Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

Writing FAST versus writing slow
Why write FAST?
The setup

Here’s the first major lesson: Writing is not an activity. It’s not something you sit down at the keyboard, and just start doing. That’s called “typing.”

Typing is an activity. Scribbling words onto paper is an activity. Dictating into a microphone is an activity.

Writing is not an activity.

Writing is a process. And if you start thinking of it as a process, life gets so much easier.

Here’s how it works. You have an idea. You want to express it on the page. You use the process of writing to say it in the most effective way possible.

The difference between writing fast and writing slow is how fast the idea pours out of you. (Simple enough.) But understand this: When you write slow, you’re over-analyzing. You’re jumping ahead in the process. You’re stifling your own idea!

On the other hand, when you write fast, you’re tapping into your idea, and letting it spill out onto the page. You’re using the process to work its magic. You’re trusting the outcome.

The FAST System helps you write fast. It helps you discover, understand, and shape your idea. It provides techniques to get your ideas on the page faster. And it makes sure your idea is expressed as perfectly as possible.

If you’ve been writing without a system, you’ve been spinning your wheels. You’ve been keeping yourself busy with an activity. It’s time to try the process.