How to Write Blog Posts Really Quickly
I get a lot of questions about writing.
Whilst I’d love it if people were asking about my concise, conversational and hilarious writing style…
…usually the questions are along the lines of:
How do you manage to write so much?
How do you write so quickly?
How do you keep coming up with ideas every day?
We’ve spoken before about how to write a super crazy awesome blog post.
Today I’m going to talk about how to write one quickly.
Six steps to Writing Blog Posts Really Quickly
1. Start before you start writing.
You don’t want to sit down in front of a blank screen with a blank mind.
If you find yourself in this position then set the intention of coming up with a great idea for an article, and then go and do something completely different. Go for a walk, sit in the jacuzzi with a beer, give the dog a haircut. Whatever you like. Just get away from the computer screen and do something else for a while.
Soon, a rather wonderful thing will happen. Ideas will spring into your mind as if from nowhere. This might appear magical but it’s really just the way your subconscious mind works. (Probably. Ask someone clever for proof.)
You’ll soon start to consciously think these ideas through in your mind. Maybe bits of dialogue or a great story or metaphor will appear. Maybe you’ll start to flesh out the structure of your argument. Maybe you’ll just come up with a really great topic.
Either way, now you have material.
It’s time to grab a pen and paper and…
2. Make an outline
You’ve got all these ideas swilling around inside your head. Now is time to get them out of your head and onto paper.
Make a rough outline of what you want to cover in your post, in whatever format you like.
I draw mind map-like doodles. You might prefer bullet points. Do what you dig.
Now we’re ready to write, but first…
3. Remove all distractions
I am so easily distracted it’s silly. I’m like a magpie in a jewelry store. A child in a candy store. A tired metaphor in a tired metaphor store.
I’ll be halfway through writing and then feel the urge to go and tell Mrs. Jalopy a funny story for the day. Or I’ll feel the urge to check my email. Or look at how many people replied to me on Twitter. Or check the number of new subscribers I got. Or…
You get the picture.
So if I’m going to write something good, I need to make sure that I’m not going to be distracted for the next twenty minutes.
Maybe you need to shut the door to your office for next twenty minutes? Maybe, like me, you need to write your posts on an editor which takes over your entire screen, removing all possible computer-based distractions?
All distractions removed? Good, now…
3. Start with whatever excites you the most
Now you’re ready to start writing. And we want to start with a BANG!
Sometimes you might have some great ideas but you’re feeling anxious because you’re not sure how to start.
You want to start with whatever excites you the most. Not necessarily at the start.
Maybe you’ve got a really great story that you want to tell. Just thinking about it makes you smile.
Start with that. Get excited! Get fired up! You’ll build up momentum for the rest of the piece.
Sometimes you might have a really great first sentence in my mind. In this case, the start is the place to start!
Once you’re in flow and you feel the excitement, keep writing. Structure is important, but emotion is more so. You can tidy things up later on…
4. Drop anything that doesn’t work
Don’t be a slave to your outline.
You’re writing, you’re in the zone, and some of the items in your outline don’t seem to work anymore?
Drop them. They won’t mind.
5. Don’t be tempted to save good stuff for later
As a blogger, sometimes you might worry that you’re going to run out of ideas.
It can be tempting to want to hoard ideas for future posts. Don’t do this at the expense of the post you’re writing now.
There will always be more ideas, so make this post the best you can.
6. Get it finished!
If you’re anything like me, then you’re never going to be 100% happy with anything you write.
There will always be a better adjective. There will always be a wittier way to make that point. There will always be a more thought-provoking question to finish with.
Learn to accept that good enough is good enough.
Press the Publish button, make yourself a cup of tea, and celebrate a job well done.
JJ Jalopy.
P.S. I have officially decided that this post is linkbait. That means that it’s a brilliantly bite-sized piece of shareable web-fodder. So, here’s what you do… Link to it from your blogs. Tell your friends about it on Twitter or Facebook. Digg it. Stumble it. Do all that other stuff that web people like some much. Your friends will love you for it. They’ll think you’re brilliant. Because you are.
Comment by Lynn Lane
5 July 2009
JJ,
Thanks for that. You make it so easy. Also thanks for the great newsletter. Keep it up.
Lynn
http://www.Warriorofsuccess.com
Lynn Lane´s last blog ..Success & Humility
Comment by Duane Cunningham
6 July 2009
Hi JJ,
What sound advice form the man who knows!
Whens the podcast?? :-p
Duane
Discover Secret Persuading Skills that Work Like Magic by Tapping Into the Psychology of the Mind with The Worlds Leading Persuasion Expert Duane Cunningham!
“Amazing Secrets Discovered Using Cutting Edge Research! Guaranteed To Put Money In Your Pockets, Melt Away Sales Resistance…And Slash Buyers Remorse Almost Overnight!”
Comment by John Ho
6 July 2009
JJ,
> start with a BANG!
> Get it finished!
$ and impact is in the finish!
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
Numerology Expert Birthday Numeroscope (Vox Blog)
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion
John Ho´s last blog ..“Numerology Expert Revisit What’s In A Name From Another Angle”
Comment by Darryl Pace
7 July 2009
Good ideas for getting around the dreaded “writer’s block”…And wow, I’m very impressed — you create an outline for each of you blogs?! Incredible. I think I’ll try that to see how it works for me.
Health, Fitness — Darryl Pace
Fitness Product Review
Darryl Pace´s last blog ..Getting Fit and Staying Fit
Comment by Anthony Lemme
8 July 2009
You are the blog master. It takes me forever to write a blog…my goodness! Let’s get skyping soon!
Anthony
http://www.anthonylemme.com
Anthony Lemme´s last blog ..Are You Out There Yoga Girl?
Comment by JJ Jalopy
12 July 2009
@Lynn – No probs Bro. Hope you’re well.
@Duane – Answer your bloody email dude!
Comment by JJ Jalopy
12 July 2009
@John – Thanks very much!
Comment by JJ Jalopy
12 July 2009
@Darryl – Yeah. I nearly always create an outline for my blog posts. Otherwise my brain is just a jumble. Your brain might be better behaved than mine!
@Anthony – Thanks mate. High five. You’re a rockstar.
Comment by Lisa McLellan
14 July 2009
I loved the part about removing distractions and you having the urge to get up and tell Mrs. Jalopy a funny story. I have that exact feeling all the time. I get up in the middle of typing a comment on a blog and wash dishes, then in the middle of doing dishes I come back to the computer to check email, then while checking email I suddenly need chocolate……..
Lisa McLellan
Babysitting Services – Babysitters and Nannies
Comment by JJ Jalopy
14 July 2009
@Lisa
There’s always something to distract us, isn’t there?
I do all my writing on a program that blacks out the whole of my computer screen except for the page I’m writing on. If I don’t use it then everything else on the computer distracts me too.
Comment by Pam Schulz
16 July 2009
Awesome advice for those of us who are easily distracted.
Pam
Expert Houston Retirement Planning & Wealth Management Services
Pam Schulz´s last blog ..A Blog About My Blog