Are You a S.P.E.E.D. Writer?
Written by Kristy Pruitt · Print This Article
If you write content or copy, Copyblogger is a blog you might be reading. If you haven’t done so, do check it out. It’s chock full of great tips for anyone who writes content for the Web.
I just visited and read Dean Rieck’s post, S.P.E.E.D. Writing: 5 Tips to Double Your Writing Productivity, and I must say I was intrigued. As a freelance writer, my words are what puts food on the table. I often find myself getting much less accomplished than I know is possible, so if there is a way that I can get more writing done in less time, I’m most definitely interested!
The post set forth a formula for writing faster and more efficiently, based on the acronym S.P.E.E.D. It stands for:
- Select a topic
- Prepare your facts
- Establish a structure
- Eliminate distractions
- Dash to the finish
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Maybe he’s onto something here.
Selecting a topic sounds like the easy part. Few of us sit down and start writing with no idea of what we’re writing about. But as the author points out, sometimes we lack focus and end up all over the place by the time we’re done with what we’re writing. What I’ve found is that I have a tendency to do this more with posts for my own blogs than when writing for someone else. Perhaps it’s because I write less formally there than I usually do for clients.
We learn about preparing the facts in school, when we learn how to do research and write outlines. I’ve found that these skills serve me well in my writing to this day, but I rarely do outlines by the book. Most of the time, I just type out some notes about what I want to cover in a Word document, double spacing between them. Then I can tackle each thing, one at a time.
Structure is certainly important, for the same reason as focusing on one topic: to keep you from being all over the place with your writing. Bullet points and numbered lists are nice, because they break things down so they’re easy for the reader to digest. But sometimes an FAQ format or just some simple subheadings are more appropriate.
We all know that eliminating distractions is crucial if we want to get anywhere. Dashing to the finish is where I have trouble, and I suspect I’m not alone. The author of the post even admits to having the same problem himself. It’s hard not to try and edit yourself as you write. I’m doing my level best to keep from doing it as I write this, and it’s not working out very well. But I usually end up reading back over my work a while after I’m done anyway, and I still make changes, so I can see where avoiding editing as you go could be a real time saver.
Do you find yourself sitting and staring at your computer screen, wondering what you’re doing? Or spending so much time editing one paragraph over and over that that’s all you have written by the time you expected to be finished? Maybe you should give this method a try. I tried out the techniques while writing this post, and it has taken me about half the time it normally would to write this much. Not bad, huh?
About the Author
Need a way to get your target market to pay closer attention and buy more stuff? - The Target Market & USP Blueprint includes practical tips and a workbook to better reach the people who want to buy your products. To get yours, click here
Great overview, Kristy.
I find that coming with a bunch of topics at once and then pumping them out, helps me keep focused and moving ahead.
Thanks Alice! Yes, mixing it up is a good way to build momentum.
[...] are always looking for ways to write faster and more easily. As someone who’s been writing for 20 years, I’ve found mindmaps to be [...]