3 Tips On How To Write Effectively
Anyone can write. However, only an experienced writer is able to write at a consistent speed while still producing a quality article. While experience does play a major role in how fast you can churn out your content, having a structured plan can easily accelerate your speed of completion.
If you are having difficulty hitting your quotas and are struggling to hit deadlines, Au Chat Kwan has just the solution. Follow these 3 tips to refine your writing process to become a more accomplished freelance writer.
Don’t Edit Your First Draft
Many writers, especially those who have just started out are obsessed with making their first draft perfect. In order to achieve said perfection, writers will backtrack constantly to revise and edit their first draft so that it’s grammatically correct. Avoid falling into this habit.
Your first draft should be an idea dump. Fill in the headlines for each subtopic and throw in all that you know thus far. It may be tempting to add in quotes or stop your flow to fix an error. That’s not supposed to be for your first draft. Leave that portion to the end for you and your editor to sift through. Furthermore, sometimes after expending all your mental energy into your first draft, you may be blind to the mistakes you may have made. Instead, take the time off to decompress after your draft by doing other administrative tasks. Once you are clear-minded, you’ll be more conscientious and more likely to spot areas of improvement.
Do Not Spend Too Much Time Researching
Do you find yourself hoarding information in preparation to write? Chances are that you’ve had too much content to cramp into the piece without going over the word count.
The best way to gauge how much content you can fit in is to first consider the word count. Next, look up previous articles you have completed to get an estimate.
Another way to minimize your research time is to find a good source of information. Instead of aimlessly searching through Google, try to use Google Scholar. Sources from Google scholar are more likely to be credible and more in-depth on the topic at hand.
Create An Artificial Deadline
Procrastination is a fatal flaw for many aspiring writers. Wasting valuable time just because the deadline is “far away” is failing to fully utilize the time to optimize your content. This is an inherent nature of man and is difficult to change. Instead, trick your mind into working harder by setting an artificial deadline.
By having an artificial deadline, you’ll be less likely to spend time over-researching or editing because you simply can’t afford it. Additionally, because of the surplus of time afforded by the false deadline, you will have more time to refine your base content before the deadline.
Author Bio
Au Chat Kwan wears many hats. As a freelance writer, he dabbles in copywriting, and proofreading, and picks up different writing styles often fueled by renowned authors in the likes of J.K Rowling. He recently received the critically acclaimed title of the New York Times bestselling book for his book, Fiction: A Reflection of Reality. Having worked with children to enhance their writing capabilities, he currently teaches creative writing through his online classes.
