If you’re a blogger or work in any time of business that produces written content you know how time consuming producing good quality content can be. Something all writers want is to learn how to write more and create more content in less time.
I’ve certainly been there. When I first started writing I would frequently run into writer’s block and not even know where to start. Putting out an article would seem like a huge task, and took far too long.
Since then, I’ve gotten much better at writing. Not only has the quality of my writing improved, but also in terms of the speed that I can produce content. Upwards of 5,000 words a day is easily possible, and doesn’t even seem that much anymore.
If you’re looking to learn how to write more then hopefully these tips will help you. They are the things I’ve picked up over the years that have helped me to become a better and faster writer.
Always be creating more ideas
One of the hardest parts for me when I want to create more content is simply having ideas of what to write about. Writer’s block is a serious problem, and one that can end your writing before you even start.
To combat this, I’m constantly looking for new ideas of what to write. I have a document setup that I constantly add to, sometimes full fledged ideas and other times just simple notes. I can then come back and use this to generate ideas.
There are a lot of great ways to come up with new ideas, but one I particularly like is to see what my competitors are doing. I have a list of competitor sites, and every week or so I go through their site to see what new content they’ve created.
This gives me lots of great new ideas to work with. I’m not looking to outright copy articles, but use them as springboards. I try to find ways to improve or expand what they’ve done and make sure I’m putting my own unique spin on it.
Regardless of how you’re coming up with new ideas you should always be doing so. The first step to writing more is to make sure that you always have something to write about.
Start With an Outline
Next, whenever I sit down to write an article I always start by creating an outline. Usually, this involved me running through the key headers of the site, and maybe sub-headers, and putting them down on paper.
This gives me a clear focus on what I’m writing, and helps keep me on track. It’s much easier to start writing when you have a clear plan than when you’re just staring at a blank page.
I also don’t take the outline too seriously. It’s meant as a guide not as a rule. For example, I’ll often find myself coming up with new ideas halfway through writing an article, and I’m definitely going to add them in where appropriate.
That’s the key, the outline should help guide your writing, but shouldn’t force you to compromise on your article. For me, the act of getting the outline down and starting to write really gets the writer's juices flowing, and from there on it’s much easier to keep going.
Set Up Templates and Helpers
As you write more articles you, like myself, might notice that some types of articles keep appearing over and over again. For example, I work on a gardening focused blog, and care articles for individual plants come through every week. These include roughly the same information, like sunlight needs, watering, and ideal soil. conditions
Since I was writing a lot of these articles I decided to create a post template that hit all the key points and that I could reuse for each one. This saved me a lot of time as I wasn’t worried about coming up with an outline for each article and had a clear plan already made for me.
This won’t work for every site, but if you find yourself writing a lot of the same type of article look for ways to speed up that process. Looking for patterns can help not only save you time, but make things easier. Going off the example above, given my template I know exactly what types of information I need to research. This makes the whole process of research and writing quicker and easier.
Set Aside Writing Time
Another thing I do is specifically set aside time dedicated solely to writing. This helps me stay focused, and gives me some distraction free time to write.
Personally, I choose the morning to do most of my writing. I grab a nice cup of coffee, and jump right in. I like the morning primarily because there’s so few distractions. There’s no meetings, I’m not taking phone calls, and it gives me the rest of the day to get my other, non-writing work done.
The morning won’t work for everyone, so I encourage you to think about your day and find a time that works best. Try to find at least an uninterrupted hour where you have minimal distractions.
On the note of distractions, make sure to minimize them during your writing so you can stay focused. I purposely leave my phone in a different room so I’m not tempted to check it while I write. There are also apps that do things like block social media sites that some people like to use while they write.
Some of this falls into the larger category of time management. I wrote a short book on the topic that is available on Amazon if you’re interested in checking it out.
If you’re serious about writing you should be setting some distraction free time to do so. It really helps get you in the correct mindstate to get some serious work done.
Write Everyday
Lastly, great writers write every day. Every single day without fail. If you want to improve, both your quality and speed, the more you write the better you’ll get.
Now, I’ll admit I don’t write everyday. I try to, but sometimes life gets in the way. That’s okay, we’re not perfect and most of us wouldn’t call ourselves professional writers.
The important thing is that we’re making the attempt to improve. If you make it a goal to write everyday you’ll get better at it over time. The quality of your writing will improve, and you’ll find yourself able to write more in a shorter period of time. Writing is like any skill, you have to practice.
How To Write More
I like to think of writing like a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and focused effort to get better, and certainly won’t happen overnight. I’ve been writing for blogs for years, and I still consider myself an amateur at best. I don’t let that discourage me though, I see it as a challenge to improve, and look forward to continually writing for years to come.