Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

Couldn’t possibly be me
Why write FAST?
The setup

If you’re new to writing, you might have writophobia. (Yes, I just made up a word.) I used to have it, too. It’s when “real” writers scare the bejeezus out of you.

I never expected to write professionally. At first, I was intimidated by writers, just like you are. I had an image in my head of exactly what a writer looks like. And it certainly wasn’t me.

You know the image. It’s that guy in the log cabin on that sprawling wooded property in the mountains. The one with no television set, and seven hundred hardcover books on crowded little bookshelves. The guy with the beard, who wears glasses (but only when he’s reading), and is probably too smart to have a normal conversation with. (Aw, let’s face it, he’s Stephen King.)

Anyway, after four years of teaching screenwriting, my writophobia disappeared. How? I met people who write. In four years, I met over six hundred writing students. And I can tell you this. Maybe three of them fit that image. The rest looked like everyone else in the world.

But here’s the kicker. I also taught professional writers — people with film credits, published novels, journalists, magazine columnists, playwrights — they were just like everyone else, too!

The entire mystique of writing fades away when you get a load of who does this stuff.

We’re all people. We all have the same potential.

So if you’re a novice, know this: All you need to do is apply the FAST System, and practice. Good writing is good writing. It’s not the exclusive domain of some mysterious aristocracy.

And if you’re a professional, you already have the discipline it takes to sit in a chair for extended periods of time. Now you’ll accomplish twice as much, with less time in the chair. (And that’s being conservative!)

See, writing is writing. Wherever you are on the food chain, it’s all the same. A systematic approach will get you there faster.

Even if you’re Stephen King.

(Although from what I hear, he’s already lightning fast.)