Being a freelance writer sounds like a dream. We get a lot of freedom over our work schedule, and get to work from wherever we want.
But, there’s the small matter that freelance writers write – a lot.
We write so much that it consumes the free time we look forward to gaining. Yet, without a lot of writing, our business suffers. So, we have no choice.
The best solution is quick writing.
With fast research and writing skills, we maintain the free time we want. And we do so without sacrificing our professional performance. It’s the best of both worlds.
For me, the skills of quickly researching and writing developed before my freelance career. I loved writing from back when I was a child, but I was not quick. It wasn’t until college that those capabilities developed for me.
In college, I wrote tons of papers. I was a psychology and criminology double-major, so the papers were also research-heavy. To keep up with the demand, I developed a habit of researching and writing quickly.
No longer were my three-page papers taking a week to put together. Instead, I could bust them out the night before. And the quality of my writing remained the same.
Plan Ahead Before You Write
Staying organized for each new writing job does wonders for your time.
Instead of outlining each new job from scratch, you have a solid jumping-off point. From this base, you tailor your work to the clients’ needs and requirements.
If you’ve already been freelancing for a while, and have a solid rotation of clients, make a folder for each one. This folder contains all the notes, recommendations, and statistics from your clients. As you write a new piece, this information stays at your fingertips and is ready to go.
The same is true of common statistics that you use in your writing. Save your frequently-used sources so they are readily available.
Make Some Templates
As freelance writers, we employ the same types of posts. For instance, listicles or Q&A articles.
Make templates of your common article types.
With these templates, you don’t waste time writing from scratch. Instead, you have a ready-to-go template where you add relevant information.
This doesn’t eliminate the need for writing the content, but it does save you time in formatting each article.
Keep Distractions Limited
It’s impossible to fully remove distractions from our lives. That doesn’t mean we can’t limit them, though.
I know for me, something simple – like listening to music with lyrics – slows down my writing process. I pay too much attention to what the song is saying, or I space out watching music video after music video.
For others, they have an overactive mind that distracts them. Or children begging for attention.
Whatever it is, limit your distractions when you write. Focusing on the task at hand ensures you tackle it with efficiency.
Also, using your distraction-mitigation strategies signals your brain that it’s time for work. Thus shifting your mindset into one of more focus and greater efficiency.
Research Only as Much as Needed
I completely understand the motivation to over-research. Especially when we are writing about subjects we aren’t familiar with. By knowing every little thing, we won’t make a stupid mistake, right?
Wrong.
The amount of research we conduct does not dictate how accurate of an article we produce. It does take a lot of time, though.
So, research only what you need.
By no means am I advocating for doing minimal research and writing sub-par articles as a result. But, you are likely doing more research than you need, especially if you are a new freelance writer.
There is no set amount of research, either. That depends on the length of the article and the depth into which you are discussing the topic.
Save the Editing for Later
Many people make the mistake of editing their work as they write.
Don’t.
When you sit down to write, focus on writing. Get the words down on the paper. Send that blank page away and don’t let it intimate you.
Writing down a first draft and editing later saves you lots of time.
Still, don’t overwrite your first draft. If you only need 1,500 words for an article, don’t spend time writing a first draft that is 3,000 words. You’ll spend lots of time cutting that down and organizing it so it flows better.
Embrace Small Wins
You won’t accomplish your goal of writing faster overnight. No one will. None of us are capable of sleeping our way out of an issue.
That isn’t a reason to give up on trying.
Start with simple tasks, such as writing every day and setting a timer as you write. These are the stepping stones toward the final outcome of becoming a faster writer.
Over time, motivate yourself with reminders of the small accomplishments you make. Your skills with writing faster will improve as long as you keep working at it.