles, you need to be fast and smart. Only then you will be able to write more articles at the same time. When you have just started writing, creating articles at a faster pace will be a little difficult. Don’t worry. I have been writing articles for quite some time. So, I will give some useful tips to help you write articles faster.

Let us get started.

1. Planning

Planning is the key element to writing articles faster. Unfortunately, many newbie writers often miss this part. Before starting to write an article, you need to plan on what all things are required to be included in the article. The planning requires some research.

You can look for information on the internet in the form of articles, videos, and images. Then, you can use this information as a reference to create the article. From my experience, proper planning helps to bring down the writing time for the article. So, it will help to write more articles.

2. Make a list of Important Points to Cover

When researching the topic, it is always good to create a list of important points you need to cover in the article. You can even go ahead and make these points as your subheadings in the article.

Thus, you will be able to create the outline for the article. It will make the content creation process much easier. It will also ensure that no important points are missed in the article.

3. Optimize Research Time

Many writers have the habit of over-researching the topic. The client will need only a 1000 words article on the topic. So, you don’t need to research and collect lots of information about the topic.

Research and collect only what is necessary to do the job. If you research beyond that, you are unnecessarily wasting your time. You will not be able to add the excess information to the article since you have already touched the word limit from the client. The extra research is not going to benefit anyone. It has happened to me many times during my initial days.

4. Turn Off Distractions

There are lots of distractions when you write. You will be mostly typing on MS Word to create the article on the computer. You will get distracted by checking your emails, watching videos on YouTube, or browsing some sites on the internet.

These distractions will take a lot of your valuable writing time. You will also lose focus on the topic. Thus, more time will be required to create the content. You may even miss your article deadline.

Many writers get distracted even with the different options and toolbars in MS Word. So they tend to go for distraction-free writing apps for creating content. There are many such applications available for Windows and Mac OS platforms. You can also get one if you are interested.

5. Take a Break In Between

You cannot concentrate continuously for a long period of time. You cannot write continuously for a long time. So, you must take a break in between.

From my experience, taking a short 10 minutes break every 40 minutes is always good. It helps to concentrate in a better way. It also helps to avoid health-related issues due to sitting for a long time.

6. Don’t Multitask when you Write

I have seen many writers multitask when writing content. They will listen to music or watch videos or TV while writing the article.

Here, you are not writing in a focused way. It is going to affect the quality of the article. Also, it will take more time to write the article. Thus, you are not using the time effectively.

When you are writing an article, stay focused on it.

7. Use the “Keep it Simple” Approach

When you write an article, you can use complex or simple words in the content. When you make things complex, everyone who reads the article may not enjoy the content. Also, the attention span of people is relatively short. They tend to move on to the next article when they find it complex. Therefore, it will increase the bounce rate of your article.

So, it is always good to use the “Keep it simple” approach for content writing. Write the article in a simple and easy-to-understand format. Thus, everyone will be able to read and enjoy the content. Keep it direct and concise.

8. Edit After Write

Many writers, especially amateurs, try to edit the article in between, even before finishing it. It is a bad practice. You are unnecessarily wasting your time by editing the article before completing it.

First, complete writing the whole article, then go for the edits. It will help to optimize your time in a better way.

9. Record your Writing Time

One of the best techniques you can employ to improve your writing speed is to use a timer. You can use your smartphone to set the timer for your writing. Then, you can note down the time taken to complete, say 1000 words. If you take any breaks, you need to pause the timer and restart it when you start writing again.

You need to monitor this on a daily basis for a month or two. Then, after a couple of months, you can have a look at the time data to see if there is an improvement or not. Of course, there will be some improvement since you have been writing for two months.

10. Use AI-powered Content Creator Tools

The online AI-powered content creator tools are really a game changer in the field of article writing. It helps you to create an article in no time. You will need at least one hour to create a 1000 words article manually.

But, an AI-powered content creator tool can create a 1000 words article in a few minutes. You just need to share the topic with the tool. Then, the tool will generate the content for you. If you are not satisfied with the content, you can go for the regenerate option to create different content. So, you just need to do the proofreading work here. An online AI tool is a good option when you have lots of articles to write.

If you like to use the service of an online AI-based content creator tool, you can always consider the WordBot AI tool. WordBot is capable of generating many types of content, not article alone.

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to write articles faster. However, speed alone is not enough to be a successful writer. You need to ensure that whatever content you write provides some value to the users. At the same time, you need to ensure that the content is free from spelling and grammatical errors that can affect the reader’s flow.

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How to write faster: 10 Strategies to Boost Productivity

The ability to write efficiently is a valuable skill that can elevate your career, save precious time, and make your life easier. Whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting, you might be wondering how to write faster without sacrificing quality.

If so, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, I’ll share eight powerful strategies that can help boost your productivity and transform you into a fast writer. From creating a writing routine and using automation tools to minimizing distractions and learning touch typing techniques — let’s dive in and unlock the secrets behind speedy writing success.

Strategy #1: Create a Writing Routine

Implementing a consistent writing routine is one of the most essential aspects of learning how to write faster. Establishing daily or weekly healthy writing habits will increase your efficiency, help you hone your writing skills, and ultimately boost your overall productivity.

Set SMART Goals

Start by setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals for your writing sessions. Determine what you want to accomplish within each session and establish a clear timeframe for completing these tasks. For example:

• Write 1000 words in one hour
• Complete two blog posts per week
• Finish the first draft of a novel within three months

By outlining tangible goals, you’ll be able to track your progress and maintain motivation throughout your writing journey.

Develop Daily Goals

Creating daily goals can help make how to become a fast writer seem less daunting. Start by setting small, achievable targets such as word count or tasks necessary to complete an article. Monitoring your progress keeps you motivated while maintaining steady momentum throughout the assigned project deadlines.

Some guidelines for setting daily goals include:

• Prioritize core tasks related to writing project requirements.
• Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable sub-goals.
• Track and document completed objectives through digital platforms, journals, or calendars.
• Reassess and update targets based on progress regularly.

Establish Regular Writing Hours

One of the first steps for creating a solid writing routine is to set aside specific hours dedicated solely to writing. Allocate time periods that suit you best – whether it’s in the early morning or late at night. This regularity will not only train your mind to switch into “writing mode” during these intervals but also enable you to manage your day more effectively.

Here are some tips for establishing consistent writing hours:

• Determine which part of the day you feel most productive in.
• Set realistic and achievable time blocks for focused, uninterrupted work.
• Create rituals and routines around this writing time; perhaps use tools like Pomodoro Technique or other techniques that promote focus.
• Be flexible with adjustments when needed but aim to make it a fixed part of your schedule.

Foster Healthy Writing Habit

Good writing habits contribute significantly to faster and more productive output in the long run. Experiment with various strategies and tactics — from practicing free-writing exercises before starting projects aimed at warming up creativity muscles; allocating time specifically for brainstorming sessions; note-taking techniques for capturing ideas on the fly; or finding tribes of like-minded writers seeking to improve their processes together.

Some more tips for fostering good writing habits are:

• Read frequently and diversify reading materials to expand vocabulary, gather new ideas, and improve understanding of various writing styles.
• Recharge mental energies by incorporating regular breaks and physical activities into your schedule.
• Continuously develop critical thinking and analytical capacities through education and practice.
• Incorporate feedback from others and implement focused self-editing practices.

Strategy #2: Prepare Your Writing Environment

Having a conducive writing environment plays a significant role in how to write fast and efficiently. When you write in a comfortable and organized space, it fosters creativity and helps maintain focus. Here are several tips for setting up an ideal writing environment:

Optimize your workstation

Ensure your workspace is ergonomically designed to minimize physical discomfort or strain. This includes having a suitable chair, maintaining the right posture, and placing your computer monitor at eye level. A properly set-up workstation helps prevent fatigue and allows you to write fast without interruptions.

Customize lighting conditions

The quality of light has a direct impact on our ability to concentrate on tasks like writing quickly. Whenever possible, utilize natural daylight as it creates an uplifting atmosphere that boosts productivity. However, if natural light isn’t available, invest in quality desk lamps with adjustable settings – this lets you control the intensity of the light according to your preference.

Organize your digital tools

To enhance your efficiency while writing faster, declutter your computer desktop and have all the necessary documents within easy reach. Consider organizing folders related to current projects or use bookmarks for frequently visited websites. This minimizes any disruptions caused by searching through disorganized files when attempting to write quickly.

Eliminate unnecessary distractions

Distractions can significantly hamper efforts made toward fast writing. Turn off notifications from social media platforms and other unrelated applications during dedicated writing sessions. In addition, consider using noise-canceling headphones or playing soft background music as they help create an immersive environment that keeps you focused on writing faster.

By implementing these strategies in preparing your writing environment, you’ll not only learn how to be a faster writer but also boost your overall productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Personalize Your Space

As a content writer aiming for speed and efficiency, personal touches in your environment can motivate you while working on various projects. For instance:

• Display inspiring quotes or artwork on nearby walls.
• Add plants that purport air purification properties.
• Incorporate colors that evoke creativity and positivity.

Incorporating these elements allows you to create a pleasant yet functional space where ideas flow more freely – contributing towards fast writing.

Control Ambient Noise Levels

Lastly, maintaining a quiet environment is pivotal in minimizing distractions and focusing solely on your writing. If noise from external sources proves unavoidable, consider using noise-canceling headphones or listening to instrumental music that helps you maintain concentration without diverting your attention from the task at hand.

In conclusion, preparing your writing environment by optimizing lighting, comfort, organization, personalization, and controlling noise levels can significantly enhance productivity. With these factors addressed effectively, you’ll be well on your way to mastering how to write faster and neater – unlocking new heights of creativity

Strategy #3: Organize Your Thoughts

One key aspect of learning how to write faster is organizing your thoughts before putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. By planning and structuring your ideas in advance, you can minimize interruptions due to writer’s block and save valuable time while writing. Below are some effective techniques for organizing your thoughts.

Use Content Outlines or Mind Maps

Creating a content outline or a mind map is a powerful technique for organizing your ideas and structuring them in a logical manner. By breaking down larger concepts into smaller, more manageable sections, you’ll find it easier to navigate through your writing quickly.

An outline typically involves:

• Identifying main headings or topics.
• Listing subpoints under each heading.
• Adding concrete examples or supporting details.

On the other hand, a mind map visually represents the relationships between ideas by clustering related concepts together in branches stemming from a central theme.

Once you’ve created either an outline or a mind map, you can refer back to it while writing, ensuring that you’re covering all necessary points and maintaining focus on your main argument.

Research First

Before beginning the actual task of writing, gather all necessary information from reliable sources in order not only to enrich the content but also to prevent interruption while searching for data during the writing process. By keeping notes on pertinent research findings and statistics close at hand, it’ll be much easier for you when focusing on how to write quickly.

Group Related Ideas

Organizing your main ideas by their relevance or relationship in order not only helps construct better sentences but also improves cohesion within paragraphs so readers can grasp what is being said more easily. Additionally, grouping ideas this way means fewer transitions between different topics input along with enhancing the coherence throughout when narrating strategies about fast writing.

With these organization techniques in place, tackling any topic should become considerably more manageable hence promoting productivity while maintaining high-quality standards. Ultimately, organizing your thoughts is a crucial step in learning how to write faster and more efficiently, enabling you to produce engaging articles tailored to your target audience.

Distill Complex Ideas

A crucial aspect of learning how to be a faster writer lies in effectively distilling complex ideas into simple terms that are easily understood by readers. As an expert in your field, it’s essential to remember that not everyone shares that depth of knowledge; therefore, keeping concepts accessible and digestible will help keep the writing process fast and efficient.

Some ways to distill complex ideas include:

• Making comparisons or analogies.
• Breaking down ideas into smaller parts.
• Explaining concepts in plain language that avoids jargon or technical terms.

Strategy #4: Use Automation Tools to streamline your writing process

Use AI tools to aid productivity and efficiency. Automation tools can support you on various levels of the content-writing process.

Use Content Research Tools

Content research tools streamline the information-gathering process, allowing you to save time and focus on writing. Those tools can help you do content research, keyword research , create content briefs as well as questions people ask. 

Here are some valuable tools to assist with your research:

• SEOwind : AI and SEO tool that analyzes top SERPs and helps you draw the right conclusions to make the content briefs and content itself. You’ll get recommendations on content length, a number of headings, and images, along with AI generation of titles, descriptions, and automated outlines based on data. 

• Google: analyzing top SERPs manually can give you a lot of information on what content Google finds relevant.
• Semrush or Ahrefs as a keyword research tool to identify keywords and questions to use,

By employing content research tools like these, you minimize downtime between researching and drafting stages which ultimately leads to faster writing.

Use AI Writing Software

Artificial intelligence has made significant advancements in recent years, including the development of AI-powered writing assistants designed to boost productivity levels.

There are AI-powered platforms like OpenAI’s GPT-3 that augment writing capabilities by generating complete sentences or entire paragraphs based on user input. While these tools may not be appropriate for all projects, they can significantly reduce writing time when utilized correctly.

