Comments on: Writing Fast Is A Learnable Skill

By: Deb Carr

Deb Carr — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:07:02 +0000

Not having internet access is good at times…right now I take the old laptop into another room (no wireless connection)…I like Anne’s idea about turning down the contrast, too!
I draft in Notepad most of the time (then paste into Word later), and have considered resizing the window so that I see only 4 or 5 lines…

By: Mark Keating

Mark Keating — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:45:51 +0000

Deb:

They’d be helpful for me – the more time I spend in front of the monitor, the more likely I am to divert myself with non-writing tasks like check my Twitter feed, or posting comments on random freelance writing blogs

Mark
.-= Mark Keating´s last blog ..Exxon Invests in Biofuel from Algae Production =-.

By: Deb Carr

Deb Carr — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:33:47 +0000

I really appreciate these tips, since I spend too much time putting too many words on the screen...Also, I have heard that there are some battery-operated keyboards (with memory) that only show 4 lines of text at once. Some writers claim that these help them compose faster. Are they helpful? .-= Deb Carr´s last blog ..Tools for Writers - Alpha Smart and NEO =-.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:18:59 +0000

now why didn’t I think of that… great idea Jorge, thanks

By: jorgekafkazar

jorgekafkazar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:51:30 +0000

Another trick that can speed things up a little is to use unambiguous shorthand for words used frequently, then go back on a subsequent edit and do a seek-and-destroy with CTRL-H. For example, if you're writing a book about, say, cognitive dissonance, type cogx instead. This can save a lot of time and can be caught later with spellcheck as a safety net. Autocorrect can be customized to do the same thing, but takes time to set up. .-= jorgekafkazar´s last blog ..Tenirax, Ch V =-.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:04:35 +0000

lol, Meryl, I actually discovered the turning down the monitor trick when I was writing about my own rage… couldn’t bare to see it. Now I use it to keep from editing… the monitor, not the rage… rage is mostly gone.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:03:22 +0000

Agree Jorge, and sometimes, when I get impatient with that process, I tear up more than usual.

By: jorgekafkazar

jorgekafkazar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:26:37 +0000

Sometimes I like to just make some notes, any old order, and then let them sit for a day. I write fiction, most of the time, and I hate finding that I've written myself into a corner. Writing 10,000 words in a weekend is great, but not if I have to throw them out later. Sometimes the creative process can't be rushed. That's my opinion, anyway. .-= jorgekafkazar´s last blog ..Tenirax, Ch V =-.

By: Meryl K Evans

Meryl K Evans — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:22:28 +0000

I think the key is to write fast, edit later. We're all gonna have yucky first drafts -- so we might as well get 'em down fast so we can bring out the beauty once we go through the content. Nice idea, Anne -- turning down light on monitor. .-= Meryl K Evans´s last blog ..27 Most Used Applications in a Writing Business =-.

By: jorgekafkazar

jorgekafkazar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:42:44 +0000

Sax Rohmer believed in getting as much down on paper as fast as possible. He used to "write fast" by recording Dictaphone cylinders and then mailing them to London for transcription. I haven't tried Dragon or other voice-to-text programs, but I may give it a shot. I think Dragon just had a price cut for their standard software. .-= jorgekafkazar´s last blog ..Tenirax, Ch V =-.