It is not an easy task to write good content, and it is definitely not easy to write something that would pull your readers in. It is even more difficult to do it quickly. But it is not impossible. Here are a few tips to help you exercise some discipline in your writing career, speed up your writing and keep to the schedule you have set yourself.
1. Write everyday
Get into the habit of writing a little every day and before you know it, you have a beautiful book in front of you. It is easy to establish a habit of writing a certain number of words every day. It also works if you want to set at least one hour for writing. This is especially useful if you have a day job and can’t really find the time to write otherwise. If you make this a rule and don’t allow anything to get in the way, you will eventually find that your writing gets faster.
2. Organize your writing
Create the world your book is set in before you begin to write. Make notes and structure your plot far in advance of your writing. This way, you will reduce the chances of your getting stuck. There will, of course, be sudden inspirations and you may want to make changes to the original story at some point. But having an outline will only help you along.
It also helps to be organized in other ways, such as keeping contact details of your editors and publishers. Make sure you keep all documentation and notes related to your writing in a place where you can access them instantly.
3. Plan out your scene beforehand
Don’t leave your writing to your whims. Chalk out beforehand what you want to write each day and implement it faithfully. If you know beforehand what you want to write, your work will be that much easier and faster. Having a schedule also helps you to avoid dithering and wasting valuable minutes on pondering over which scene to write first. Planning your scene can be done anywhere and anytime, while you are engaged in chores or just simply going for a walk or exercising at the gym.
4. Don’t edit
It can be very tempting to go back and edit your previous scenes as you get fresh ideas. But it is both safer and faster to just note down the alternative new ideas separately and continue with the writing. This way, you don’t get sidetracked into writing and rewriting the same part again and again. Reserve this for after the first draft is completed. You might even find that you actually like the original writing better.
5. Schedule research time
Research is important for any good and well-written book. Some genres like historical fiction and science fiction require more research than others. It’s a good idea to get the bulk of the research out of the way before starting to write. With research notes at hand, writing becomes quicker and easier as there would be no going through hundreds of documents, or books to find the exact thing you need. This will also ensure that you don’t lose the thread of your writing by being distracted into researching for your plot.
Image credit: Nicolas Alejandro on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
Kavitha is a freelance content writer and French translator, and has been working in this field since 2008. She has degrees in computer applications and international business and has a background in business and international trade. She enjoys learning languages and is currently learning Japanese. Her interests vary from books and writing to travelling and history.