Strategy #5: Minimize Distractions

One of the main obstacles many writers face when aiming for faster writing is the constant distractions present in today’s connected world. To be a fast and efficient writer, it is crucial to minimize these distractions and create an environment where you can focus solely on your work. Here are some practical strategies that you may consider adopting in order to minimize distractions:

Eliminate Unnecessary Electronic Devices

Electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets are notorious for drawing our attention away from the task at hand, particularly when it comes to writing fast. Make an effort to keep these distraction-inducing devices out of your workspace or switched off while you’re working. This will allow you to concentrate better and make progress with your writing.

Limit Open Browser Tabs

Many people find themselves getting distracted by the various open browser tabs on their computers while attempting to write quickly. It is often tempting to browse through unrelated web pages or check notifications, causing significant delays in productivity. Close any irrelevant browser tabs before you start writing and commit yourself only to opening those that are necessary for research or reference purposes.

Set Specific Times for Email Checks

Emails have become an integral part of modern communication; however, they are also known for causing frequent interruptions during work hours. Try scheduling specific times during the day for checking emails instead of constantly being on alert for incoming messages. This approach will help maintain focus and enable smoother progress towards faster writing.

Use Noise-Canceling Headphones

Working in a noisy environment can significantly slow down your writing speed because it is hard to concentrate on one task amidst all the commotion. Consider using noise-canceling headphones or listening to soft instrumental music that helps block out external disruptions and enhances your ability to focus on your writing goals.

By dedicating time and energy towards minimizing distractions around you, not only will you learn how to write neater faster but also enhance overall productivity. Developing a focused mindset and surrounding yourself with an organized workspace will ultimately lead to consistent fast writing results.

Overcome Internal Distractions

Besides addressing external disruptions, it’s essential to manage internal distractions that may interfere with writing faster. This involves developing strategies to overcome various obstacles within yourself. Here are some tips:

• Prioritize tasks: Before beginning a writing session, create a list of tasks you plan to accomplish for the day. Assign priority levels based on deadlines or importance so that you know which tasks should be tackled first.
• Address concerns: If specific worries persistently pop into your head while writing, designate time outside of your designated writing hours for attending to those issues directly.
• Meditate or practice mindfulness: Regular meditation can help improve focus and concentration while reducing stress levels. Mindfulness exercises allow you to remain present in each moment without getting distracted by random thoughts.

Ultimately, minimizing distractions — both internal and external — enables you to concentrate more effectively on the task at hand, allowing for increased efficiency in producing written content.

Cultivate Discipline During Writing Session

To nurture this discipline:

• Resist the urge to multitask: Although multitasking might seem productive, it ultimately weakens your ability to concentrate fully on writing.
• Set boundaries with others: Inform family members, roommates, or colleagues about your need for uninterrupted writing time and request that they respect these boundaries.
• Practice self-awareness: Remain vigilant of when distractions begin to take hold and refocus on the task at hand before they become detrimental to productivity.

Strategy #6: Set Timers and Deadlines

One effective way to improve your writing speed is by setting timers and deadlines. This approach pushes you to become more disciplined, focused, and conscious of your writing progress. Implementing this technique will gradually build up your ability to write faster, as it encourages competition against the clock.

Set Realistic Deadlines

When creating deadlines, ensure they are realistic and achievable. Establishing unreasonable time constraints may result in frustration or burnout, hindering your ability to improve in the long run. Evaluate how much time you need per task on average and employ incremental adjustments to challenge yourself within reasonable limits.

Here are some writing tips for setting effective deadlines:

• Break large writing tasks into smaller sections.
• Use a project management tool or calendar app to keep track of your deadlines.
• Incorporate buffer times to accommodate potential disruptions or unexpected revisions.
• Assess your time use over several weeks to determine optimum deadline lengths.

Utilize Timers

Timers can be a powerful addition as they foster productivity by keeping you aware of the ticking clock. Employ different types of timers based on what best suits your style:

• Pomodoro Technique : This widely-popular method involves breaking work intervals into 25-minute segments (known as Pomodoros) with short breaks between each session. After completing four Pomodoros, take an extended break.
• Time-blocking: Allocate specific time slots throughout the day for focused writing sessions while incorporating breaks accordingly.
• Customized timers: Personalize your own timing structure according to preference or desired outcome, experimenting with various intervals until finding the most effective duration.

By using timers and deadlines strategically, you can significantly boost productivity through heightened focus and concentration—ultimately resulting in faster writing capabilities over time. As you continue working toward mastering these techniques, remember that practice is key; stay persistent and committed for optimal improvement in your writing speed.

Strategy #7: Write in Short Bursts to get into the writing flow

One effective way to boost your writing productivity is to use the technique of writing in short bursts. This method involves focusing intently on writing for a set period of time, usually between 15-30 minutes, followed by a brief break. This approach helps maintain high energy levels while minimizing burnout and maximizing creative output.

Writing in short bursts has several benefits:

• Maintains focus: By concentrating on writing for shorter periods, you can better maintain your attention on your task, reducing the likelihood of mind-wandering or getting stuck in a creative rut.
• Minimizes mental fatigue: Working intensely for longer periods without breaks can lead to burnout, resulting in slower progress over time. Writing in short bursts keeps your cognitive resources fresh, making it easier to sustain speed and quality throughout your work session.
• Prevents procrastination: It’s much easier to commit yourself to work for just 15 or 20 minutes than dedicating several hours upfront. The Pomodoro Technique is an example of this approach – it also incorporates regular breaks that help you recharge during long sessions.
• Facilitates writing flow: Intense focus during short periods may increase the chances of experiencing “flow,” often referred to as being “in the zone.” While immersed in the flow, ideas tend to surface effortlessly and thoughts get articulated with greater ease.

To implement this strategy effectively and improve your fast-writing skills:

• Set up a schedule: Establish dedicated intervals for writing and adhering strictly to those times – some prefer consistent daily routines while others might find weekly sessions more practical.
• Use timers: Employ smartphone alarms or online timer tools like Tomato Timer (based on the Pomodoro Technique) as reminders to start/finish writing bursts systematically.
• Optimize break lengths: Experiment with different break durations within productive limits; anything from 5-30 minutes can work depending on individual preferences or time constraints.
• Remain flexible: Allow your routine to evolve based on personal progress and effectiveness – continually assess how specific writing bursts impact overall productivity.

By committing to writing in short bursts, you are actively employing a technique that can help improve concentration and focus. Consequently, this approach will help enhance your abilities as a fast writer while minimizing distractions and maintaining sustained energy levels.

Strategy #8: Write in Different Locations

One proven strategy for boosting productivity and learning how to write faster is by changing your writing environment. Writing in different locations can stimulate creativity, help overcome writer’s block, and encourage you to maintain focus.

Benefits of Changing Your Writing Location

Switching up where you write has several advantages:

• Fresh Perspective: A new environment can provide a fresh perspective on your writing or the topic at hand. This increased mental clarity can lead to faster and more efficient writing.
• Reduced Procrastination: Shifting locations might discourage procrastination since it creates an unfamiliar setting without established habits that distract from writing.
• Enhanced Focus: Novel settings often cause our brains to be more alert and attentive, resulting in a heightened focus on the task at hand.

Ideas for Writing Locations

To reap the benefits of writing in different locations, try some of these alternative places to pen your next masterpiece:

• Coffee Shops: The lively atmosphere of coffee shops can prove conducive due to ambient noise levels promoting creativity.
• Libraries: For those who prefer quiet environments, libraries offer isolation while still providing access to valuable resources and research materials.
• Parks or Outdoor Spaces: Surrounding yourself with nature can increase inspiration as well as relieve stress, enabling you to write quickly and efficiently.
• Coworking Spaces: These shared workspaces are designed specifically for productivity, giving writers an opportunity to work alongside like-minded professionals.

Remember that each person has unique preferences when it comes to their ideal working environment; what works for one writer may not work for another. To determine which location best suits your needs, experiment with various settings until you find the one that helps you write fastest and most effectively.

Strategy #9: Proofread Later

One key strategy in learning how to write faster is to delay the proofreading process until after you have completed a draft of your piece. By postponing this step, you’ll be able to maintain your writing momentum and avoid getting bogged down by fixing minor errors while still exploring your ideas.

Avoid Editing While Writing

Resist the temptation to edit as you go along; it’s a common pitfall that frequently hampers progress. Remember that the objective during initial drafting is to get your thoughts onto paper or the screen. Therefore, focusing on editing detracts from the flow of ideas and can lead to unnecessary interruptions in producing content quickly.

Boost Productivity with Faster Drafts

Drafting rapidly without worrying about polishing the text results in increased productivity since you will complete more material in less time. Once a full draft has been completed, devote a separate session for proofreading and revising; this way, your brain can switch gears from creative thinking mode to an analytical mindset, making it easier for you to spot any errors or inconsistencies present within the text.

Read Aloud When Proofreading

When it comes time for proofreading, consider reading your article aloud or utilizing text-to-speech software; doing so engages multiple senses and helps detect sentences or phrases that may sound awkward or unclear when heard out loud. This strategy provides additional benefits as well by reinforcing information retention and memory recall associated with listening comprehension.

Use proofreading tools

To speed up your work, use tools. Some popular AI proofreading tools that can help enhance your speed include:

• Grammarly : The arguably most well-known AI tool for writers not only corrects grammatical errors but also offers suggestions for improving style, clarity, engagement, and more – all without slowing down your typing speed.
• Hemingway Editor : This application analyzes your text and highlights complex sentences or passive voice constructions that might impede readability. By following its suggestions, you can craft clearer and more concise content in less time.

Strategy #10: Learn to Type Faster to increase your writing speed

If you’re serious about learning how to write faster, it’s essential to improve your typing skills. A strong foundation in typing will not only allow you to get your ideas down more quickly but also enable you to refine your thoughts and produce higher-quality work in a shorter time frame. In this section, we’ll cover several writing tips for becoming a better typist.

Choose the Right Typing Technique

One of the most crucial aspects of learning how to be a fast writer is selecting an appropriate typing method. Touch typing—the art of using all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard—has been proven as the most efficient technique. It helps writers develop muscle memory and enhances speed drastically compared to other methods like the hunt-and-peck style, which relies on sight alone.

Practice Regularly

To successfully learn how to write quickly, practice is vital. Dedicate some time each day or week for focused training on touch typing using online resources such as TypeRacer or 10FastFingers. Not only do these platforms provide engaging activities that evaluate your progress, but they also allow for friendly competition among users—making it even more fun!

Maintain Proper Posture and Ergonomics

Poor posture can hamper your typing speed and result in discomfort, making it difficult for you to focus on writing efficiently. Ensure that your chair supports proper posture with adequate back support and an adjustable height feature. Additionally, opt for ergonomic keyboards designed specifically for improved comfort—these may reduce strain during long writing sessions and contribute toward becoming a faster writer.

Take Advantage of Keyboard Shortcuts

Memorizing keyboard shortcuts can be incredibly beneficial when trying to write articles fast. They not only save precious seconds spent searching for functions within software programs but also decrease physical movement required while working—ultimately increasing productivity and fatigue reduction.

Here are some common keyboard shortcuts that can streamline your workflow:

• Copy: Ctrl/Cmd + C
• Paste: Ctrl/Cmd + V
• Cut: Ctrl/Cmd + X
• Undo: Ctrl/Cmd + Z

Remember that practice makes perfect – the more you employ these strategies for how to write faster and neater, the better you’ll become at producing high-quality written work quickly. 

Keep exploring various ways to find out what works for you. And always be on the lookout for new things that might positively impact how you write.

Seasoned SaaS and agency growth expert with deep expertise in AI, content marketing, and SEO. With SEOwind, he crafts AI-powered content that tops Google searches and magnetizes clicks. With a track record of rocketing startups to global reach and coaching teams to smash growth, Tom's all about sharing his rich arsenal of strategies through engaging podcasts and webinars. He's your go-to guy for transforming organic traffic, supercharging content creation, and driving sales through the roof.

Table of Contents

• 1 Strategy #1: Create a Writing Routine
• 2 Strategy #2: Prepare Your Writing Environment
• 3 Strategy #3: Organize Your Thoughts
• 4 Strategy #4: Use Automation Tools to streamline your writing process
• 5 Strategy #5: Minimize Distractions
• 6 Strategy #6: Set Timers and Deadlines
• 7 Strategy #7: Write in Short Bursts to get into the writing flow
• 8 Strategy #8: Write in Different Locations
• 9 Strategy #9: Proofread Later
• 10 Strategy #10: Learn to Type Faster to increase your writing speed
• 11 Conclusion

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How to write faster: 19 efficient ways to finish my publication

by Prof. Sven Hendrix

• How To Write Faster: 19 Efficient Ways To Finish My Publication

Writing a research paper or a review can be a pleasure or a pain. If you manage your energy and time well, you can dramatically speed up your writing. What are the best tips and easy steps to write a research paper faster and more efficiently?

