In recent years, people have asked me how I write so much.
Some of them are just being polite by showing interest. I like when people do that.
But some have really wanted to know: they are the people I love.
And it’s fair to wonder. At the time of this writing, he publishes at least ten articles a week. In 2019, I totaled around 240,000 words on my websites. That doesn’t include the ten (and counting) books I have through my sites and Amazon, or my other projects.
(I don’t know how many words went into Monster Mind Edukaré, my premium brain training product. But given that it has 19 modules, some of which contain multiple books, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were hundreds of thousands more.)
It also doesn’t include any freelance writing gigs I do.
And I didn’t used to be like this. When I was younger, probably in my early 20s, I tried to write a novel. I think it took me two years to write 40,000 of the worst words you can imagine.
That was also the peak of my literary production: a delicious combination of free time, ingenuity and pure inspiration.
Now, though?
I write 40,000 engaging and interesting words every two months or so.
I learned how to make writing work for me.
Note that I emphasize “works for me”. This is not the only writing system that exists. Many people break all the guidelines that I expose here. If that works for them, that’s fine. But what I have here is a robust and reliable system that removes much of the stress.
If typing is a hassle for you, try my system.
Let me share some of what I discovered, more or less by accident, that makes it easy to write hundreds or thousands of words a day.
Imagine sitting down at your desk and immediately starting to type. No wasting time, no intimidating your brain into coming up with something: you immediately know enough to get started.
And getting started is always the hardest part.
So let’s take a look at the first of the three steps:
Step 1: Brainstorm and Research
A common newbie mistake is sitting at your desk and trying to think of something to write.
It is an error for several reasons:
One, thinking of ideas requires a different state of mind than writing. Writing requires a long, interrupted flow. Dreaming of ideas works best when your thoughts can jump from one notion to the next.
Two, if you stop typing to find a fact or a quote, you’re just making it difficult for yourself.
Three, the actual writing phase is the hard part. You want to make it as easy as possible; So easy, in fact, that you sit down and start typing right away.
What this means is that you come up with your ideas beforehand, do all the research you need… and then walk away.
How this will look for you is up to you.
For my short articles, my notes are usually no more than a few keywords. Perhaps the title of the article.
For longer articles (like this one) or book chapters, I take more notes. Anything from a list of subheadings to a bulleted list of relevant facts and ideas.
You may find that too much structure kills spontaneity, or just the opposite, so I invite you to experiment.
The key is to make the next step as easy and seamless as possible.
Step 2: Write
Thanks to your previous job, you can sit back and start writing.
This, more than any step, depends on your personal style.
Some people need to “warm up” or “get in the zone.” If so, I recommend writing in long blocks of time. I know it’s not always possible, but an hour or two without interruptions will do wonders for your productivity.
On the other hand, some of you are like me: you can sit down and start ripping words right away.
If you get lost in the flow of writing, great! You’ll do a lot and it’ll probably be pretty good.
If you have to force yourself, though? That’s where the Pomodoro Technique comes in handy. Unlike the first group, you want to be interrupted, so set a timer for 20 or 30 minutes and promise to do nothing but type until it rings.
Without reading emails.
No daydreaming.
Simply writing.
You can save all those distractions for your breaks. Take five or ten minutes to laze around, stretch your legs, and refill the water. Then reset the timer and start over.
Step 3: Edit and Rewrite
Another classic mistake:
You write a sentence, feeling pretty good. Then you read it and realize it’s garbage, so you delete it and start over.
After an hour of this, you have nothing to show except maybe two overcooked paragraphs.
In step 2, I said that all you can do is write. That doesn’t mean you can rewrite. Rewriting implies reading, which is a bad idea.
Why?
Because editing requires critical analysis. Writing requires a creative flow. If you alternate between the two thinking styles, your brain will have a hard time doing either.
Also, it’s bad for morality. Not every sentence (or paragraph) he writes will be golden. That’s fine because writing is a numbers game. Write enough words and some of them will be good.
Now, I’m not saying you can’t spot typos or correct clumsy wording as you type. If you notice a quick fix, go for it. The trick is not to look for them. And not to waste too much time fixing them.
The goal of step 2 is to create something to edit. If you’ve had a hard time writing in the past, this could be why.
The Meta-step: Experiment and Innovate
Give this process a twist.
See how it works for you.
Sometimes you have a bad day, so stick with it and really see how it works.
So start designing your own system.
Maybe you can compress the steps: you get out of bed with an idea forming in your dazed mind, pour a coffee, and then start writing.
Or maybe you need weeks in the research phase.
Maybe music helps you focus… or not.
You can write better in the mornings or in the afternoons.
With a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.
I don’t know which system will work for you. And I doubt that any system is the only answer. Your tastes and lifestyle will change over time, which means your system will change with it.
(You do well to keep the same writing system after having a child as you did before.)
And who knows, you might end up with a “system” altogether. You will reach the stage where, if you want to write, you write.
I know that works for some people.
However, if you are struggling to get the words out? I wouldn’t start there. Take this system of mine and stick with it – you’ll be amazed at how much you write.
