%% ID: 13204905 Updated: 2022-01-28 %% ![](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article4.6bc1851654a0.png) # About Title: [[Other/Obsidian Starter Vault(Second Brain)/Readwise/Articles/How to Write Faster- 10 Simple Tips to 2x Your Writing Output]] Author: [[Bryan Collins]] Category: #articles Number of Highlights: ==36== Last Highlighted: *2021-12-28* Readwise URL: https://readwise.io/bookreview/13204905 Source URL: https://bloggingwizard.com/write-your-blog-post-faster/ # Highlights If you’re just starting the process of building your blog, it’s frustrating to spend hours on a single blog post when you see others writing more in less time. ^278319166 --- 1. Separate research from writing ^278319167 --- Hours go by. You write nothing. ^278319168 --- use the right tools and get whatever information you need. Then, close down your browser, disconnect from the internet, and do nothing else but write. ^278319169 --- If, while writing, you think of a fact you need to check, whatever you do don’t stop writing. Instead, make a note in your blog post with an X or with an asterisk. Then when you’ve finished this first draft, go ahead and check this point. The idea is to get that first draft out of your head and onto the page. You can always go back and firm up your arguments when you’re editing. ^278319170 --- Stephen King says, “To write is human, to edit is divine.” ^278319171 --- 2. Write now, edit later ^278319172 --- Professional writers don’t stop after every sentence to go back and see if they got it right. ^278319173 --- maybe some of them do. Productive professional writers get that messy first draft out onto the page. ^278319174 --- If you stop after every sentence to change, tweak, polish and refine your blog post, it will take hours to get to the publish button. Instead, write the entire post in one long messy session. Then, edit it. ^278319175 --- 3. Write an outline ^278319176 --- break your blog post into several different sections using pen and paper. ^278319177 --- Write down a single word or theme for each section. If you’re writing a list post, write down a single bullet point for each item on your list. ^278319178 --- Note what you want to say in the conclusion and the introduction. Now, use this outline for your post. ^278319179 --- This will take ten to twenty minutes, and it will prevent that horrible moment when you realize you’ve written five hundred or a thousand words that won’t engage your readers. ^278319180 --- 4. Stuck? Write your conclusion sooner ^278319181 --- Your conclusion is the place where you bring your thoughts together in several short but succinct sentences. It’s also where your call-to-action goes. ^278319182 --- Record the main points of your piece. Explain exactly what you said and why it’s true. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t quite proved your point yet. That’s a minor concern and one you can fix after you’ve written the conclusion. ^278319183 --- 5. Write your introduction last ^278319184 --- Your first line counts. It’s what convinces the reader to carry on to the second line. And so on. ^278319185 --- Spending two hours on the first line won’t leave you much energy for all the other sentences. ^278319186 --- Instead, write the introduction after you’ve finished outlining, researching, writing and editing your post. This way, you’ll know exactly what your work is about and what you want to say first. ^278319187 --- 6. Forget about being perfect ^278319188 --- it’s OK if your blog post isn’t perfect. This doesn’t mean you can get away with typos, bad grammar and spelling mistakes in your posts. ^278319189 --- The beauty of writing for the web means it’s always possible to fix your work if you make a mistake. ^278319190 --- 7. Practice like an Olympian ^278319191 --- The more you practice something the better and the faster you’ll get at it. ^278319192 --- If you’re starting off as a blogger and you find your progress is slow, accept it for what it is. If you keep putting the work in, you will become faster and better. ^278319193 --- 8. Set a timer ^278319194 --- . If you’re struggling to progress your post, place boundaries around it. ^278319195 --- 9. Stop writing ^278319196 --- Get up from the desk. Go for a sleep, a walk, make dinner, eat, drink, do anything but think about HTML, call-to-actions and social proof. Don’t risk burn out. ^278319197 --- 10. Organise your research and notes ^278319198 --- I save my notes, ideas and research in Evernote for reference while writing my posts. I keep: Blog posts Articles Giveaways from mailing lists Quotes Scientific papers ^278319199 --- having a tool or a system for your research, ideas and notes will make it easier to find them later on when you really need them. This means you can spend less time researching and more time writing. ^278319200 --- The best thing about writing faster is you’ll finish and publish more posts. And with each post you finish, you take one more step down the path towards becoming the type of blogger you always imagined you would become. ^278319201