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to purchase through my link. Thus, you support smartsciencecareer at no cost to you!

There are many posts on social media with general writing tips that may be helpful. These tips include taking sufficient breaks, having a good posture or a standing desk during writing, avoiding distractions by apps or other persons, using the pomodoro technique , and breaking down large projects into smaller components. The standard tips include increasing your handwriting speed by using fountain pens with the best tip size or your typing speed by using alternative word processors.

In this article, I will provide a specific list of tips to reduce the writing time of scientific publications.

Tip 1: Make a quick writing plan

Tip 2: Develop a writing and editing habit

If you need your willpower to start writing, you will often fail when real life interferes. Developing routines that work rather automatically exclude the willpower element and make you fast. If you write every day at the same time, it becomes easy. It is also helpful to have a specific editing routine to set aside time to review and revise your work after you have completed a draft. Additionally, seeking feedback from others and using a pre-submission checklist (see below) should be part of the routine.

Furthermore, create your personal infrastructure to make writing pleasurable. Choose a great place that you like. Some may prefer a coffee shop, and others a hut in the woods. Writing in a shared office with 3 chatting PhD students may not be the right choice. Choose the time of day when your energy levels are high. Inform your colleagues that this is your writing time and kindly ask them not to interrupt you. Do not answer when your phone rings. Better switch it off.

If you want to learn more about developing a writing routine, let me suggest this book: “The Miracle Morning for Writers: How to Build a Writing Ritual That Increases Your Impact and Your Income (Before 8 am)” by Hal Elrod (affiliate link).

Tip 3: Track your word count

What gets measured can be improved. Fast writing is a skill that can be trained. Therefore, tracking your word count in every work session may stimulate your writing speed. I use a simple Excel spreadsheet to document the time I have invested and the words I have written. You can easily track the number of words and pages in Microsoft Word or Google docs. Measuring my word count is the best method to reach my writing goals and strengthen my daily writing habit. If you want to become a faster writer and increase your writing speed dramatically, let me suggest my favorite book on the subject: “2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love” by Rachel Aaron (affiliate link).

Tip 4: Do not start at the beginning!

Tip 5: Write the easiest parts of your research paper first

To get momentum, always write the easiest parts of the text first in writing sprints. As a result, you quickly finish a big chunk of the publication, which motivates you to complete the rest. Choose the section which you find the most manageable. This reduces unnecessary strain on your motivation and increases your output in record time. I usually start with the figure legends, the results, and the materials & methods section.

Tip 6: Use the figure legends as the starting point to structure your paper

This important step quickly reveals whether the order is self-explanatory and whether there are gaps in the story. Add a to-do list in the comments about missing figures, data, labels, arrows, etc. This to-do list reminds you of what to work on later. As a result, your writing flow does not get interrupted.

Tip 7: Write an unedited version of the results section

When the legends are ready, you may use them as a blueprint to write the results. To get a rough draft, explain the data in each figure comprehensively in a very readable way. Do not force yourself to be perfect, and do not start to edit the text while writing to avoid interrupting your writing process. In later rounds, you shorten the manuscript to be more concise. This makes you a better writer.

Tip 8: Write the materials & methods section during lower-concentration times

Writing the materials & methods section is a rather administrative task but, unfortunately, very important for good science. You may not think that it is a great thing, but other scientists must be able to reproduce your findings. In addition, plagiarism investigators love to check your materials & methods section for mistakes.

Since the first step is administrative, you can prepare this section when you do not have the highest degree of concentration and creativity. Reserve these times for the quality content, thus, the discussion and introduction. Often you can copy-paste from previous publications of your group or others because you use similar methods. Naturally, copy-paste mistakes are a risk. If you copy-paste from others, rewrite sufficiently and adapt the text to your lab practice to avoid plagiarism.

You may find it boring, but take a deep breath and write it quickly.  In a second round, correct all mistakes and omissions with precision. A lot of writers suggest that separating the fast writing mode from the editing phase makes you much faster. Finally, let others check your work. Let co-authors check the description of the methods they have used for their contribution.

Tip 9: Create a skeleton and add the meat later

When writing the discussion and introduction section, create an outline first. Professional writers know, planning ahead before beginning any publication will save much time later. Outlines are blueprints that tell you precisely what to write next. You never have a blank page or a blank screen. This is a great way to avoid writer’s block. You do not need a perfect, solid outline. A preliminary one that may change over time is sufficient.

For faster writing, create a list of subchapter titles and list the main points to address. You can easily add bullet points with the correct reference during the literature research phase to use less time for research. It promotes good writing when most of the information is ready, and you only have to create a continuous text. There are many different ways to increase your output. However, having a well-structured outline is essential.

Tip 10: Use a reference management system to organize your references efficiently

Using a reference management system is obligatory to write fast. Such a system allows you to easily organize and manage your references, making it easier to find the ones you need when writing your article. You download the correct citation from a databank (for example, PubMed) as an easy way to avoid typos.

With a few shortcuts, you insert references into your document, and your reference list is updated while writing. Many reference management systems have built-in citation styles that automatically format your citations and bibliography in the correct style for your target journal. This can save you a lot of time and effort.

There are many reference management systems on the market. I have used ENDNOTE for many years, but there are also free alternatives .

Tip 11: Use a writing assistance tool to improve your writing style

The quality of your English in scientific publications influences your chances of getting positive reviews and getting published. If your English is of high quality, it can help your work stand out and be more easily understood by the reviewers and editors evaluating it.

I do not have a native English speaker among my staff members. Thus, I have to get help from a writing assistance tool. There are several writing tools on the market. I am a big fan of Grammarly. Using this app has dramatically increased my writing speed and the quality of my scientific writing in English. As a non-native speaker, writing the English language is still challenging. Grammar checkers are not enough. Grammarly significantly improves my writing skills, including grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It also flags misspelled terms, formatting mistakes, passive voice, and sentences of excessive length or unclear structure.

Grammarly is seldom satisfied with my writing. Thus, I get a multitude of hints on writing more concisely. Grammarly just informed me that I should replace ’ a multitude of ’ with ‘ many.’ But I want this sentence to be wordy. 😊

After using Grammarly or similar software for a while, you will never go back because you write so much faster.

Tip 12: Simplify your language and be concise

Always use accessible language and split long sentences to write faster and increase readability. Writing concise manuscripts that transport the complete message is a never-ending learning process. Ernest Hemingway acknowledged it has taken his whole life to write in simple, concise prose. As a start, use Grammarly or similar programs to flag overlong sentences and complicated grammatical constructions.

Tip 13: Use artificial intelligence (AI) to inspire your writing

The current AI systems are not fully functional enough to generate high-standard scientific texts. To the best of my knowledge, these systems have not yet been trained sufficiently on scientific manuscripts and therefore lack the necessary background to generate professional scientific content. Furthermore, there have been numerous reports of plagiarism issues, the inclusion of fabricated statements in AI-generated texts, and a general absence of proper citations and references . However, the AI text generator cactus.ai can already produce essays that include some references.

Therefore, it is essential to note that – up to now – AI text generators such as ChatGPT or cactus.ai cannot cite sources or create a list of references with sufficient accuracy for scientific publications. Therefore, you will need to review the generated text carefully and manually add citations and references. I am convinced that this will change very soon.

However, ChatGPT suggests that “AI has the potential to streamline the research paper writing process by enabling rapid and accurate analysis of large amounts of data. For example, AI can be utilized to analyze experimental results and generate tables and graphs that can be incorporated into a paper more efficiently than if created manually.”

While we wait for AI text generators to improve, we can use them for two purposes:

• We can generate a rough draft of a paragraph for a review or the introduction or discussion section of a research paper. This draft should be treated as the work of an uneducated student and thoroughly rewritten, with all statements checked against the literature and adequately cited.
• We can let them rewrite scientific manuscripts that are poorly written, for example, by non-native speakers like me.

Tip 14: Let others write the first draft of the paper

When you are more advanced in your scientific career, you can ask your group members to write the first draft of the paper. Writing research publications and reviews is an essential skill to learn for young scientists such as PhD students and postdocs. They have to learn how to present their own work in a convincing and readable way. They must learn to follow all the small hidden rules that make a study appear either professional or “shabby.” For example, they learn to use the correct format of abbreviations throughout the document or to distinguish clearly between results and interpretations.

I follow the simple rule that the first author writes most of the paper and takes care of formatting text, figures, and tables. I am convinced that receiving extensive feedback on these rough drafts is a good way for young scientists to learn to write better papers and to promote their science careers. In my experience, the first drafts of a young scientist are usually terrible, and every page needs hundreds of corrections. In later projects, they start to know the rules and apply them automatically and produce their best work. They know what I expect and are much faster. This is a lot of work for me initially, but it is worth it. Later, they write the first drafts of their studies much more quickly, and the amount of time for corrections is reduced.

You may think about hiring a freelance writer. Their services usually are pretty expensive, but they may substantially reduce your workload. Make sure to acknowledge their participation in the acknowledgment section but be prepared that some journals may have reservations. I have tried to work with two freelance writers but never published one of those texts.

Tip 15: Postpone editing until the following day

One way to finish a writing project faster is to stop writing and postpone editing until the following day. The main reason is to allow your brain to continue processing new ideas while you sleep, allowing them to “incubate” and silence the inner critic. From personal experience, I have found that I have more clarity and can rewrite the manuscript more efficiently the next day. Additionally, taking a break and returning to the text with fresh eyes can help you approach it with a new perspective and accelerate the editing process. Waiting a long time, such as several months or years, is counterproductive because you must start engaging again with the manuscript, and essential new references may be missing.

Tip 16: Get a lot of feedback from some authors early in the process

You may be inclined to wait until the last moment to give the manuscript to others for feedback. In contrast, I would suggest giving an early draft of the manuscript to your supervisor or a trustworthy colleague. Ask them to highlight possible problems in the argumentation or presentation of the data to your target audience. If there are no significant flaws, this is good news. If you have to rewrite substantial parts of the manuscript, it is better to know this before you send the paper to all the co-authors.  This helps to avoid unnecessary work and eliminates mistakes early in the process.

Tip 17: Get feedback from all authors in the last round

Before submitting the paper, try to get input from all authors. Some may spot tiny details, such as missing individual letters, and others may criticize the overall argumentation. Every bit helps to improve the document.

In some cases, you may have the impression to have fake authors in the authors’ list . However, if an author has not contributed substantially before, now is still a chance to let them contribute intellectually.

Tip 18: Check early which information you need for the submission

A classic mistake of young scientists is to wait until the submission date to check which information is requested by the target journal. Thus, before reaching the finish line, it is a good idea to check whether you have to provide additional information, such as a laymen’s summary in simple language or an overview of the essential findings in a few short bullet-point statements.

Tip 19: Develop a pre-submission checklist for the following publications

Finally, create a simple checklist to accelerate the process next time. Here is a short list of elements that typically get forgotten during the publishing process:

• Are all abbreviations explained the first time they are used?
• Are all symbols and abbreviations in the figures and tables explained in the legends?
• Do all labels in the figures have the same letter size?
• Is there an abstract and a laymen’s summary (if needed)?
• Are all helpful persons and all funding sources mentioned in the acknowledgments?
• Are all potential conflicts of interest disclosed by the co-authors?

These are just a few examples that illustrate why a checklist makes you faster.

Recommended reading

The following articles may also interest you:

• What is a substantial contribution to a paper?
• 28 Tips to Get More Citations for Your Publications
• Should I have senior authorships as a postdoc?
• Should I aim for co-authorships on high-impact papers?
• Should I aim for multiple co-authorships to extend my publication list?
• Should I publish negative results, or does this ruin my career in science?
• I have a fake author on my paper – what should I do?
• 10 simple strategies to increase the impact factor of your publication
• What is the best publication strategy in science?

Is being a professor worth it?

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Get clarity about your career! Find your dream job in science!

Career in academia?

Learn the rules and become a professor!

Sven Hendrix is a Professor for Neuroanatomy at Medical School Hamburg (MSH) in Germany. He leads a research group dedicated to the neuroimmunology of brain repair and the development of xenofree organoid models as alternatives to animal experiments. Additionally, he serves as the speaker for CENE, a center focused on academic career development across MSH, Medical School Berlin (MSB), and the Health and Medical University (HMU) in Potsdam and Erfurt, Germany.

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How To Write Articles Faster and Make a Better Living

When I first started writing professionally, I would rework my content so much that I sometimes made around $4 an hour. That barely covers my cream soda addiction! Most writers are interested in things like paying bills and feeding their children, so a low rate like that doesn’t fly. Well, at least it doesn’t have to.

If you’re looking for tips on how to write faster, then one of the best places to learn is from freelance writers who have been there before. Listen to them (me!), and there is no doubt that you’ll be able to write faster and see an increase in your output (and your paycheck), all without letting work quality slip.

