Many content writers still struggle with marrying quality content with fast output. For many, that’s tied to the understanding that good writing is a product of good thinking. And good thinking takes time.

This means a faster writing process is hardly advisable if you intend to create quality content regularly. 

But when income is tied to how much output you can produce, optimizing for speed and output will help you become a high earner and a better writer.

Creating a system that guarantees you deliver above-average work even on days you’re short on time is pivotal to your growth as a content writer. It will see you through on days you’ve got a tight deadline to beat and ensure you don’t deny yourself good reviews from your clients or the potential for more work. 

This is why I have put together this piece, with insights from content marketers and writers on improving one’s content writing speed without compromising quality. 

Every one of the ten tips highlighted here, which you learn to implement, will bring you one step closer to becoming a confident and reliable writer.  

10 Tips For a Faster Writing Process

Check out the ten tips guaranteed to boost your writing speed and help you consistently deliver commendable work. 

• Use writing exercises to Prep the page
• Answer the important questions upfront
• Use writing hacks and tools
• Eliminate distractions
• Take breaks
• Make it challenging
• Work in bursts/ Pomodoro technique
• Create your own rules
• Have a personal swipe file and Template Folder
• Start with what you know

1. Use Writing Exercises to Prep the page

Writing exercises are like rehearsals before the main event. They keep your writing and thinking muscles active and help you eliminate the brain clutter to allow ideas to flow freely. 

Sometimes, getting down to write can be slowed down by overthinking the topic, obsessing over the different tasks on your plates, or feeling overwhelmed in general. 

Rather than struggle to fight through this while putting your ideas on the page, writing exercises can help you relax, eliminate mental distractions, and help you focus. 

Some writing exercises that can stimulate your brain include:

Morning pages/Journaling

Write three pages of your thoughts and ideas first thing in the morning. If this is hard for you to do, start with as little as 200 words. It’s like a mental detox to start your day. No restrictions and no overthinking, just free-flowing writing of anything that’s in your head.

Summarize a lengthy blog

Eddie Shleyner recommends this for copywriters to learn to write crispier copy. Get one or two paragraphs from an article or Wikipedia page. Then try reducing the words to less than half the current word count.

Try out writing prompts

Writing prompts can be a lifesaver if you’re a new writer struggling with writing block. Pick a prompt, follow the rules, and get your mind racing. It’s fun, plus a great way to get out of a rut. 

2. Answer the Important Questions Upfront

Want to hit the nail on the head on what your reader wants? Use questions to frame the direction for the piece or describe the mindset of your target audience. 

This also helps when you’re struggling to follow a line of thought, unable to see why a paragraph is essential, or understand what makes the reader tick. 

Plus, you can use them to stay grounded while researching (so you don’t get overwhelmed). You can also refer to the question while editing, especially at the developmental stage. 

In her newsletter, Lily Ugbaja shares three key questions that help her understand the logic of her target audience just before she starts writing.

• What do they know?
• What do they want to know?
• What do they need to know?

These questions also help in boosting your content engagement amongst your audience.

3. Use Writing Hacks and Tools

Frustration with a brief or topic can slow down your writing output. But if you have a repeatable research, writing, and editing process, it will feel less like a chore and more like an exciting routine.

Try any of these hacks for the three core stages of the writing process for a faster output:

Faster Research

• Use search operators to find precise information.
• Embrace AI tools for idea generation. 
• Try out Waldo for getting stats. 
• Explore HARO, Terkel, qwoted, help a B2B writer, communities, social media, forums, podcasts, and Google books for quotes and insights from subject matter experts.

Outlining Tricks

• Use templates. These two from Tracey Wallace and Jacob Statler are helpful.
• Use Google’s People also asked, auto-suggest people also searched for, and related searches to build the outline.
• Group your ideas into themes. Topics with smaller content fall under H3s, and larger topics become H2s.

Content Writer & Strategist Sanketee Kher confirms that the last point has been helpful for her outlining process. 

She says:

To shorten the outlining process, I look at the title and brainstorm all the key points I want to include in the article. Then, I group them into overarching themes or categories. It helps to look at these points as a roadmap leading you to the final destination. Also, once you figure out how each point builds the narrative, you’ll have an overall structure that creates an organic story. Finally, I add or remove anything that could distract readers from the crux of the blog to convey the theme successfully.

Editing hacks/ tools

• Crosscheck with the client’s brand and style guide.
• Make notes from previous edits made on past work with the clients.
• Use Grammarly, Hemingway editor, and word tune.
• Use measure of things for comparing objects and places.
• Get rid of filler words, including “very” and words ending in “-ly.”

PS: This three-step editing process is a more comprehensive system for editing.

4. Eliminate Distractions

Becoming a great and fast writer also involves self-discipline to work in a distraction free-zone. So, take note of your biggest mental or physical distractions and eliminate them. You can do this by: 

• Working in a clean space.
• Reducing the number of open tabs.
• Using music from brain.fm, and calm or any other work music. 
• Downloading app blockers or distraction-blocking extensions. 

5. Take Breaks

Factoring in rest times helps take the pressure off work and allows you to give your best at your most productive hours. Use your most productive hours to write as much as possible. Your downtime can be dedicated to more research, idle work, or resting. 

