Many writers are participating in November in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)competition and try to write a 50,000-word book in one month. Every NaNoWriMo participant has his or her own strategy for writing the first draft very quickly and increasing “words-per-hour” mileage.

How to write faster: 5 steps to increase your productivity

1. Pinpoint your best time of day. Are you a morning person or a night owl? The first key to writing quickly is to know when your brain works at its best as everyone’s brain works differently. If possible, schedule your day to make the most of the hours during which you feel most energized, clearheaded, alert, and enthusiastic.

I am 100% night owl, I love to work when it is dark and late. Sometimes I do have to write in afternoon or so but then I usually manage to write one page and only when the deadline is like next day and my editor is asking where is my article. When it can wait for few hours I rather do it later, it takes less time and I don´t have this “I must work” feeling.

Also it took me 18 days to write 24,500 words book so I truly believe this NaNoWriMo competition – book within one month and 50,000 words is possible. I preferred somehow Sunday evenings as my daily schedule is quite flexible, it does not matter what day it is. So I found Sunday evenings the most suitable, after having pancakes for dinner, was nice time for writing.

2. Clear your head and set an intention. The work of writing fast happens even before you put your butt in the chair. Prepare for an efficient session by making a decision to be focused—we mean really focused. Taking a quiet moment before you put your fingers on the keyboard can go a long way toward increased efficiency.

Not sure will that technique work for me but I am willing to try at least.

3. Set a timer. If you know you only have one hour to work, there’s a good chance you’ll really buckle down and make progress. So set a timer and then honor it. When the timer goes off, you stop. At least for a little while—which brings us to the next point…

This is not for me, that is more then sure. I hate the feeling I have only certain time left and it rather holds me back then motivates. Reminds me way too much high school and assessments and knowing you have very little time left made me more nervous and confused then expected. 

4. Take breaks. If you want to write for five hours over the course of one day (and yes, there are NaNoWriMo participants who write that long and longer), you’ve got to pace yourself. If you dive into your work too hard and too fast, you’re going to burn out quickly. Set a brisk pace—but not one that’s going to leave you exhausted after two hours. And use your breaks to re-energize.

To write 5 hours is not a problem, also happened many times when I had this 18 days/24,500 words writing going on. And I prefer to write 5 hours in a row then 5 days and every day just 1h. Also I am not very good at having breaks, usually I do it when my butt or neck start to hurt :). I rarely even take breaks when I am stuck with my ideas and need some new energy or clear my mind.

5. Turn off your inner critic. While the editorial side of a writer’s brain does a lot of heavy lifting, putting it on mute for a while is essential if you’re trying to meet an intense word-count goal. Give yourself permission not to criticize yourself and second-guess while you’re in the first, generative stages of your writing process. If you are writing for National Novel Writing Month, then you know the book that comes out of your effort will be a first draft, not a final draft. So turn off your inner editor while you are on a writing jag—there’s plenty of time for editing later on.

My inner critic is always on “off” mode as I always think I have done my best 🙂

There are many other techniques that can help a writer write more quickly, most of them involve your personal preparation routine. The more prepared you are before you sit down to write, the more likely you’ll be able to produce an effective piece of writing quickly. So begin by planning. And then write faster than ever before by following the steps above.

What do you think, are those 5 steps helpful to write faster and to be more productive? 

You can find the used article here