How To Write Faster and Better

In the freelance writing realm, the faster you write, the more money you make. Most content writing gigs are paid out per article, and the payout is usually determined on a per-word basis. The more words you can complete in a quicker time frame, the higher your pay per hour becomes.

The key is to be able to increase your writing speed without seeing major drops in quality. Sure, you can mash the keyboard and get lots of letters on a page, but if your content provides little to no value, then you’ll likely lose clients, jobs, and opportunities for higher-paying work.

So, without further ado, here are eight great tips on how to write faster and better and how to make more money at the same time.

1. Understand the Learning Curve

The most important tip is to realize that there WILL be a learning curve when you first start writing content professionally. I’ve talked to so many writers who’ve spent multiple hours on their first paid article only to find that they were averaging less than $5 bucks an hour. I get it; that rate sucks. But you have to remember that learning how to write a blog post fast doesn’t happen overnight. Just like anything else, it takes practice.

For one, when writing articles for clients that you haven’t written for before, you have to learn about their industry, what they do and what their writing requirements are. Sometimes, understanding the writing guidelines and industry nuances takes way more time than actually writing the article. However, once you get it, the content creation process can speed up exponentially.

The trick is to start slow. Take one article at a time, ask the client (or editor) you’re working with for feedback, and try not to get overwhelmed. For most new freelance writers I’ve worked with (and I’ve worked with thousands), writing starts to get much quicker, better, more familiar and easier after about 2-4 weeks . If that’s too much time for you to wait, then this gig might not be for you. But just remember that few people pay for skills that anyone can do right off the bat.

2. Sometimes Less Is More

I know this heading is vague, but it has multiple meanings when it comes to how to write fast and neat for clients. Ultimately, the point is that if you become a specialist in certain industries, clients or content types, you can reduce the amount of research, back and forth, client headaches and general mayhem in your professional writing. This ultimately leads to quicker writing and higher pay. Here are some specific examples:

Do More Article Writing for Fewer Clients

In the beginning, you may be tempted to take on work from every client you can. This is a mistake. With every client having different style guides, writing requirements and communication/feedback styles, you could spend hours learning the ins and outs of each client. This increases your writing time; it doesn’t make your writing quicker. So you may have more work, but you’re being much less efficient, which isn’t ideal.

Instead, start with just a few clients you can write lots of content for. That way, you can invest time early on in their style guides, industry nuances and terminology, which will allow you to perfect the writing style for each client. Once you’ve done five or six pieces, you’ll start creating your own shortcuts for getting great content that the client can use. While there may be less variety in what you’re writing about, you’ll maximize your efficiency, and your writing will get quicker.

Do More Writing of Fewer Content Types

In the same vein as the previous tip for writing faster, try reducing the different types of content you write. In the freelance writing world, there are ALL kinds of content you could be writing. Some examples include:

• Press releases
• Case studies
• Social media posts
• Product descriptions
• Location pages
• White papers

And that’s just to name a few! Remember that all of these different content types have different requirements that make them unique from each other, and learning the ins and outs of each again increases your research and time investment.

Like writing for fewer clients, to learn how to write faster, you should first work on perfecting fewer types of content writing where the formatting and purpose are similar. For instance, if you love writing sales copy, try creating product and category descriptions. You’ll still get the experience and efficiency of writing lots of sales copy while getting the variety of writing for different e-commerce products. This can help you to plug and play formatting guidelines and speed up the writing process.

Incremental Increases Lead to Efficient, Well-Rounded Writing

Lastly, I don’t want to discourage any writers from branching out in their writing for different industries or content types. This is the spice of the writing life! The main point is that if you’re frustrated or overwhelmed with how slow your writing is, this is one way you learn how to write faster. Start with less, then move up to more once you’ve mastered the others. Add to your writing repertoire incrementally instead of all at once.

3. Turn Off Distractions

You don’t need to find out what your friends had for lunch or look at pictures of their babies when you should be writing. Some of the biggest distractions for writers include:

• Social Media
• Candy Crush
• Online Boggle/Scrabble
• Phones in General
• The Internet
• Video Games/Fortnite
• Basically, Anything and Everything

The truth is, there are so many distractions when you’re a freelance writer working remotely. The key is to identify the biggest personal distractions for you and learn what works for you to turn them off and set them aside while you write a blog post, article, e-book or anything else. Reward yourself with a voyeuristic jaunt online after your article is complete.

For now, silence your phone, sign out of all 15 of your social media accounts, and get prepared to start focusing. I have had to put my phone on the other side of the room so that I didn’t mindlessly check it just because it was there. That’s a real obsession, but one of the steps to recovery is admitting that you have a problem, so I think that I’m doing alright.

4. Plan Time To Write

One of the easiest ways to write faster is to set aside dedicated time just for writing. Literally, make an appointment with just you and your keyboard. Sometimes, you’re not actually a slow writer, but because of the way you’ve organized your day, it feels like you’re slow as molasses.

For example, let’s imagine it’s just past lunchtime. The baby has gone down for a nap, and you have a few extra minutes to yourself that you figure you’ll put to good use. As you sit down to start writing, the phone rings, a package comes to the door (which wakes up your baby from the nap) and all of a sudden, you are busy with more day-to-day things to take care of. As a result, the writing goes on the back shelf.

From the time you first started writing to the time you ended, perhaps 3-4 hours have gone by! But in reality, you were sitting at your computer writing for only an hour of that. The rest was you multi-tasking like a champ. If you can plan dedicated time just for writing, you may be surprised with how much you get done and how quickly you are actually writing.

5. Find Your Focus

Finding your focus has less to do with centering your chi and more to do with coming up with a topic to write about. Sure, you could do an open online search of your keywords and see if something interesting pops up, but I guarantee that if you take that approach, you will still be researching after 30 minutes (unless you have more control than I do). Researching can be very interesting, but without a focus, you can easily find yourself reading an enthralling article about celebrities and the people they used to date.

As soon as you sit down to work, think about your topic or the keyword you’ve been given. Then, follow our tips for getting rid of predictable content and ask yourself one of the following question starters:

Come up with one or two questions to help drive your focus before you research. For example, if your topic is about swimming pools, then you might ask yourself, “How can I make a pool safe for children?” Once you have that question in mind, look for content that helps answer it.

Another great thing about the internet is that there are lots of free tools available to help you when you aren’t feeling particularly creative. One such tool is called answerthepublic.com . If you are looking for how to write a blog post fast, simply type in a keyword or topic, and it will give you an ideation wheel using data that is currently being searched for. This method of finding a focus can give you TONS of directions to take the article. Give it a go!

6. Cut Back on Research

It seems counterintuitive, but it is possible to research too much depending on the type of content you’re writing.

Instead, your research should match the topic/purpose of the content at hand. If you’re drafting a 300-word blog on a common topic, it doesn’t pay (literally) to spend 30-45 minutes looking up facts and tips. Plus, sorting through loads of information after you’ve gathered it can be time-consuming.

But if you’re writing a novel, research may take you months of preparation before you start character or world-building.

How To Research and Write Articles Faster

Limit yourself to a relatively short but reasonable period of time to find your source material. Time yourself if you need to. In many cases (like when rewriting existing product descriptions, for example), it’s possible to find solid information in under five minutes.

On the other hand, if you are a specialist in an industry and have been asked to write expert-level content, you should increase your research time to make sure you’re speaking knowledgeably about the subject. Typically, you’ll be paid more to do more intense research for a project like that.

7. Prepare an Outline

Whether you are writing a blog post, an SEO article, or the next great American novel, do yourself a favor and create an outline. This should be done while you are researching. Having a basic structure to work from keeps you from mindlessly staring at a blank screen. Every writer attacks the outline in an individual way, but a common trick is to write the headings and then fill them in.

When it comes to how to write a blog post faster, I use a template. First, I come up with a title, leave room for an introduction and include three to five main points I can turn into headers. Lastly, I end with a conclusion. I don’t always write the main points in succession. I frequently move the sections around after I’m done, depending on the flow of the article when I’m proofreading it at the end.

The trick is to give yourself five or six starting points. You’ll gain momentum as you start filling in the blanks and watch your screen fill up with words.

8. Silence Your Inner Critics

If you want to write quickly, then you need to learn to shut off the voices in your head telling you to write an award-winning sentence before you move on to the next. This is my biggest weakness. Start with a first draft, but realize that it won’t be perfect. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write without stopping or editing. Get out all of your thoughts, letting your stream of consciousness flow.

Lastly, abide by this list of don’ts:

• Don’t stop writing until the timer dings.
• Don’t backspace.
• Don’t read and reread what you’ve already written.
• Don’t stop to look up a smarter sounding word or check the article requirements.
• Don’t toggle between researching new information and writing content.
• Don’t worry that you’ll be shamed for life if someone reads the draft before you have time to polish it.

You may think that this technique will leave you with a mess that will take even longer to fix, but try it out and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the gems that come to mind when you get outside of your head and let the content flow. Once you’re done with the rough draft (aka information dump ), you will definitely have to rearrange a few paragraphs, run spell check, and incorporate the article guidelines.

But, I expect you’ll be giddy with excitement to see how much time you saved because of how much faster you were writing.

Share the Wealth on How To Write Articles Faster and Better

I challenge all writers to diligently try this process for a full week (at least). Share it with your writer friends, and let us know if you’ve noticed a difference in how much you can get done every day. Lastly, please share any other fast writing tips you have on how to write faster in the comments below.

Happy and fast writing!

Amber Morris

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Have you seen those successful bloggers that put out some crazy amount of content?

They write everywhere: on their own website, on Linkedin, Medium, Social Media. Everywhere.

How do they manage to write so much?

You probably think they were born with this gift. Or that they are somehow much more creative than you.

Not so. It’s much easier than you think.

If you want to learn how, I’m gonna show you how you could write a killer article in 3 hours, even if you’re not a writer and have zero inspiration.

Think I’m exaggerating?

Well, I know it sure sounds like.

Because the truth is, if you’re not a professional writer with lots of experience, is damn hard to push out article after article.

If you’re a business owner , you have to do almost everything, right?

You’re the one who has to get new clients. You’re the one who has to manage the team. Or the one who makes sure the services/products are delivered on time.

So, how on Earth could you possibly have the time and creative energy to write articles, right?

If you’re just starting out as a writer or content marketer, you don’t have the experience and the knowledge, so you’re sometimes staring at a blank screen for hours, isn’t it?

And then the deadline comes and you start getting stressed. And when you’re stressed, you can’t think well and be creative.

I know the feeling.

But fortunately for you, I found an absolute great method that allows me not only to write faster but also better.

And the best part is that it’s super simple and anyone can do it if you follow the right formula. You don’t need to be a super-creative guy or have a lot of writing experience.

Let me walk you through the whole process.

Step #1 – Find your blog post ideas

Think about it this way – your article usually solves a problem. It answers a question people might have about a particular subject.

So, it’s super easy to come up with an article idea IF you know this single trick: you don’t have to invent a blog post idea.

You just have to find some questions people have about a particular subject that are related to your industry.

Where do you find these questions?

Here’s how I found my ideas for this blog post:

1) Answer the public

This is a tool that finds a bunch of questions people asks online related to a certain topic you choose. It is very useful if you want to better understand your target audience .

For instance, I wanted to write something about blogging so I wanted to see what questions people have related to blog posts.

Then I played a little bit and I changed my seed keyword from “blog post” to “how to write a blog post” (topic idea that I found in my first search if you look at the print screen).

And I found some interesting questions that gave me the title of this article.

But this isn’t the only place to find blog post ideas.

Here’s another one.

Quora is one of the first places people go to ask for help (after Google, of course).

3) Google Suggestions

I wrote “how to write a blog post” on Google and here are some other suggestions Google gave me:

Some of these are useful ideas that I could cover in another article. Like “How to write a blog and make money” or “How to write a blog about yourself” .

But there are some topics that are also a great fit in this article. Like  ”blog post template” or “blog writing format” (you’ll see that I used them a little bit later in the article).

4) Keyword Planner

This is super-useful.

It’s a free tool from Google where you introduce a seed keyword and it gives you a lot of other keywords that people use on Google. If you want to increase organic traffic on your blog, you should start with this tool.

Step #2 – Create an outline by asking questions

If you want to learn how to write articles fast, you need an outline.

Well, for 2 reasons:

•  If you create an outline, it will be very clear to you what ideas you want to express. If it is clear for you, it will also be for your readers.
•  If you don’t create an outline, you might jump from an idea to another without having a clear path. And if you don’t have a logic structure, you’ll confuse your audience.

Now, you might say that you still don’t have enough ideas to cover in the article.

But here’s a trick.

You can create your outline in less than 10 minutes.

Simply by asking questions.

What questions?

Well, the questions your readers would ask about a particular subject. You can use your intuition or you can put directly the questions you found in step 1.

