Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

Beyond instinct
Sharpen the speed of the read
Tweak

As you focus on the impact of the words themselves, a curious thing happens.

You’ll start to develop an instinct.

It comes with time, and I’m not going to pretend it’ll happen automatically the first time you start writing. But it develops much more quickly than you expect — if you approach your writing with an open-mind (non-judgmental).

You’ll start to develop the ability to “feel the read.”

Yeah, yeah, I’m sure it sounds like I’ve gone off to play with the fairies. But I’m serious.

Close your eyes and imagine running your finger over the roof of a car that has a rough finish. The paint job is peeling. You can feel that sensation in your fingertips, right? Now imagine the same car with a smooth finish. You glide your hand over it, feeling for every scratch or ripple. But it just slides.

You’ll be doing exactly that when you read. Glide your mind over its finish, and feel for every scratch or ripple.

Instinct takes you a long way. As you put your words onto the page, you did it quickly, without judging it, without controlling it. You tapped into your gut instinct.

When you “feel” the read for scratches and ripples, you’re looking for those spots where your instinctive communication skills didn’t quite live up to the idea.

Sharpening the speed of the read is about deliberately smoothing those bumps into a sparkle.