How to Write Faster – 10 Tips to Increase Writing Productivity

How to write faster is the key to a more productive writing career, but of course, you would not want to risk quality. Have you ever been in a situation wherein no matter how hard you try, words won’t come out of your system? Even if you stare at your screen or paper, you have no idea what to write or you keep committing common grammar mistakes? If yes, then you’re probably frustrated at your situation. To ease your situation, you could use the Grammarly Chrome extension while writing. It helps you in delivering simple sentences with the correct grammar and keeps a check on the misspelled words and punctuation. To add the extension, click on the button below:

So, if you’re constantly searching for ways to write faster, you may read the Grammarly review. We also have other tips on how to add Grammarly to Word and how to write for Millenials and increase your online success, visit 501words.net.

How to write faster

This article will provide you with tips on how you can increase your speed and stop the attitudes that kill your writing productivity. Thus, in times when you suffer mental block, you can take a look at the listing below. 

Tips on how to write faster

Perhaps you want to start a blog and learn how to write like a pro; you will need speed since publishing is timebound. You’ll never know, you might end up earning six figures per month from writing, and yes, this is possible!

If you want to succeed in writing and are experiencing some mental blocks, here are some things that can help you work. Read on to learn about it.

Find your productive time

productive time

If you notice, there are times when you can write nonstop, whether you are only learning how to write a cover letter or a completing whole thesis. However, there really are times when you cannot even think of a single word.

Some people write best upon waking up while others, before going to bed. There are others also who love to write in between breaks. For instance, taking a rest for 10 minutes and writing for 20 minutes.

What’s the implication of this? Knowing your productive time can help you write smarter and faster because your brain functions during that time. Hence, you won’t need to waste time staring at your paper and grasping words. Furthermore, your brain will be trained to write according to your productive time. Thus, it will also be easier for you as it has been a habit already.

Tip: When you choose a time, make sure that there will be no distraction. In this manner, you can really focus on your writing. 

Create a schedule

When you have multiple deadlines upcoming, make sure that you’re following a schedule. For instance, there are two essays due to your subjects. Make a timeframe and allot the appropriate number of hours you’ll be needing. In this way, you’ll know if you are ahead or behind your schedule. This will also make you manage your time wisely. Say, for example, you’ll need 5 hours to finish an essay due on one subject and another 3, for the other one. You should then allow 8 hours for your essay. 

If you’re lagging behind, make sure that the difference is small and not big. If it is, then you’ll have to rethink how you create your schedule. By the next time you have multiple deadlines, you will know how to adjust accordingly. Speeding up writing is important especially if you want to earn money from it.

Focus 

focus

Most important of all is to focus on the task. Multi-tasking is good for some but if not for you, then don’t do it. When you do things simultaneously, your attention span is limited. And once your brain gets tired, it will be difficult to turn ideas into words. So, here are some tips to stay focus at all times:

Listen to classical music

Classical music or instrumental can help you set the mood. This is scientifically proven fact that this kind of music relaxes your brain. So, if you haven’t done this trick, give it a try and see if it’s helpful.

Stay away from social media

Another way is to turn off your social media. Social media is beautiful but it’s pretty dangerous too. It can eat up all your time without you knowing. You can argue that there can be inspiration or motivation but often than not, these are all just distractions. So, as much as possible, keep off from using social media.

Create your own space

It is of equal importance to have your own space—somewhere you can focus on writing. It can be your bedroom, library, living room, or coffee shop. Wherever it is, this place should motivate you to write. Or at the very least, keeps you out of distractions.

Avoid rabbit holes

Have you ever fell into a rabbit hole—not literally but figuratively. This is when you search and search until there’s no more time to write your paper. It usually happens when you forgot a word or phrase and you try to remember it. You turn to your internet and browse until you find the right term. The problem, however, is when you go back to writing, you can’t write anymore. So, to avoid falling into this trap, just put ‘TK’ instead. This is a widely used editor jargon which means ‘to come’.

Utilize mind map

Mind mapping is a technique that is utilized to brainstorm ideas. This is where you can dump all your ideas and organized it in a more coherent manner. It’s usually for notetaking but it can also be used to plan ahead. With the help of a mind map, you can easily create sentences and paragraphs with main ideas. 