Here’s how the outline for this post looks like:

Step #3 – Write your first ugly draft (don’t stop even if you make mistakes)

There are 3 steps that I use and I found them very effective, but you don’t need to follow the same pattern or do them in the same order.

It’s up to you. Test things out and see how it feels right for you.

1) Research

This step fires up your neurons and puts the „creativity wheel” into motion.

As I said, you can skip this step, especially if you already know your topic very well. But if you don’t, starting with research will help you avoid staring at the blank screen for hours and getting frustrated.

Because remember: words are just an expression of what it is already in your mind!

2) Introduction (copy this template)

I usually write the introduction first, but sometimes the right words just don’t come out.

So I start creating directly the “body” of the article and then almost miraculously my intro starts taking form in my head.

So again, it’s up to you when you choose to write the introduction.

Anyway, here’s an introduction template that draws people in and makes them want to read the rest of your article.

VERIFY something the reader has observed or experienced.

Here’s an example:

“Have you seen those successful bloggers that put out some crazy amount of content?

They write everywhere: on their own website, on Linkedin, Medium, Social Media.

How do they write so much?”  

VALIDATE their internal conclusion or response.

Let’s continue with the example we started earlier:

“You probably think they were born with this gift of writing. Or that they are somehow much more creative than you.”

Use this as a VANTAGE  point to pivot into the topic of your choice and PROMISE the solution.

“Not so. It’s easy. If you want to learn how, I’m gonna show you how you could write a killer article in 3 hours, even if you’re not a writer and even if you have zero inspiration.”

[Optional] Share a common VALUE to cement rapport that pulls you together from inside.

The example is the remaining part of the introduction of this article  🙂

3) Write like your life depends on it

Here’s a trick you won’t find on many blogs.

If you want to avoid staring at a blank screen and getting frustrated, you just start writing what you have in mind.

You don’t stop for grammar mistakes, punctuation or to check if it makes sense. You just dump all that.

Still, have no idea what to write?

Start with blah blah blah .

Yup, you’ve read that right. You start typing blah blah blah blah blah until some ideas pop up and you start writing those.

Don’t believe me. Test it. I’ve heard about this trick from the legendary copywriter Gary Halbert and it changed my (writer) life since then.

Step #4 – Edit

Now you start polishing your article. The order in which you do the next parts is not really important, but it’s very important to do them.

1) Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes

This one is pretty obvious. The fastest way to do this is to use a tool like Grammarly .

2) Make sure your article is easy to be read

Use subheadings to make it easier for the eyes

A lot of people scan the articles and if something interesting grabs their attention, they stick. So if you have a wall of text and nothing sticks out, you’ve lost your reader.

Use bullets for important pieces of information

The same as above. Make it easy for people to get value out of your article. You could lose a lot of traffic if you don’t design your content for both scanners and those who read every the last word.

If you have a long list, add it as a bullet point list. It is way more readable and gives the articles much needed dynamic.

Use images to convey important messages and break up large blocks of text

A lot of times it’s easier to use an image instead of trying to explain certain concepts in words.

Use maximum 2-3 sentences per paragraph

Which of these is easier to read?

Use bucket brigades to lure the reader into reading your whole article (without them even noticing it)

Ok, let me explain.

You might have noticed that I tend to use short sentences like these:

“Think I’m exaggerating?”

“But not anymore.”

“The best part?”

These short, nifty little sentences are designed to keep people on your page.

Think about it: you read something like “here’s the secret of this:” . Do you stop there and quit the page? Of course not, you’re curious, right?

You know what?

Let me give you some more words like these that you can steal (see what I did here? :D):

Here’s the deal.

But there’s a catch.

What’s the real story?

How can you actually use this?

The best part?

Why does this matter?

That’s not all…

For Example:

Well, anyway, this all leads me to

But don’t let this scare you

What else should you…? Well, one thing.

Guess what?

But why do I stress arm development so much?

Here’s something to remember

What that means is…

Now, that’s no sin

Now, don’t get the wrong idea and start…

The point is this:

Don’t get me wrong

Here’s a couple of more good ideas

You might be wondering:

Want to know the best part?

But you may be wondering, “where do I put these words?”

It’s not an exact science. Place them wherever you feel the reader might hit the X button.

It could be after a longer paragraph. It could be in the middle of the article.

Use analogies/comparisons/metaphors (where it’s possible)

Metaphors, comparisons, stories, analogies are like a hidden trapdoor to the human mind.

People remember and understand any idea better if you use one of these.

Why? (see the bucket brigade again? :D)

Because the emotional part of our brain is highly attuned to symbolic meanings and to the mode Freud called the “primary process”: the messages of metaphor, story, myth, the arts.

Useful tip: You won’t always remember the perfect story to convey your ideas. That’s why a trick is to save all the stories, metaphors, comparisons you hear or read into a file, a folder or whatever. This way, when you write an article, you can always skim that folder for something useful.

Write at least 20 headlines

Ok, you probably know that there’s a debate going on here for probably centuries.

Some people say to first write the title and then the rest of the article, while some argue that it doesn’t matter.

I think it’s a matter of preference. I found it easier to write the title in the end because after I write the article, I have more ideas wandering my mind than when I first sit down to write it.

Here are some headline structures and examples to help you out:

Introducing [brand name]  + benefit

Introducing the new Volvo XC10, a new SUV to access all areas.

Announcing [brand name] + your ideal client

An important announcement to homeowners

New + benefit

A new wonder drug to burn fat

At last + something people have been long waiting for!

At last, a toothbrush that lasts for more than 6 months

Variation of the “At Last” headline .

Has a remedy for the common cold been found at last?

Discovered – amazing way to grow your hair

Why {significant amount of people} love/try {brand/personality/service}

Why do over 10k people love this new coach?

Why are all these people going crazy after this new watch?

Why do all these people spend their fortunes in this new car?

{significant amount of people} love/tried {brand/personality/service/course} and they overcome the {Unexpected Culprit} That Keeps them {Unpleasant Thing}

Over 100k people tried this exercise to overcome the body chemicals that keep them fat

1000+ people took this mindfulness course and got rid of that nagging voice in their head once and for all

1000+ people took this productivity course and they overcome the procrastination that kept them from growing their business

{significant amount of people} did/tried {solution} and they {desirable outcome}

10.000+ people read this book and become smarter

This book made over 1 million people smarter

80% of people who tried this course, doubled their revenue in 6 months

How a {Former customer} tried  {solution} to {desirable outcome}

How one of my students used copywriting to triple her sales in less than 12 months

How one of my students used this course to quit her job and earn over 5k/month

How one of my students used yoga to recover from a severe depression

Give me ___ And I’ll ___

Give Me 5 Days and I’ll Give You a Magnetic Personality

Give Me Just 1 Hour a Day and I’ll Have You Speaking French like “Pierre” in One Month

Give Me a Chance to Ask Seven Questions and I’ll Prove You Are Wasting a Small Fortune on Your Advertising

How to Permanently Stop {Painful or Embarrassing Thing} (Even if You’ve Tried Everything!)

Botox injections for sweat:

How to permanently stop wet armpits from ruining your day (even if you’ve tried everything!)

How-to-negotiate course:

Permanently stop feeling underpaid and underappreciated (even if you’ve tried everything!)

Never start writing an article before doing this

Whenever you start writing a blog post, you can come back here and use this article as a guide. It’s simple and it works like a charm. I use it to write 4-5 articles per week without much effort.

But there’s one crucial thing I would like you to remember from this article: you can’t put content out if you don’t put content in.

Words are just ideas that are already in your head. This is why you have to read a lot if you want to produce great content that people will share .

And one last tip: Write all your ideas down. Whenever you read a blog post, you watch a video or you go to a conference, write the most interesting ideas down.

One day, those ideas could turn into articles.

Patrik is a growth hacking marketer and the owner of  Strodin.com , where he helps dentists get more patients. He obsessively tests everything until he finds those details that turn strategies, concepts and words into sales.

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Collaboration Corner: Professional Writers Share Tips on Writing Articles Faster

by Amber Morris | Nov 10, 2021 | Collaboration Corner | 0 comments

Previously, I’ve written articles on how we can write faster and make more money as freelance writers and editors. This topic is essential to anyone trying to earn a living one word at a time, so we decided to open it up even more by passing the microphone to professional SEO writers and seeing what tricks of the trade they employ. We got some great tips not only on how to write articles faster, but also on how to write fast while writing well.

Tips On How To Write Articles Faster

Being a content writing company, we had access to a professional writer or two… So we asked some of our most proficient writers what they do to keep the words flowing. Here’s what they had to say about how to write articles faster:

1. Relate Article Topics to Your Life

“For me, it’s all about relating the article to my life, and transferring those feelings (not always knowledge, but *feelings*) to the readers. I’ve done a few plumbing-related articles lately. I don’t know a thing about plumbing, but I do know exactly how I felt when I woke up one morning with water streaming via a broken pipe from the laundry room out into the kitchen and (carpeted) living and dining rooms. Stress, confusion, panic! Simply writing about how you feel about something takes far less time than sitting and learning specifics about the topic itself.”  – Heather Lunsford, Las Vegas, NV

2. Get Organized

“I always start by creating a title and outline to give me a clear direction. This also helps me to break up the work into smaller more manageable sections so I don’t feel overwhelmed with the whole task at once.” – Katie Steadman, UT

“If I spend five minutes thinking about the important bullet points I want to cover first, I can almost crank out the rest of the content on autopilot. Making an outline of 3-5 headers (or more depending on word count) takes care of the brunt of the thinking up front for me. Then, as I write, I can just look to each header as a prompt to know what to cover without stopping to think of more content.” – Kelly Burt, Denver, CO

3. Switch It Up

“What I sometimes like to do is switch between projects so that I don’t get bored or frustrated writing four 550-word articles about air conditioner replacements. While stepping away from the computer for a few minutes is a good way to keep from flinging your computer out of the window, the time you spend away from the computer is money that you aren’t making.“ – O’Brian Gunn, Denver, CO

4. Clean Your Writing Workspace

“For me, writing faster is all about the prep each morning. I clean for an hour, starting with my office space. This helps make sure that there are fewer interruptions and that there are not piles of stuff to take care of within my field of vision.” – Daneen Hill, Clearfield, UT

5. Google With a Goal

“When I first started at BKA, one of the hardest things was coming up with article topics , so now I take the keyword(s) and think about a phrase I might Google if I was interested in that topic, then search for that phrase. I also like to copy/paste the relevant content from at least three different sources into my Word document before I begin typing. This accomplishes two things: (1) it offers a variety of content so I won’t end up with an article that is basically a copy of someone else’s work (even if I do put it into my own words), and (2) it saves time because I don’t have to keep going back and forth between my browser and word processor while writing.”  – Tracy Hernandez, Highland, UT

6. Keep It Quiet

“For my most streamlined writing, I need it to be relatively quiet. This means no little ones running around me and no music or videos. Excessive distraction usually means I hop from one unfinished task to another and end up stressed out with a literal headache.” – Britainy Sorenson, Pleasant Grove, UT

7. Put the Kids to Bed

“For me, fast writing only happens after the littles head to bed. It’s just too difficult to write about surgical errors, renovations and tooth decay while simultaneously wiping little bums, breaking up arguments and ensuring that my wreck of a house gets even passably clean. If needed, I’ll head to the library with the laptop and a jug of water. Being forced to focus on the writing is the greatest help for my meager brain and time per article.” – Becca Bowler, Vancouver, WA

8. Race Against Yourself

“What I’ll sometimes do is set myself a time limit. I’ll tell myself that I have to finish the first draft of the article in fifteen minutes. It not only helps me to go faster, but almost turns it into sort of a game. (I give myself unlimited time for editing, though, so that I still send in good articles.)” – Jenica Jessen, Riverton, UT

9. Consider the Reader

“Ask yourself what will get the reader to follow up and contact the client. Writing a landing page on the importance of the negotiating indigenous land agreements with aboriginals for mining corporations in Western Australia can seem hopelessly confusing. However, that can be the perfect message to get across. It’s so confusing, the reader really needs to call the client ASAP. Read a few articles online to pick up on necessary jargon in addition to the client URL, and you’re good to go.” – Kate Kishel, Denver, CO

10. Write What You Know

“Writing quickly is easier when I’m writing on a subject I’m familiar with. Though one of the things I love about writing content is getting to learn about lots of new subjects, when time is pressing I gravitate towards articles that don’t require much new research. Sometimes I have articles that require a different topic related to the same subject. I tackle the straightforward ones first. Even if I don’t know much about the subject, writing about what I do know is quick and easy. Then I can spend a little extra time on research.” – Jessica M., Salt Lake City, UT

How To Write Articles Faster? Turn These Tips Into Habits

I’m confident that if you can make even just one of these fast article writing tips a habit, you will see a reduction in how long it takes you to get your work done, which will give you more time to earn money (or nap). Try them out, and let us know which ones work the best for helping you to write articles faster!

