Ev BogueThere's a Slate article floating around cyberspace right now that claims to teach you how to write faster. It only speculates, which I found lame, because I spent fifteen minutes reading it. In response to feeling let down, I decided to quickly write a response that actually teaches how I learned how to write faster.
I've been writing since I dropped out of high school. My english teacher in high school told me that I didn't know how to write, so I figured I'd prove her wrong by becoming a professional writer.
The Slate article did mention Gladwell, which is easy to do (and everyone does). 10,000 hours. A brief summery, if you didn't read Outliers: Basically, if you want to learn to be a writer, stop wondering and start writing. You need to put in your 10,000 hours before anyone is going to pay attention. There are some 8,760 hours in a year, and we sleep for many of them. Don't be intimidated, if you've been texting since you were a teenager, then you've simultaneously been writing. It might not be gorgeous writing, but it is writing.
Here are three approaches that I use to learn how to write faster. They all involve turning off the mind.
1. Write quickly in a notebook.
I pioneered this strategy on a bench in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during the summer of 2008. I'd get an Americano, and then sit out front of the cafe. Then, I'd write at a fairly quick pace with my pen in a Moleskine notebook. By page three, the story usually got interesting. In this way, I learned to flip off the mind switch and let the words flow.
2. The dime typewriter approach.
This one I learned from Ray Bradbury, who wrote his book about burning books in the future on a typewriter that operated by the dime. We, unfortunately, do not have typewriters that operate this way anymore. However, you can probably get a stop-watch application, lock yourself in full screen mode in your text editor, and write frantically until time runs out. I heart this approach, because it gets things done, destroys procrastination, and typically ends up with me having far better work than the other alternative: stalling.
3. Write first thing in the morning.
For the last few years, I've done my best to write things first thing in the morning. It's not easy, but a schedule can be arranged where waking up, getting out the laptop, and writing with a cup of coffee is possible. Writing for an hour in the morning does wonders for writing quickly. My mind doesn't wake up right away, so I can't second guess myself.
And this, friends, is how I learned how to write faster.
And then, this is how you push publish. Push.