If the idea is new to you, then here’s a guide on how to make a mind map:

  1. First off, create a circle or whatever shape you like in the center of your paper. Place your topic inside the shape or your title. 
  2. Next, draw an outline from this shape and draw a smaller circle or whatever shape. The number depends on how many main ideas you’d want to incorporate in your article.
  3. Now, from the smaller circle, draw outlines for subtopics, example, etc. 

This method is simple and straightforward. You won’t have to worry about formatting or whatsoever so. Remember also that content is one of the 3 C’s of writing, so if you can collect all your thoughts properly, then you’re good to go. 

Write with your outline. 

If you don’t like the idea of a mind map, you can then use an outline. This is similar to the mind map as it provides you a guide on the flow of your article. It is also beneficial in every writing for it serves as a preview of your overall article. Actually, not using one is the common mistake of other writers. 

An outline enables you to organize your ideas and classify it into main points, supporting ideas, header, etc. This basically helps one to proceed with the writing and not get stuck with a certain point. To make an effective outline, it should consist of the following:

thought catalog
  • Introduction
  • Main Idea 1
    • Supporting Idea 1
    • Supporting Idea 2
  • Main Idea 2
    • Supporting Idea 1
    • Supporting Idea 2
  • Conclusion

These three parts, namely introduction, main ideas, and conclusion, are essential in writing your article. Even the best writers make an outline because they make sure they avoid the silly mistake of being wordy.

Write first then edit

It’s also a good practice if you write first before editing your work. Meaning, don’t worry about your missing ‘s’ or misspelled words but just keep on writing. This is for the reason that editing is another phase of your writing process. It’s a different one so you’ll have to separate it from your actual writeups. 

This manner will help you to write nonstop. It will prevent a situation when all you worry about is your grammar and spelling which might result in your non-productivity. So, drop your dictionary or thesaurus and just write whatever comes to your mind. After you have run out of ideas or cannot write anymore, then it’s time to edit your work.

Facing problem with the fluency and readability of the sentences? Want to keep your sentences lively and simple? Add the Grammarly extension on chrome. Use it while writing. It helps you complete the sentence when you run out of words.

Besides, there is now Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and other proofreading tools that could help you. Proofreading is so much easier now. Besides, do you know that there are three ways that you can use Grammarly Premium for free? You don’t have to worry much about the cost of proofreading tools.

Set a deadline

More importantly, you have to set a deadline for your writing. This is an extra pressure to finish your article. Although, pressure, in general, can have a negative effect, sometimes, it’s a good thing to deal with one. It will force you to take the first step, grab your laptop or pencil, and start thinking about your concept. 

deadline

When you set a deadline, it’s not advisable to choose only one date especially if you’re writing a book. The good practice is to divide your work and set a deadline for each. For example, Chapter 1 should be finished on xx date while Chapter 2 must be done within 2 weeks. In that manner, you don’t overwhelm yourself with the upcoming deadline. Moreover, it will also save you from cramming. If writing is your work, then deadlines are vital.

FAQ’s

Is writing faster the key or quality?

While slowly written quality work always superseded faster written unorganized work, there still might be instances where writing faster would be the necessity of the hour. Therefore, follow the tips above to become a fast writer if that suits your objectives.

Should I edit continuously or after finishing writing?

We highly recommend to edit continuously without devoting specific time for it for the most obvious mistakes. However, it is also important to edit once the entire piece is finished off.

How to clear off a mental block?

While mental block is the most common thing to happen to a writer, try not focusing or stressing too much about it. Try relaxing and focusing on writing bit by bit to regain your zest and enthusiasm for writing.

Conclusion

With the help of the aforementioned techniques, you’ll be able to write faster. These are just some of the practices that you can adopt while you’re on the process of writing. There are other things which can help you to increase your effectivity. But essentially, these tips are sufficient enough to develop a good writing habit.

So, if this article is helpful to you, drop a message below and we will try to reply the soonest possible. You may also add your questions, queries, or suggestions. 

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