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Artificial Intelligence How to Write Faster – Top Ways to Boost Your Writing Speed Using AI

• 1) Average Typing Speed Vs Fast Typing Speed
• 2) Start with an Outline and Information Gathering
• 3) Set Realistic Goals and Deadlines
• 4) Time Your Writing Speed
• 5) Use This Journalist’s Trick: Placeholders
• 6) Turn Off the Grammar Checker
• 7) Revise and Edit Later
• 8) Stick to Your Schedule
• 9) Automate Your Typing to Skip Keystrokes
• 10) Figure Out the Best Time for Writing
• 11) Eliminate Distractions
• 12) Maintain Good Posture
• 13) Write Under Pressure (from Your Bladder)
• 14) Wrapping it Up
• 15.1) How to become a faster writer?
• 15.2) How to write articles faster?

Have you ever sat down to write a 500 word article in a couple of hours but ended up spending a day on it? One of the biggest challenges content writers face is the speed of writing. Content creation is a creative process and it requires you to follow a set of best practices to optimize your writing speed. In this blog post, we discuss the best tips on how to write faster and save time.

Average Typing Speed Vs Fast Typing Speed

Did you know that the average writing speed is around 40 words per minute? For those who want to aim for faster writing speed, a word count of 50-75 words per minute is considered as fast writing.  [1]

If you are learning how to write faster, here are some tips & best practices to get ahead of your performance:

Start with an Outline and Information Gathering

The first thing you need to do to boost your writing performance is to assign a title, an outline and the structure of your writing piece. Depending upon the nature of your writing, you can decide all these parameters and start the writing process . Once you have figured out the structure of your writing, the next steps become easier to follow.

Set Realistic Goals and Deadlines

One of the biggest factors which discourages writing speed for anyone are unrealistic goals and deadlines. If you have been writing for a few days, you will know just how much time it takes for you to reach a certain word limit. You must decide all your writing goals and deadlines based on your benchmark performance. If you take 2 hours to jot down 300 words, you must stick to that deadline during the initial phase of writing. Later on, you can increase your deadlines and goals to aptly boost and meet your writing speed.

Time Your Writing Speed

A great way to push yourself to meet your writing goals is to set a writing timer. If you are wondering how to write faster than others, it is a great idea to time your writing speed. Set a timer to remind you about the time you are spending on a particular article or blog post. Timer should not become a source of stress for you, instead it should simply help you be mindful of not spending too much time on a task which you can manage to do in a shorter time. Another great tip to improve your writing speed is to take short breaks of 5-10 minutes after every 30 minutes or an hour of writing to avoid burnout. 

Use This Journalist’s Trick: Placeholders

Have you ever wondered why journalists tend to be fast writers? While most of us get stuck on filling gaps where information is lacking, journalists use an old-school trick of using placeholder phrases or words. Usually, journalists use “TK” on spaces which need more information for proper writing. TK is essentially an abbreviation or shorthand figure of text which means “To Come”. Thus, TK helps you keep a blank space for acquiring more information later on. Ultimately, you can focus more on writing your first draft than looking for information to fill the gaps. After using this trick, you will be surprised to know that your head usually has the bulk of information that you want to write. Moreover, there is usually very little need to acquire more information later on.

Turn Off the Grammar Checker 

The squiggly red lines alert and divert our brain more than anything else. Most of the content creators tend to do things right the first time. However, it is important to understand that writing is a process. And just like any other process, there are ways to optimize your writing speed. One of those ways is to turn off any grammar checker you are using while you write the first draft. Pausing and fixing the grammar errors in the middle of writing disturbs the writing flow, ultimately pushing you to create poore drafts than you initially thought to write. 

Revise and Edit Later

We all make mistakes during the initial draft of our writing. However, this does not mean that we should correct the mistakes right there and then. In fact, a better way to write faster is to create a rough draft and edit it later. During the editing and revision process, you can shift your mind to judgment and correction mode. Thus, your mind does not have to constantly juggle between finding new ideas, arranging them into coherent paragraphs and fixing the errors. In fact, editing and revising the content later allows you to better fix the flow of your writing. When creating the first draft, let the typos slide and come back later to fix the errors, polish the content and make it more engaging.

Stick to Your Schedule

When setting a timer, be mindful of the fact that you only need to meet your writing goal. Some writers make the mistake of trying to get ahead of your set timer deadlines. As a result, they burn out faster than they would normally do. Thus, you need to maintain a steady pace while writing to avoid getting tired faster. The goal is to pick a sustainable pace which enables you to write faster for a longer period of time. Sticking to your timer also allows you to take a breather and maintain the flow of your writing, instead of just rushing through the process. 

Automate Your Typing to Skip Keystrokes

Sometimes, our brain tends to work faster than our fingers. It means that you are likely to think faster than you write. In such cases, using abbreviations is a great way to get ahead of your train of thought. However, it is not recommended to use too many abbreviations as you will need to invest more time while editing your draft and chances of error are high. 

Alternatively, you can use an AI writing assistant to automate your writing process. WriteMe is one such writing assistant that allows you to simply input your keyword ideas and writing theme which allows you to generate multiple output. Thus, you can not only save time on hitting the keystrokes but also overcome writer’s block by getting a different output every time you use the writing generator. Thus, a content writing assistant can automate different aspects of writing so you can save time and focus more on making your content more valuable and engaging for your readers.

Figure Out the Best Time for Writing

Since content creation is a creative process, your brain requires a proper supportive environment to get those creative juices flowing. The best time for writing varies depending on your preferences. For most people, morning is the best time to write faster and stick to their deadlines. On the other hand, most people tend to write better and faster during the night once they are done with the daily tasks. Shift your writing schedule between morning and evening to see which time works best for you.

Eliminate Distractions

Your biggest enemy while writing are probably the unnecessary distractions lying around you. Creativity requires an element of calm and organization to show its magic in most cases. Since content writing is a creative segment, you need to make sure that unnecessary clutter is removed from your working space. Minimize the cable clutter around your working desk, eliminate distractions, put your phone away on silent and develop a habit of concentration while you are writing.

Suggested Read: Why Do You Need to Organize Your Content Creation Process?

Maintain Good Posture

Many of us neglect the importance of maintaining a good posture while writing. When your body is well-positioned, it is more likely to support your performance. Thus, a good posture where your elbows are placed at right angles to your keyboard and writing surface, is a great way to write faster. If you have a habit of slouching or typing with a firm hand at a wrong angle, chances are that your writing speed will be reduced. Using standing desks is another recommended method to boost your writing speed. A good posture also helps in reducing the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome among writers. [2]

Write Under Pressure (from Your Bladder)

Another unconventional way to write faster is to let nature take its course via your bladder. It has been found that a full bladder helps some people to speed up their normal speed while doing anything, be it writing. Drinking water while writing will not only keep you hydrated but also keep your bladder fuller. Thus, the “need” for taking a bathroom break will lend you the rush you need to write faster. Moreover, the bathroom break can serve as a short period of off time from writing so you can arrange your thoughts and continue writing. However, this trick may be helpful for only a selective number of people. 

Wrapping it Up

Typing content faster is a skill that requires practice, patience and a proper set of writing skills. If you understand the basics of how to write faster and apply them to your performance, you will be able to amp up your writing speed in no time. The above-mentioned tips are a great way for any beginner writer to speed up typing speed. Moreover, using AI automated writing assistant is a great way to reduce manual effort and write content faster. 

How to Write Faster – Frequently Asked Questions

How to become a faster writer.

• Write everyday for the sake of practice
• Play typing games to speed up your typing
• Make notes whenever you can to finalize later
• Ensure that there are no distractions when writing
• Don’t forget about taking short break every 30 minutes

How to write articles faster?

• Brainstorm your ideas and jot them down 
• Assign yourself a topic and decide the layout
• Research and gather information you want to use
• Create a first draft of writing without making any edits
• Eliminate distractions and set realistic deadlines
• Reward yourself every time you save a minute on writing

Recommended Reads :

• How to Write Content Using AI – Top Tips for Faster AI Writing
• Short Form Content – A Quick Guide for Blooming Content Writers

References: [1] Average Typing Speed – TypingPal [2] Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – WebMD

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How To Skim Read Journal Articles

Fast-Track Your Literature Review By Focusing On Three Sections

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | May 2020

If you’ve just started your literature review process, you’re probably sitting on a pile of scientific journal articles and research papers that are (1) lengthy and (2) written in very dense , academic language that is difficult to digest (at the best of times). It’s intimidating, for sure – and you’re probably wondering how on earth you’re going to get through it all.

You might be asking yourself some of these questions:

• Do I need to read every journal article to make sure I cover everything?
• Do I need to read every section of each article to understand it?
• If not, which sections should I focus on?

First things first, relax (I can feel your tension!). In this post, I’m going answer these questions and explain how to approach your review of the literature the smart way , so that you focus only on the most relevant literature and don’t waste time on low-value activities.

So, grab a nice hot cup of coffee (or tea, or whatever – just no beers) and let’s take a look at those questions, one at a time.

Question 1:

Do i need to read every journal article on my topic when doing my literature review.

The good news is that you don’t need to read every single journal article on your topic. Doing so would just be a waste of your time, as you’re generally looking to understand the current state of the literature – not the full history of it.

But… and this is an important but. You do need to read quite a bit to make sure that you have a comprehensive view of the current state of the literature (and of knowledge) in your area of research.

Quality trumps quantity when it comes to reviewing the literature. In other words, you need to focus on reading the journal articles that are most cited (i.e. that other academics have referenced) in relation to your topic keyword(s). You should focus on articles that are recent, relevant and well cited .

But how do I know if an article is well cited?

Thankfully, you can check the number of citations for any article really easily using Google Scholar . Just enter the article title in Google Scholar and it will show you how many citations it has – here’s an example:

In fact, Google Scholar is a great way to find the key journal articles for any keyword (topic) in general, so chances are you’ll be using this to find your journal articles in the first place. Therefore, be sure to keep an eye on citation count while you’re sourcing articles. It would also be smart to dedicate a column to it in your literature review catalogue (you can download one for free here ) so that you can quickly filter and sort by citation count.

A quick caveat – citation count is not a perfect metric for the quality of a journal article (unfortunately there is no unicorn metric that indicates quality). While its usually a good indicator of how popular an article is, it doesn’t mean the findings of the article are perfect (remember, the Kardashians are popular too – enough said). To the contrary, it could indicate that there’s a lot of controversy regarding the findings (sounds like the Kardashians again).

So, long story short – don’t be conned by citation count alone. Be sure to also pay attention the to quality of the journal each article is published in (you can check journal rank here ), and pay attention to what other articles say about any given popular article.

Need a helping hand?

Question 2:

Do i need to read the full journal journal article when doing my literature review.

Some more good news – no, you don’t need to read every single word in each journal article you review as part of your literature review. When you’re just starting your literature review, you need to get a big picture view of what each journal article is saying (in other words, the key questions and findings). Generally you can get a good feel for this by reading a few key sections in each article (we’ll get to these next).

That said (ah, there had to be a catch, right?), as you refine your literature review and establish more of a focus, you’ll need to dive deeper into the most important articles. Some articles will be central to your research – but you probably still don’t need to read them from first page to the last.

Question 3:

Which sections of each journal article should i read.

To get a big-picture view of what any article is all about, there are three sections that are very useful. These three sections generally explain both what the article is about (i.e. what questions they were trying to answer) and what the findings were (i.e. what their answers were). This is exactly what you’re looking for, so these three sections provide a great way for you to save time during your literature review.

So, let’s take a look at the three sections:

1 – The abstract (or executive summary)

The abstract (which is located right up front) provides a high-level overview of what the article is about. This is giving you the first little taste of the soup , so to speak. Generally, it will discuss what the research objectives were was and why they were important. This will give you a clear indication of how relevant the article is to your specific research, so pay close attention.

Sometimes the abstract will also discuss the findings of the article (much like a thesis abstract ), but this is not always the case (yeah, the abstract can be such a tease sometimes). If it does, it’s a bonus. But even so, you should still read the other sections, as the abstract only provides a very high-level view, and can miss out on specific nuances of the research.

2 – The introduction section

The introduction section will go into more detail about the topic being investigated and why this is important for the field of research. This will help you understand a bit more detail about what exactly they were investigating and in what context . Context is really important, so pay close attention to that.

For example, they might be investigating your exact topic, but in a country other than your own, or a different industry. In that case, you’d know that you need to pay very close attention to exactly how they undertook their research.

So, make sure you pay close attention to the introduction chapter to fully understand the focus of the research and the context in which it took place . Both will be important when it comes to writing your literature review, as you’ll need to use this information to build your arguments.

3 – The conclusion

While the introduction section tells you what the high-level questions the researchers asked, the conclusion section tells you what answers they found . This provides you with something of a shortcut to grasping the gist of the article, without reading all the dull and dry detail – yeah, it’s a little cheeky, I know. Of course, the conclusion is not going to highlight every nuance of the analysis findings, so if the article is highly relevant to your research, you should make sure to also pay close attention to the analysis findings section.

