Writing Fast

[amykhar]

I had a rough draft printed in the paper today !sigh. The meeting was over right before deadline and the editor wanted me to write it up fast because it was important info. I had 15-20 minutes to quickly type up a story on 5 different kinds of tax and fee changes and why the cost of everything was increasing.

All in all, it wasn't horrible, but I am certainly not going to be showing this story with pride to anybody.

(If you look today only, you can see it here)

So, my question is this. Do y'all have any tips for writing fast? The kind of writing you do when your boss tells you he wants a presentation in an hour, or the kind of writing you do when you have procrastinated and are going to miss deadline if you don't MOVE?

How do you make sure you get all the info, make sure it's correct AND make it readable?

Amy

[Redlass]

Pre-write. When you're in the car from the meeting to the office, write the lede in your head and a rough outline of what you want to include.

If I'm already at my computer when I need to write fast, I first write an outline with the facts I have to get in (and no, I don't follow the rules of a sentence outline) and then write the story around that outline.

[quasar]

Prewriting doesn't work for me. It leaves me with the feeling that whatever I actually write isn't as good as what I composed in my head and it makes me struggle to remember the precise wording I used instead of coming up with something, anything, that works now.

I just sit down and start writing. I don't worry about the order stuff needs to go in or making sure I cover all the bases. I write, then when it starts getting tough, I look at what I wrote and figure out what holes need to be filled in and how it needs to be ordered. Then I write whatever connective text is needed, fact check, proof, and send it.

You can't worry about it being perfect. You just write, do the best you can, and hold your breath that you don't make too many horrible mistakes.

Janice

[sleeper54]

amykhar said

--snip--

(If you look today only, you can see it here)

So, my question is this. Do y'all have any tips for writing fast?

--snip--

Amy

No tips here. I never write fast. As evidenced by my Eps production rate.

But what you did write looks good to me. Only one question: What is 'personal trash' ?? ( At our house that is the trail of debris that kids--or husbands--create in their wake... )


...tom...

Easy. I get pissed off at the subject, scream my guts out about it, then cut out the expletives.

What's left is fact.

[magenta321]

I just write -- sort of free-write.

Then I go back and make sure my structure makes sense. I cut and paste a bunch. I check my facts. I spell and grammar check. Voila.

[rmthunter]

Late addition:

I can't. Not unless the material is so cut-and-dried that it takes no thought at all. I'm a subconscious organizer, and I've always had to let things cook. If I can't do that, I have to write really fast and go through three or four drafts -- cut and paste, fill in the holes, all of the above -- before it makes any sense at all. (That's non-fiction. Fiction is another whole nightmare.)

Bob

[lynnzop[$]]

Throw together an outline and fill in the blanks.

Powerpoint presentations are easiest because outlines are all they should be in the first place. Too many people try to put too much stuff on a slide.

Actual writing is a little more difficult - however, if I have something short that I just need to throw together, I'll just start out jotting somethings down and then rework a couple of times. I've been able to do that and get decent output within 30 minutes.

[mrisch[$]]

Don't write in order. Write sentences as they come into your head, in the appropriate places. That's how I write all the time- I bounce up and down the document, a paragraph at a time. I've found I can crank out really good work very quickly that way.

[theworm[$]]

In college, I used to research my term papers using index cards. I would write quotes on individual cards. Then I would write my main points on their own cards.
I'd order, and often re-order the cards, and then I would sit down and write the actual papers using my cards and quotes as my guide. Even now - it sounds like a silly system to me - just stringing together a bunch of note cards, but it really worked well for me. An easy way to organize and formulate thoughts.

[rmthunter]

lynnzop said

Throw together an outline and fill in the blanks.

That's exactly what I can't do in a hurry -- I just jot down fragments and then cut and paste until they come into some sort of reasonable order.

Bob