If you force it, you’ll end up rambling, which will be more time spent editing.  

Here’s Alex Koktsidis on how adequate rest helps her writing process:

“For me, writing comes much faster when I’m well-rested, alert, satiated, and have no distractions(phone in the other room). Sometimes, my mind feels sharp after a walk or movement, and I can write faster and more on point. 

The worst is slogging through a piece, so my goal is to design my days only to write/do work when I’m in that alert state-of-mind, and save more tedious business tasks for when I’m out of it.”

And if you struggle to get back on track after your break, here’s a trick that helps.

End your sentence on an open loop. Or write a summary of what you were thinking or the direction of the piece when you wrote the sentence.

You can also use your breaks to do mindless work, like playing a game.

6. Make it Challenging

Building a writing muscle requires discipline, and one way to develop this is by setting boundaries for yourself, which you must respect. One such is personal deadlines. 

Set a timeframe to complete any part of a project and stick to it. Better still, the time frame can be less than what’s assigned to you by a client, so you have more time for other tasks. 

Make it more exciting by attaching a reward or punishment where appropriate.

A fellow writer, Lateef Maleek, recommended this chrome extension called Squibler for staying focused while writing. It’s a game-changer and an adrenaline booster.

My typing skill automatically tripled the first time I tried it, and I kept tripping over words in my head (yes, that’s a real thing). Quite intense, but it will help you beat your deadline. 

7. Work In Bursts / Pomodoro Technique

Pomodoro is a popular project management technique that involves working in short bursts. 

It prevents you from working at a stretch, so you don’t wear yourself out. You can implement this with any variation of working times or Pomodoro apps. 

You can aim for two sets of 25 minutes of work time in an hour, with a five-minute break between each. Or try out whichever variation that works for you. With this technique, you can hit four hours of intense work, which experts recommend best for daily productivity.

8. Create Your Own Rules

Writing is a creative venture, so you shouldn’t be bound by the rules. Carry out some self-introspection, and identify the times you work well the kind of projects you enjoy doing, and circumstances that hinder or accelerate your workflow.

Dominic Kent, a freelance content marketer, advises:

“Find a method that works for you. I work strictly only when I’m productive. If I feel myself slipping, I take a break. Three-hour bursts of writing is more effective than eight hours without a break. When you learn your most productive routine (which is allowed to change in line with the rest of your life), your output comes together quickly.” 

This method gives him up to five hours of productive work. 

On the other hand, here’s what works for Shayla, founder of Primo stats:

“I speed up my writing process by walking and typing notes on my phone. Normally, I have many content ideas when I go for a walk. So, instead of jotting them down when I return, I capture my thoughts using the Google Docs app. I don’t aim for perfection. These thoughts are usually incomplete sentences and phrases. I usually have a good outline to work with when I get back to my desk.”

Another way to play by your rules is by starting with the most exciting, pressing, or lucrative gig. 

9. Have a Personal Swipe File and Template Folder

Swipe files are every creative’s secret weapon for improving themselves, and you should have one that works for you. In creating one, select materials that will factor in the peculiarities of your niche, the kind of content you write, your writing struggles, and everything else that adds to your USP as a writer. 

The following in your swipe file will help you build your writing muscle:

• Best performing content
• Favorite content from yourself or any other writer 
• Recurring edits from clients
• Data vault (Marijana Kay has a great version you can use).
• Tips for SME research.
• Positive remarks from peers and clients that you can fall back on during your downtime.
• Examples of different writing formats and formulas.

From this, you can also make notes that will help your writing style in the future while building strength for better self-editing. 

Sometimes, all I need is a line to inspire the intro or the start of an H2, and from there, it’s 20 minutes or more of non-stop writing. It also takes out the pressure on your brain to create from scratch. 

10. Start With What You Know

You don’t have to eat the frog. Instead, build momentum by starting with the easy parts and taking it up from there. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck on the challenging aspects with the perfect excuse to procrastinate. 

There are certain situations where this advice applies like:

• When faced with a difficult topic to write on.
• When you have multiple writing projects to work on.
• When stuck on how to begin a regular writing assignment.

Dom Kent has this to say on the matter:

“Writing about what you know speeds up your draft 10x. If you have first-hand knowledge, know the product, relate with the audience, and can recall real-life experiences, you remove much of the research time and the time you spend knowing what to write about the topic. This is one example of where finding your genuine niche pays dividends. It also comes with the added benefit of you starting to know people in your industry, so outreach for expert quotes and SME interviews is more like asking a friend to help you out.” 

If all else fails, remember that done is better than perfect. You’re good to go as long as you’ve covered the essential details in each theme raised in the piece.

Fast Writing Shouldn’t Mean Poor Writing

Racing to beat deadlines shouldn’t be an excuse for turning out poor work. Instead, it should motivate you to re-organize your schedule and optimize your writing workflow to become that writer that consistently delivers quality. 

Plus, over time, you can charge extra fees for rush work attached to projects with shorter turnaround times.

So, on days you struggle to create an efficient writing routine, you have these tips for falling back on.

Writing is a creative venture, so you shouldn’t be bound by the rules.

I hope you found this post helpful. You can leave a comment below and share this with others.