In addition to the findings of the research, the conclusion section will generally also highlight areas that require further research . In other words, they’ll outline areas that genuinely require further academic investigation (aka research gaps ). This is a gold mine for refining your topic into something highly original and well-rooted in the existing literature – just make sure that the article is recent, or someone else may have already exploited the research gap. If you’re still looking to identify a research topic, be sure to check out our video covering that here .

By reviewing these three sections of each article, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, while still getting a good understanding of what each article is saying. Keep in mind that as your literature review progresses, you focus will narrow and you’ll develop a set of core highly relevant articles, which you should sink your teeth into more deeply.

Let’s Recap

In this post, we looked at how to read academic journal articles quickly and efficiently, to save you many hours of pain while undertaking your literature review.

The key takeaways to remember are:

• You don’t need to read every single journal article covering your topic – focus on the most popular, authoritative and recent ones
• You don’t need to read every word of every article. To start, you just need to get a high-level understanding of the literature, which you can get by focusing on three key areas in each journal article.
• The three sections of each journal article to review are the abstract , the introduction and the conclusion .
• Once you’ve narrowed down your focus and have a core set of highly relevant, highly authoritative articles, you can dive deeper into them, paying closer attention to the methodology and analysis findings.

And there you have it – now go on and hammer through that pile of articles at warp speed. While you’re at it, why not also check out our other posts and videos covering research topic ideation , dissertation and thesis proposal , literature review , methodology , analysis and more.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling Udemy Course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

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28 Comments

Thanks Derek for the tips

Reviewing the Literature can be overwhelming if you do not have the plan or the right structure to navigate the pool of information

You’re most welcome, Aletta. All the best with your literature review.

I personally have found these tips as a key to my long standing problem of reading articles. Thanks a million times

Simple and easy to read guidance… funny too

Great to hear that, Rishen 🙂

Much appreciated Derek. I already realized I could not read everything, but you confirming that has brought a lot of relief.

Great to hear that, Mazwakhe 🙂

Derek sir, I’m really happy for you.You made me to think very smart and effective way to do the review of literature.

Thank you so much.

Dear Derek, thank you for your easy and straight forward guidance,

Thanks for the interesting and informative article

You’re most welcome, Sanoon. Glad it was useful.

Thanks for the insights, I am about to start my literature review and this article as well as the other material from GradCoach will help me on the jorney.

You’re most welcome! Good luck writing your literature review

It was a great and effective information.

Thank you that was very helpful. I am taking a directed studies summer course, and I have to submit a literature review by end of August. That article was short, straight to the point and interesting 🙂 thank you Derek

You’re welcome, Emy 🙂 Good luck with your studies!

Thanks Derek. Reading this article has given me a boost because I have been so stock on how to go about my literature review.Though I know I am not meant to read the whole article.But your explanation has given me a greater insight.

Thank you very much sir for your great explanation 😄 Hopefully I’ve enough diligence and courage to start

You’re most welcome, Felicia. Good luck with your research.

thanks, it was helpful.

Thanks Derek for doing such a wonderful job of helping. Blessings Bro!

Concise and applicable, nice! what a great help. I am now doing a literature review section on my thesis, I used to waste so much time on reading articles that is not relevant back and forth.

Thank for your great help!

Hi Derek, i am busy with my research literature. I submited my 1st draft but it was way irrelevant as per comments made by my supervisor… i gave myself time to find out where i diverted until i lesson to some of your videos. As we speak now, i am starting following the guidelines and i feel confident that i am on the right track now. Thanks a lot my brother

You’re most welcome 🙂

I can’t explain my mood when I realised I had to study more than 40 articles about my study field. It was indeed a game-changer. Thank you very much, Derek. Also, Kardashian was the best example that can be used for this situation :)))

Thank you for posting this. It truly takes a load off! I’m new to Doctoral research and peer review study and “Overwhelmed” doesn’t quite sum up how I felt. This is a tremendous help!

Thank you for the advice. Question, how do one keep count of all the articles considered from starting point to narrowed down. Manually, or is there another way?

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Rebuilding Baltimore’s Key Bridge will likely take years, experts say

The original construction took five years and cost $316 million in today’s dollars.

Rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River will probably take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, experts said Wednesday. But the shipping channel from the Port of Baltimore, a major economic engine for the city, could be cleared in months.

Federal officials also reiterated their pledges to support the effort.

“We still don’t fully know the condition of the portions of the bridge that are still standing or of infrastructure that is below the surface of the water,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at the White House. “So rebuilding will not be quick or easy or cheap, but we will get it done.”

Buttigieg declined to provide a timeline either for clearing the shipping channel or rebuilding the bridge. He also noted that there is a difference of opinion on whether a bridge can be built to take a blow from a 100,000-ton freighter like the one that felled the Key Bridge.

The comments came as agencies worked to recover the bodies of six construction workers who died after the bridge collapsed and investigators for the first time boarded the ship that struck the well-traveled span.

The container ship Dali, apparently suffering a power failure, directly struck one of the piers of the 47-year-old bridge at 1:28 a.m. Tuesday. Quick action by officers with the Maryland Transportation Authority police in the minute immediately before the collision stopped traffic from entering the bridge and saved numerous lives, officials said. But there was no time to warn a construction crew working on the middle of the 1.6-mile span.

Two workers were rescued, but six were presumed dead. On Wednesday, officials said two bodies were recovered from the water.

Hours after Tuesday’s incident, President Biden pledged that the federal government would foot the bill to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge, which state officials said carried more than 30,000 vehicles a day. On Wednesday, Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers were exploring the use of “quick release” emergency relief funds to aid in the effort.

Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, who spoke at the White House alongside Buttigieg, said the Coast Guard’s “highest priority now is restoring the waterway for shipping.” Part of that work, he said, includes stabilizing the Dali and removing it from the Patapsco. He said the Army Corps of Engineers was moving aggressively to conduct underwater surveys and mitigate any pollution threat, noting the ship contained more than 1.5 million gallons of oil and 4,700 cargo containers, 56 of which contained hazardous materials.

Another possible complication, Gautier said, is that the bow of the Dali “is sitting on the bottom [of the river] because of the weight of the bridge debris on there.” Gautier said there was no sign of flooding or damage to the ship below the waterline.

Benjamin W. Schafer, professor of civil and systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University, said it could take months to remove debris and reopen the channel. “There is, certainly that technology for moving the steel out as quickly as possible.”

Andy Winkler, director of the housing and infrastructure project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said state and federal emergency declarations could help speed the rebuilding process by allowing officials to waive rules and regulations around competitive bidding and competition rules that can sometimes slow large infrastructure projects.

An effort to rebuild a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia in 2023 was originally expected to take months. Instead, it took 12 days in part because officials were able to speed up the bureaucracy, including fast-tracking the permitting process after Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed a disaster declaration within 24 hours after the collapse.

Winkler said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has taken a similar action, which could help speed the process of building a replacement bridge.

Even so, efforts to replace the Key Bridge will probably prove more challenging given that it is a structure that also spans a major shipping lane said Winkler, who estimated the cost will be well into the hundreds of millions if not more. As for how long it would take to build a replacement, Winkler said it was too early to predict given that there is likely to be debate around what a new structure should look like.

“Does the bridge need to be higher? Do there need to be additional kinds of fortifications to prevent something like this from happening in the future?” Winkler said. “Any dramatic change to the structure of the bridge or design would open it up to more stringent environmental review.”

Some experts said it’s unlikely a new bridge could withstand the impact of a direct hit from a freighter, while others said it was possible. Some engineers called for an improved warning system in the channel that could more effectively evacuate people and stop traffic in the event of a runaway ship. And they warned residents to brace for a protracted process.

The original Key Bridge took five years to build in the 1970s . Schafer noted that it took seven years to rebuild the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, which collapsed after being struck by a freighter in 1980 .

“I’ve lived through quite a few civil infrastructure projects,” Schafer said, “and they’re rarely less than 10 years. So I think that’s what we’re looking at.” He added: “The price tags never seem to be out of the hundreds of millions these days. So I’d be shocked if we’re not at least in that hundreds of millions of dollars.” When the bridge opened in 1977, it cost $60.3 million, which is equivalent to $316 million today.

Atorod Azizinamini, a civil engineering professor at the Florida International University who specializes in structural and bridge engineering, said it is possible for Baltimore to see a new Key Bridge within 2½ years. He described that as a breakneck speed compared with the standard timetable for building similar bridges, which could take as long as a decade from conception to execution.

“Things could go very fast here because everyone knows the world is watching,” Azizinamini said.

The professor, who also directs a center of bridge engineering professionals, said there is typically an order of operations to bridge construction involving environmental impact analyses, permits, design, contracting, fabrication and construction. That process could take several years, and the funding for it is most crucial — and often most time-consuming. In the case of the Key Bridge, Biden’s pledge of federal dollars could shave years off the project, Azizinamini said.

As the new bridge is designed, experts said planners should examine ways to prevent future collisions. Azizinamini said he noticed structural vulnerabilities in the Key Bridge when watching videos of its collapse. He said the piers were not as protected as they should have been.

“This was an accident waiting to happen if you don’t protect the columns of support from a ship,” he said. “And in this case, it happened.”

Azizinamini said he expects to see new guidance from the National Transportation Safety Board recommending that engineers reexamine older bridges and build new protecting structures if needed.

Some states are building protection systems around vital bridges. Last year, officials from a joint New Jersey and Delaware bridge authority announced work on eight 80-foot-wide stone-filled cylinders designed to protect the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The existing protection for the bridge tower piers dates to 1951.

“Today’s tankers and ships are bigger and faster than those of the 1950s and 1960s,” the officials said in a statement announcing the nearly $93 million project.

After the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse, which killed 35 people, stronger national standards including protection from errant ships were adopted for bridges in the years that followed, safety experts said.

Some believe engineering measures can be performed to protect such a bridge. Sherif El-Tawil, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Michigan with expertise in bridges, said that if the Key Bridge had been built after those updated standards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials were put in place, the span could still be standing.

When the Key Bridge was constructed in the 1970s, transportation planners considered building a tunnel on the route where the bridge was built. But hazardous materials aren’t allowed in tunnels, and the Key Bridge was the main route for carrying them around and through Baltimore, said Rachel Sangree, a professor in civil and systems engineering at Johns Hopkins.

“So my expectation is we will rebuild a bridge,” Sangree said. “But will it be in the exact same place and form, and everything? It’ll be an open question of what we’re trying to do. And will a bridge be big enough to accommodate these ships? Yes, certainly. But there is a real challenge here with the scale of these cargo ships; they are still going to be similar in scale to the bridge. And we will need to put in a more robust system so that a strike like that doesn’t happen again.”

Michael Laris contributed to this report.

A previous version of this article misstated the weight of the Dali freighter. It had a loaded weight of about 100,000 tons. This article has been corrected.

Baltimore bridge collapse

How it happened: Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship . The container ship lost power shortly before hitting the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said. Video shows the bridge collapse in under 40 seconds.

Victims: Divers have recovered the bodies of two construction workers , officials said. They were fathers, husbands and hard workers . A mayday call from the ship prompted first responders to shut down traffic on the four-lane bridge, saving lives.

Economic impact: The collapse of the bridge severed ocean links to the Port of Baltimore, which provides about 20,000 jobs to the area . See how the collapse will disrupt the supply of cars, coal and other goods .

Rebuilding: The bridge, built in the 1970s , will probably take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild , experts said.

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New $20 minimum wage for fast food workers in California is set to start Monday

Most fast-food workers in California will be paid at least $20 an hour when a new law kicks in Monday, giving more financial security to a low-paid profession while threatening to raise prices for consumers. (AP Video/Terry Chea)

An employee collects payment at an Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon store in Livermore, Calif., Thursday, March 28, 2024. He’s among hundreds of thousands of California fast-food workers who will be paid at least $20 an hour starting Monday, April 1. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

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An employee makes pretzels at an Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon store in Livermore, Calif., Thursday, March 28, 2024. She’s among hundreds of thousands of California fast-food workers who will be paid at least $20 an hour starting Monday, April 1. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Ingrid Vilorio, who works at a Jack in the Box restaurant, sits in her home in Hayward, Calif., Friday, March 22, 2024. She’s among hundreds of thousands of California fast-food workers who will be paid $20 an hour starting Monday, April 1. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Alex Johnson, who owns 10 Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon stores in the San Francisco Bay area, stands in his store in Livermore, Calif., Thursday, March 28, 2024. He said his stores will have to raise prices to cover the increase in his employees’ wages to $20 an hour. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) — Most fast food workers in California will be paid at least $20 an hour beginning Monday when a new law is scheduled to kick in giving more financial security to an historically low-paying profession while threatening to raise prices in a state already known for its high cost of living.

Democrats in the state Legislature passed the law last year in part as an acknowledgement that many of the more than 500,000 people who work in fast food restaurants are not teenagers earning some spending money, but adults working to support their families.

