When you are building a business, you need to write. Maybe you're writing notes for a video script, or Maybe you're writing a blog post, or Maybe you're just writing an emailto a colleague. But if you're not a writer, writing can be so tedious and time consuming. And at can make you want to rip your hair out. I will reveal a simple 5 steps process for writing smarter and faster, even if you’re not a writer.
Step 1: You want to accumulate tons of ideas. When you write for a living, you should constantly be thinking of new ideas and new stories. When I get ready for a Social Triggers TV video shoot, I often have a list of about 100 ideas. Of course, all my ideas don’t make the cut. In reality, I only need about 10 or so good ideas. But choosing 10 good ideas from a list of 100 is much easier than thinking of 10 good ideas from nothing. So, whenever you think of a story or an idea that you can use in your writing, be sure to keep track of it.
Step 2: You want to eliminate bad ideas. Just because an ideas is good doesn’t mean that you should write about it. That’s why, for every idea, I look to answer three main questions, the first is: Can I cite any interesting research or data about this topic? And if no research or data is available, do I have any personal breakthroughs, or know someone who had a personal breakthrough with this topic? If the answer is yes, the idea stays. Now, what do I mean by “research” and “personal breakthrough?” The idea was to write a script about my personal breakthrough with writing. So, if you have a breakthrough or research to cite, then the idea is probably worth pursing. It’s that simple. But if the answer is no, then it’s not worth pursuing right now. That doesn’t mean to throw it away. Sometimes an іdеа is worth researching. But when it’s time to write, the idea that need additional research just don’t make the cut. So уоu should save them for a later time. The next question I ask myself about a topic idea is “Do I have an opinion about this? This is an important question to ask”. Here’s why, a lot of people tend to write what they have research about or personal experience about, but they don’t have an opinion about it. And that’s a problem. Nowadays, people want to hear unique voices. And you can’t showcase your voice if уоu don’t have an opinion on what уоu'rе writing about. So if the answer is no, the article gets axed. If the answer is yes, proceed to the final question, which is: what are the key take away for this blog post email? You want to have something to cite, and having an opinion doesn’t necessarily mean you should write about that topic. For example, you can say: “Comment and let me know your opinion about this topic.
Step 3: You want to get real specific. From those 20 ideas, I pick the top idea on my list, and I flesh it out completely. I will outline it into a few bullet points.
Step 4: Which is where you turn your outline into a blog post or an article or a videos scrip. Now, here's the deal. Once it’s time to write, all I have to do is fellow my outline and assemble the article one part at a time. So that, by the end I’ve got 4 key sections and all I have to do it put them together into article form.
Step 5: Edit. As you might imagine, when you assemble writing the way I do, sometimes the writing doesn't flow as well as you want it to flow. That’s why after I write the first draft of an article, I start editing it, or have someone else edit it. To make it flow from start to finish. And that’s my process. It enable me to write fast and write smart. And if you’re in the business of writing, you should follow this process too.
If you found this article helpful, or know someone that will find it helpful, I'd greatly appreciate you sharing with your friends. I believe everyone needs to write. Especially if they're an entrepreneur or and executive who's looking to get ahead in business and life. Hope this article will help them learn how to do it the fast way.
No comments:
Post a Comment