Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

Keep up with the lightning
Talktation: The new art of speed writing
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The whole struggle with writing is maintaining that focus.

When you start writing, you’ve got a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve. But you get halfway in, and you do what you always do (we’re all guilty of it).

You slow down. You re-read your writing as you’re writing it. And before you know it, your over-active Idea Factory starts pumping out new ideas, throwing you in whole new directions!

For example, let’s say I’m writing these words right now (which, funnily enough, I am!). But I throw in that little humorous quip, and then I’m not sure if it’s the right choice.

So I stop writing, and go back to re-read this section. I’m trying to get a sense of the flow, or to “get back into the rhythm.”

Well, if my idea isn’t clear, I’m gonna lose focus immediately. Some stray lightning bolt will shoot out in a different direction every time. Maybe it’s because I judged my work. Maybe I had a better idea. Or maybe just a different idea. The fact is, it’s almost impossible to avoid these distractions if you re-read it!

I get to the third paragraph up there, and the idea of “slowing down” sparks another idea — about, say, what happened last chapter when I slowed down, and how I spent six solid hours pulling my hair out because of it.

Well, that might be a valuable tidbit, but it doesn’t maintain the focus. It doesn’t help me get to my point. It muddles me up. Because now I’ve got a section with two valuable tidbits. Suddenly, I have to decide which one’s better. Which one’s right? Which one’s more effective?

But I’m not in the Tweak phase yet! I’m not even in the Strengthen phase! My brain is a perfectionist, and if I give it that inch, it’ll take a mile — and it’ll stop me dead in my tracks until I fix that paragraph.

And I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon re-reading my material to decide which one’s better!

All because I didn’t write fast enough.

All because my brain fires off those lightning bolts a little bit too quickly for my fingers to handle.

All because I couldn’t keep up with the lightning.

You can go ahead and nod again. Because I know it happens to you, too.