Collaboration Corner: Professional Writers Share Tips on Writing Articles Faster
Previously, I’ve written articles on how we can write faster and make more money as freelance writers and editors. This topic is essential to anyone trying to earn a living one word at a time, so we decided to open it up even more by passing the microphone to professional SEO writers and seeing what tricks of the trade they employ. We got some great tips not only on how to write articles faster, but also on how to write fast while writing well.
Tips On How To Write Articles Faster
Being a content writing company, we had access to a professional writer or two… So we asked some of our most proficient writers what they do to keep the words flowing. Here’s what they had to say about how to write articles faster:
1. Relate Article Topics to Your Life
“For me, it’s all about relating the article to my life, and transferring those feelings (not always knowledge, but *feelings*) to the readers. I’ve done a few plumbing-related articles lately. I don’t know a thing about plumbing, but I do know exactly how I felt when I woke up one morning with water streaming via a broken pipe from the laundry room out into the kitchen and (carpeted) living and dining rooms. Stress, confusion, panic! Simply writing about how you feel about something takes far less time than sitting and learning specifics about the topic itself.” – Heather Lunsford, Las Vegas, NV
2. Get Organized
“I always start by creating a title and outline to give me a clear direction. This also helps me to break up the work into smaller more manageable sections so I don’t feel overwhelmed with the whole task at once.” – Katie Steadman, UT
“If I spend five minutes thinking about the important bullet points I want to cover first, I can almost crank out the rest of the content on autopilot. Making an outline of 3-5 headers (or more depending on word count) takes care of the brunt of the thinking up front for me. Then, as I write, I can just look to each header as a prompt to know what to cover without stopping to think of more content.” – Kelly Burt, Denver, CO
3. Switch It Up
“What I sometimes like to do is switch between projects so that I don’t get bored or frustrated writing four 550-word articles about air conditioner replacements. While stepping away from the computer for a few minutes is a good way to keep from flinging your computer out of the window, the time you spend away from the computer is money that you aren’t making.“
– O’Brian Gunn, Denver, CO
4. Clean Your Writing Workspace
“For me, writing faster is all about the prep each morning. I clean for an hour, starting with my office space. This helps make sure that there are fewer interruptions and that there are not piles of stuff to take care of within my field of vision.”
– Daneen Hill, Clearfield, UT
5. Google With a Goal
“When I first started at BKA, one of the hardest things was coming up with article topics, so now I take the keyword(s) and think about a phrase I might Google if I was interested in that topic, then search for that phrase. I also like to copy/paste the relevant content from at least three different sources into my Word document before I begin typing. This accomplishes two things: (1) it offers a variety of content so I won’t end up with an article that is basically a copy of someone else’s work (even if I do put it into my own words), and (2) it saves time because I don’t have to keep going back and forth between my browser and word processor while writing.” – Tracy Hernandez, Highland, UT
6. Keep It Quiet
“For my most streamlined writing, I need it to be relatively quiet. This means no little ones running around me and no music or videos. Excessive distraction usually means I hop from one unfinished task to another and end up stressed out with a literal headache.” – Britainy Sorenson, Pleasant Grove, UT
7. Put the Kids to Bed
“For me, fast writing only happens after the littles head to bed. It’s just too difficult to write about surgical errors, renovations and tooth decay while simultaneously wiping little bums, breaking up arguments and ensuring that my wreck of a house gets even passably clean. If needed, I’ll head to the library with the laptop and a jug of water. Being forced to focus on the writing is the greatest help for my meager brain and time per article.” – Becca Bowler, Vancouver, WA
8. Race Against Yourself
“What I’ll sometimes do is set myself a time limit. I’ll tell myself that I have to finish the first draft of the article in fifteen minutes. It not only helps me to go faster, but almost turns it into sort of a game. (I give myself unlimited time for editing, though, so that I still send in good articles.)” – Jenica Jessen, Riverton, UT
9. Consider the Reader
“Ask yourself what will get the reader to follow up and contact the client. Writing a landing page on the importance of the negotiating indigenous land agreements with aboriginals for mining corporations in Western Australia can seem hopelessly confusing. However, that can be the perfect message to get across. It’s so confusing, the reader really needs to call the client ASAP. Read a few articles online to pick up on necessary jargon in addition to the client URL, and you’re good to go.” – Kate Kishel, Denver, CO
10. Write What You Know
“Writing quickly is easier when I’m writing on a subject I’m familiar with. Though one of the things I love about writing content is getting to learn about lots of new subjects, when time is pressing I gravitate towards articles that don’t require much new research. Sometimes I have articles that require a different topic related to the same subject. I tackle the straightforward ones first. Even if I don’t know much about the subject, writing about what I do know is quick and easy. Then I can spend a little extra time on research.” – Jessica M., Salt Lake City, UT
How To Write Articles Faster? Turn These Tips Into Habits
I’m confident that if you can make even just one of these fast article writing tips a habit, you will see a reduction in how long it takes you to get your work done, which will give you more time to earn money (or nap). Try them out, and let us know which ones work the best for helping you to write articles faster!
