Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012
Impact points
Sharpen the speed of the read
Tweak
As you read your writing, look for what I call the Impact Points. These are moments that hit you. Moments of impact. When an idea is clear. Strong. And as a reader, it affects you.
Impact points stand out.
In fact, you’ll be surprised. If you take a break between the Strengthen phase and the Tweak phase, something funny happens. You’ll notice moments you thought made a strong impact which don’t make any impact at all. And other spots leap out at you unexpectedly.
Make note of both.
As you read, you’ll get a sense of the flow of your own writing. You’ll feel like you’re on that rollercoaster ride.
And just when you were expecting a turn — really wanting the turn! — it went the other way. And, frankly, it was disappointing. (There’s nothing worse than a rollercoaster that lets you down. Same goes for writing.)
When that happens, make a note on your pages. I jot a big star next to the spot I wanted an impact point that wasn’t there. And I use a small X for areas that have a nice impact point, and a small “—” for a mediocre impact point.
But don’t stop! Keep reading. Let the words and images wash over you. You need to keep the flow of the ride. By quickly jotting down a star, or an X or a hyphen, you can come back and look at it after you’re done.
And keep your BIN handy! Once you see trouble-spots, your mind quickly fills with ideas to fix it. Drop them in the BIN and keep going. You need to get a sense of the ride.
Afterwards, you’ll look more closely at each of these areas, and rework them using the techniques in the next chapter.