Write Faster -- Finding Ideas

#11 Write Faster: Uncovering Ideas

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You have been dragging your feet starting that paper. How can you jump into this task and finish faster? If you want to cut down the time you spend writing, this episode is for you. You will need scratch paper and a pen, your syllabus or course description, and your assignment.

 

I’m going to assume a few things here. I’m assuming your writing task is the usual 3-5 or 4-6 page paper for college. I’m assuming this is not a chapter in your doctoral thesis. I’m also assuming you have not left this task until the last few hours before your deadline. Finally, I’m assuming this is not a creative assignment, such as writing a short story, but largely an analytical one.

 

By the way, if you want some fantastic resources for writing faster, just go to the show notes and click the link, give us your email, and you will receive my favorite method of writing an introduction in your inbox. This could change how you approach your next paper, so check it out.

 

One reason why college writers struggle to write in an efficient manner is that they feel that they have no ideas, no direction. This can cost you time, time, time. Instead of actually drafting the paper, you find yourself just spinning, unable to decide on one idea or another. Without any direction, you give up and procrastinate.

 

Let’s solve this.

 

Writing is thinking, remember?

 

Start by adding ideas into your mind. Before you can pour something onto the page, you need your mind full of ideas. Go back to the readings for the course. Re-read an article or skim a chapter or two. Set a time and give yourself no more than two hours of re-reading time.

 

Even better, there’s a secret for uncovering great ideas in a shorter period of time. Limit the amount of text you are going to focus on. Instead of reviewing the entire novel, you are only allowed to review the last three chapters and use those as evidence. Instead of all the readings for your course, tell yourself you are only allowed to use these three articles and no more. The more you give yourself boundaries and borders, the more your mind will dig deep and find patterns and ideas in that limited text that you can then apply. Giving yourself strict boundaries actually makes your mind more creative and helps you think more deeply.

 

As you re-read, tell yourself you are only allowed to underline one sentence, the most pivotal sentence in the piece.

 

As you read, tell yourself you are only allowed to highlight one phrase, the most critical phrase the writer uses.

 

Do you see how setting a boundary not only saves you time but also fires up your brain and helps you start to think more creatively about these ideas?

 

A few points of caution – do not burn up valuable time consuming the readings or texts for hours and hours. You have limited time, so spend it wisely.

 

Lastly, if you have a few days, do this exercise and let those ideas resonate in your mind for a day. Even though you are doing other tasks, part of your mind will still be mulling over these ideas and when you return, your insights will be richer.