Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

Short-form writing
The FAST system in the real world
The payoff

The quickest and easiest way to get the hang of the FAST System is with short-form writing.

If you’ve already got plans for books, novels, screenplays, or other long-form writing, by all means, go for it.

But if you’re hesitant, start small. It’s like a test-drive.

So what’s “short-form”? It’s... well... anything short.

To me, “short-form” is anything less than twenty pages. But you might say “anything less than five pages,” or even “anything I can finish in a week.” Or one day! The definition is up to you.

Let’s look at an example, to see how it works in short-form.

Say you want to write a one-page letter to Uncle Bob, about what’s been happening lately.

Here’s how you might use FAST to break it down:

Focus. You start by deciding what to tell him. Let’s say you want to share the news of three recent events. What shape will they take? As you think about it, you decide a theme could tie the events together. Yeah. You’ll share a lesson through the update.

Apply. Once you’ve mapped it out, you set checkpoints at one third and two-thirds of the way down the page. Then using Talktation, you blast through it. As fast as you can.

Strengthen. When you’re done, you re-read it. Can you improve it? Maybe you decide to shift the first two events around, because it builds better that way. Get it flowing nicely.

Tweak. Finally, you sift through it. You chop sentences in half. Adjust the word order to make it more punchy. Tighten the imagery. Double-check your spelling.

And bang!, you’re done. How easy is that?!

It worked, because you knew the end result. You set yourself a timeframe. You decided on the idea, and you tore through it.

And then you looked back over it and tightened it up.

Using the FAST System on short projects is quick and easy.

If you only did this once a day, your speed would increase exponentially within a week. Letters, pamphlets, emails, ads, notes, whatever. Break them down. Do them quickly.

Your short-form writing projects are done in no time at all, and you’re getting yourself ready for the big stuff.