That includes immigrants like Ingrid Vilorio, who said she started working at a McDonald’s shortly after arriving in the United States in 2019. Fast food was her full-time job until last year. Now, she works about eight hours per week at a Jack in the Box while working other jobs.

“The $20 raise is great. I wish this would have come sooner,” Vilorio said through a translator. “Because I would not have been looking for so many other jobs in different places.”

The law was supported by the trade association representing fast food franchise owners. But since it passed, many franchise owners have bemoaned the impact the law is having on them, especially during California’s slowing economy .

Alex Johnson owns 10 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Cinnabon restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. He said sales have slowed in 2024, prompting him to lay off his office staff and rely on his parents to help with payroll and human resources.

Increasing his employees’ wages will cost Johnson about $470,000 each year. He will have to raise prices anywhere from 5% to 15% at his stores, and is no longer hiring or seeking to open new locations in California, he said.

“I try to do right by my employees. I pay them as much as I can. But this law is really hitting our operations hard,” Johnson said.

“I have to consider selling and even closing my business,” he said. “The profit margin has become too slim when you factor in all the other expenses that are also going up.”

Over the past decade, California has doubled its minimum wage for most workers to $16 per hour. A big concern over that time was whether the increase would cause some workers to lose their jobs as employers’ expenses increased.

Instead, data showed wages went up and employment did not fall, said Michael Reich, a labor economics professor at the University of California-Berkeley.

California Fast Food Wages-increase intro wrap

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports a new $20 minimum wage for California fast food workers starts Monday.

“I was surprised at how little, or how difficult it was to find disemployment effects. If anything, we find positive employment effects,” Reich said.

Plus, Reich said while the statewide minimum wage is $16 per hour, many of the state’s larger cities have their own minimum wage laws setting the rate higher than that. For many fast food restaurants, this means the jump to $20 per hour will be smaller.

The law reflected a carefully crafted compromise between the fast food industry and labor unions, which had been fighting over wages, benefits and legal liabilities for close to two years. The law originated during private negotiations between unions and the industry, including the unusual step of signing confidentiality agreements .

The law applies to restaurants offering limited or no table service and which are part of a national chain with at least 60 establishments nationwide. Restaurants operating inside a grocery establishment are exempt, as are restaurants producing and selling bread as a stand-alone menu item.

At first, it appeared the bread exemption applied to Panera Bread restaurants. Bloomberg News reported the change would benefit Greg Flynn, a wealthy campaign donor to Newsom. But the Newsom administration said the wage increase law does apply to Panera Bread because the restaurant does not make dough on-site. Also, Flynn has announced he would pay his workers at least $20 per hour .

Beam reported from Sacramento, California.

Six presumed dead after cargo ship crash levels Baltimore bridge

BALTIMORE — A major Baltimore bridge collapsed like a house of cards early Tuesday after it was struck by a container ship, sending six people to their deaths in the dark waters below, and closing one of the country’s busiest ports.

By nightfall, the desperate search for six people who were working on the bridge and vanished when it fell apart had become a grim search for bodies.

“We do not believe that we’re going to find any of these individuals still alive,” Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon N. Gilreath said.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said earlier that one of his workers had survived. He did not release their names.

Up until then, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore had held out hope that the missing people might be found even as law enforcement warned that the frigid water and the fact that there had been no sign of them since 1:30 a.m. when the ship struck Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Moore expressed heartbreak after officials suspended the search for survivors.

"Our heart goes out to the families," he said. "I can’t imagine how painful today has been for these families, how painful these hours have been have been for these families."

It was a crushing blow to the loved ones of the missing men, who had waited for hours at a Royal Farms convenience store near the entrance of the bridge for word of their fate. 

Follow live updates on the Baltimore bridge collapse

The tragic chain of events began early Tuesday when the cargo ship Dali notified authorities that it had lost power and issued a mayday moments before the 984-foot vessel slammed into a bridge support at a speed of 8 knots, which is about 9 mph.

Moore declared a state of emergency while rescue crews using sonar detected at least five vehicles in the frigid 50-foot-deep water: three passenger cars, a cement truck and another vehicle of some kind. Authorities do not believe anyone was inside the vehicles.

Investigators quickly concluded that it was an accident and not an act of terrorism.

Ship was involved in another collision

Earlier, two people were rescued from the water, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said. One was in good condition and refused treatment, he said. The other was seriously injured and was being treated in a trauma center.

Moore said other drivers might have been in the water had it not been for those who, upon hearing the mayday, blocked off the bridge and kept other vehicles from crossing.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives.”

Nearly eight years ago, the Dali was involved in an accident. In July 2016, it struck a quay at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, damaging the quay.

The nautical commission investigated the accident, but the details of the inquiry were not immediately clear Tuesday.

The Dali is operated and managed by Synergy Group. In a statement, the company said that two port pilots were at the helm during Tuesday's crash and that all 22 crew members onboard were accounted for.

The Dali was chartered by the Danish shipping giant Maersk, which said it would have no choice but to send its ships to other nearby ports with the Port of Baltimore closed.

The bridge, which is about a mile and a half long and carries Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River southeast of Baltimore, was "fully up to code," Moore said.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said that her agency will lead the investigation and that a data recorder on the ship could provide more information.

"But right now we're focusing on the people, on the families," she said. "The rest can wait."

President Joe Biden vowed to rebuild the bridge and send federal funds.

"This is going to take some time," the president warned. "The people of Baltimore can count on us though to stick with them, at every step of the way, till the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt."

Speaking in Baltimore, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg echoed the president's promise.

"This is no ordinary bridge," he said. "This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure."

But Buttigieg warned that replacing the bridge and reopening the port will take time and money and that it could affect supply chains.

The Port of Baltimore, the 11th largest in the U.S., is the busiest port for car imports and exports, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2023 alone, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

Writer David Simon, a champion of Baltimore who set his TV crime drama "The Wire" on the streets of the city he once covered as a reporter, warned online that the people who will suffer the most are those whose livelihoods depend on the port.

"Thinking first of the people on the bridge," Simon posted on X . "But the mind wanders to a port city strangling. All the people who rely on ships in and out."

Timeline of crash

Dramatic video captured the moment at 1:28 a.m. Tuesday when the Dali struck a support and sent the bridge tumbling into the water. A livestream showed cars and trucks on the bridge just before the strike. The ship did not sink, and its lights remained on.

Investigators said in a timeline that the Dali's lights suddenly shut off four minutes earlier before they came back on and that then, at 1:25 a.m. dark black smoke began billowing from the ship's chimney.

A minute later, at 1:26 a.m., the ship appeared to turn. And in the minutes before it slammed into the support, the lights flickered again.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said the workers on the bridge were repairing concrete ducts when the ship crashed into the structure.

At least seven workers were pouring concrete to fix potholes on the roadway on the bridge directly above where the ship hit, said James Krutzfeldt, a foreman.

Earlier, the Coast Guard said it had received a report that a “motor vessel made impact with the bridge” and confirmed it was the Dali, a containership sailing under a Singaporean flag that was heading for Sri Lanka.

Bobby Haines, who lives in Dundalk in Baltimore County, said he felt the impact of the bridge collapse from his house nearby.

"I woke up at 1:30 this morning and my house shook, and I was freaking out," he said. "I thought it was an earthquake, and to find out it was a bridge is really, really scary."

Families of bridge workers wait for updates

Earlier in the day, relatives of the construction crew waited for updates on their loved ones.

Marian Del Carmen Castellon told Telemundo her husband, Miguel Luna, 49, was working on the bridge.

“They only tell us that we have to wait and that they can’t give us information,” she said.

Castellon said she was "devastated, devastated because our heart is broken, because we don’t know how they have been rescued yet. We are just waiting for the news."

Luna's co-worker Jesús Campos said he felt crushed, too.

“It hurts my heart to see what is happening. We are human beings, and they are my folks,” he said.

Campos told The Baltimore Banner that the missing men are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

Active search and rescue ends

The Coast Guard said it was suspending the active search-and-rescue effort at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"Coast Guard’s not going away, none of our partners are going away, but we’re just going to transition into a different phase," Gilreath said at a news conference.

Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland L. Butler, Jr., said it was moving to a recovery operation. Changing conditions have made it dangerous for divers, he said. 

Butler pledged to "do our very best to recover those six missing people," but the conditions are difficult.

"If we look at how challenging it is at a simple motor vehicle crash to extract an individual, I'm sure we can all imagine how much harder it is to do it in inclement weather, when it's cold, under the water, with very limited to no visibility," he said.

"There's a tremendous amount of debris in the water," which can include sharp metal and other hazards, and that could take time, Butler said.

'A long road in front of us'

Built in 1977 and referred to locally as the Key Bridge, the structure was later named after the author of the American national anthem.

The bridge is more than 8,500 feet long, or 1.6 miles. Its main section spans 1,200 feet, and it was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world upon its completion, according to the National Steel Bridge Alliance .

About 31,000 vehicles a day use the bridge, which equals 11.3 million vehicles per year, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The river and the Port of Baltimore are both key to the shipping industry on the East Coast, generating more than $3.3 billion a year and directly employing more than 15,000 people.

Asked what people in Baltimore can expect going forward, the state's transportation secretary said it is too early to tell.

"Obviously we reached out to a number of engineering companies, so obviously we have a long road in front of us," Wiedefeld said.

Julia Jester reported from Baltimore, Patrick Smith from London, Corky Siemaszko from New York and Phil Helsel from Los Angeles.

Julia Jester is a producer for NBC News based in Washington, D.C.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

Corky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.

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California Today

California’s Fast-Food Workers Just Got a Pay Bump

They now must be paid at least $20 an hour, near the top of what minimum-wage earners make anywhere in the country.

By Soumya Karlamangla

Wages went up today for roughly half a million of the lowest-paid Californians.

In the fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a bump up in the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour, significantly above the general statewide minimum of $16 an hour.

The law takes effect today, propelling California fast-food workers to near the top of what minimum-wage earners make anywhere in the country, second only to the $20.29 -an-hour minimum for many employees in Tukwila, Wash., a small city outside Seattle.

Though there have been questions about exceptions for some workers , California’s new law generally applies to fast-food locations in the state that are part of chains with more than 60 locations nationwide.

My colleague Kurtis Lee wrote about the winners and losers under the law, which supporters hope will be replicated nationwide: “To backers, it is a step toward fair compensation for low-wage workers who faced significant risk during the pandemic. To opponents, it is a cataclysmic move that will raise food prices, lead to job losses and force some franchisees to consider closing.”

Read Kurtis’s full article on how the law is affecting workers and employers.

The fast-food workers’ minimum-pay bump was approved last year along with another law that will raise the minimum wage for all health care workers in California to $25 an hour by 2029. Those two laws were California’s first statewide minimums for specific economic sectors, and experts say they are a testament to both the high cost of living in California and the current popularity of organized labor.

California’s current overall minimum wage, which increased to $16 from $15.50 on Jan. 1, already exceeded that in most other states — only Washington State’s and the District of Columbia’s are higher . Californians will vote in November on whether to push it up more , to $18 an hour.

There are dozens of cities and counties in California with higher local minimums. The highest in the state is West Hollywood ’s, at $19.08 an hour. Mountain View, Emeryville, Sunnyvale, Berkeley and San Francisco, which all require at least $18 and change, are next on the list.

If you read one story, make it this

Why school absences have exploded almost everywhere.

The rest of the news

An Israeli couple who made a name for themselves as well as a fortune in the tech industry were killed when their plane crashed on approach to Truckee Tahoe Airport over the weekend, The Guardian reports.

A San Francisco lawmaker wants California to give workers the right to brush off business calls after hours .

Southern California

Los Angeles recorded two to four inches of rain as of yesterday morning. Parts of Santa Barbara County got more than six inches of rain, the National Weather Service said.

Northern California

The city of Oakland is asking the A’s to sign a five-year lease extension on the Oakland Coliseum, with an opt-out after the third year and an average annual rent of $19.4 million, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

After a lush winter, flowers are in bloom across California. Send us your best photos of the glorious springtime display to [email protected] , and we may publish them in the newsletter. Please include your full name and the city in which you live.

And before you go, some good news

A new women’s sports bar is scheduled to open in Long Beach in the next few months, part of a growing network of sports bars in the country that primarily show women’s sports, LAist reports.

The bar, called Watch Me, is the passion project of Jax Diener and her wife, Emme Eddy, who say they have dreamed for years about opening a bar that has an inclusive environment and shows women’s sporting events.

The bar will feature food options for all dietary restrictions and already has partnerships lined up with local teams, including the Los Angeles women’s soccer team Angel City F.C. and the women’s basketball team L.A. Sparks. It will also, of course, have games around the clock to satisfy Southern California’s die-hard women’s sports fans.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword .

Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at [email protected] .

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Soumya Karlamangla reports on California news and culture and is based in San Francisco. She writes the California Today newsletter. More about Soumya Karlamangla