Ann Handley - TA #157: ⚡ 6½ Ways to Write Faster

Sunday, March 3, 2024

In a year when nearly every marketer is being asked to Do More With Less and in a year with one extra day on February 29... my friend Jeffrey Rohrs had a crazy-inspired idea:

What about a 24-hour continuous virtual event?

What if it was global, with 125 speakers and attendees from all around the world?

What if it played with the Leap Day concept of how we can #MakeMoreTime in 2024 with technology, strategy, process improvements?

And what if it was FREE!

Jeffrey called me on my cell just before Christmas and pitched his idea. I was walking my dog Augie. I nodded along as Jeffrey talked to me from his office in Cleveland.

I started to breathe heavy—because Augie, Jeffrey, and I were in that part of the walk that's a steep hill and my 14-pound dog was charging like a sled dog.

There was a pause in the conversation.

"You OK?" Jeffrey asked.

"Yes," I gasped. "And I'm... <gulp of air>... in."

* * *

How can we write faster?

That was the focus of my talk last week at The ActiveCampaign Leap Day Extravaganza. (You can access it on-demand through March 31 here. I'm on at 4:05 on 2/29. That's a screenshot of my analog slides, above.) (Ann-alog?)

I had only 20 minutes. I had to rein myself in. Here's the Content + Bonus Tracks [Ann's Version], just for you.

* * *

Five years ago, I launched this fortnightly newsletter about writing and marketing.

As detailed in Everybody Writes 2, it took me 8 hours-ish to write the newsletter. Now I write it in half that time.

How did I cut the time in half?

Generative AI, right?

No. (And not more espresso. Or an extra day in February, either.)

It all comes down to process.

* * *

"Process" sounds as much fun as scrubbing dirt from beets. But stick with me. Here's mine.

1. START WITH PEN + PAPER.

Write a list of your key points on paper with a pen. Flesh out those key points with a few bullet points.

Don't worry about "writing." You're welding the scaffolding for ideas that will become writing.

Why this works:

You write slower than you type. Working with analog tools slows you down. Your high-speed locomotive brain isn't screaming ahead to get to Next Sentence Depot. It has to wait patiently for your hands to catch up, like a car driver at a railroad crossing waiting for the train's caboose.

That slow pace ultimately delivers better insights.

You can't backspace or start over. You can only keep going.

It's the ultimate in distraction-free writing. Checking email. Scrolling LinkedIn. Clicking to another tab. You cannot. Because... well, paper.

2. STOP TRYING SO HARD.

The fastest way to write is to take the pressure off yourself.

You aren't Michelangelo trying to sculpt David.

You're just throwing your thoughts on paper like a mass of wet, rough clay.

Use your paper outline as your guide and write as fast as you can. In Everybody Writes, I call the result of this approach The Ugly First Draft.

3. AHOY, PROCRASTINATORS. THIS IS FOR YOU.

The hardest part about writing is often just sitting down to do it.

I procrastinate, too. When it's getting in the way, I call up the Pomodoro Technique: a time-management method that helps you break any work into chunks separated by quick breaks.

It's perfectly suited to writing. It's basic. But it's magical.

Here's how it works:

You set a timer for 25-ish minutes. You adhere your 🍑 peach to the chair. You work until the timer dings. You take a short break. Repeat three times. Then you take a longer break. These intervals are known as "Pomodoros."

Many apps, websites, and tools have widely popularized the technique. Like this one. And this. You can also buy cute little tomato timers.

But I simply use my Alexa and ask her to sing to me in Italian after 28 minutes just to make the technique my own. That initial adhere-peach-session is usually enough to get into the flow.

🍅 Fun fact: The "Pomodoro Technique" was developed in the 1980s by a university student, Francesco Cirillo, as a way to focus and complete assignments. Francesco used a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato (pomodoro in Italian), and ultimately published his method as a free download (republished as a book).

4. BUILD A TINY HOUSE STUDIO.

I work out of a Tiny House Studio. It's a one-room studio with an open ceiling and a tiny screen porch. I built it in my backyard 10 years ago as a place where I could focus on writing... because inside there's nothing else to focus on. (Here's the story.)

Since then, I've published 3 books, launched this newsletter, and written... I don't know... maybe a thousand presentation scripts & blog posts & MOAR.

I'm not saying the Tiny House Studio is responsible. But I'm not-not saying that, either.

The air is rarefied in there; it's where I feel most creative and motivated.

Your Tiny House Studio might be metaphorical. Yours might be a room in your house. A corner of your loft. A coffee shop with the scent of rarefied air. But wherever it is... get one.

5. SHORTEN YOUR SENTENCES.

Shorter sentences create momentum for readers because they're inherently easier to read, unlike long, winding sentences that start one place and then seem to go on to make a second point without giving your brain a break (sometimes parenthetically even) and no matter how much you might enjoy the writing you're reading this online, aren't you, and your brain just starts to get impatient and fatigued so you

...skip to the next paragraph.

Shorter sentences are easier to read online.

Shorter sentences are easier to write, too.

One thought. One action. Keep it simple and straightforward.

Short sentences clarify your thinking for the reader. And for you.

You'll move faster when you can see where you're going.

6. OK, LET'S TALK ABOUT AI.

AI can help you write faster in a few smart ways. I have two favorites:

First one: Ask ChatGPT or your favorite AI tool to tell you what's missing from your piece.

Prompt with something like this:

You are a content strategist who wrote this detailed attached how-to article that will delight and engage your audience of professional dog handlers for show dogs. You're sharing grooming ideas and techniques that will inspire dog groomers to coif the most beautiful champions that the Westminster Dog Show judges have ever seen. The article is attached...

What's missing from this list of ideas?

Which areas need further explanation?

Which areas need more data and examples and visuals of dogs?

Please offer actual examples.

Second one: Add scholarly research that supports your ideas. (You'll need a paid version of ChatGPT for this.)

6½. USE AI FOR THE FIRST DRAFT. THEN TOSS IT OUT.

This controversial technique is inspired by author Lauren Groff, one of my favorite novelists.

She told the NYTimes that when she "starts something new, she writes it out longhand in large spiral notebooks. After she completes a first draft, she puts it in a bankers box—and never reads it again. Then she'll start the book over, still in longhand, working from memory. The idea is that this way, only the best, most vital bits survive."

Longhand.

Large notebooks.

Working from memory.

Holy meerkats.

I read that and got instantly depressed by my ordinariness.

But then I realized that it's a helpful way to think about getting over the preciousness of words, isn't it? It's a way to trust ourselves as writers.

A few months ago, I needed to write the foreword to a research report. I stared at the page for eleventy years. I tried to decide where to begin. Nothing came to me. My usual tricks didn't work. (Pomodoro = pulverized to red sauce.)

Ugh. I was desperate. Deadline looming. So I pasted the entire report into ChatGPT and asked the robot to write it for me.

"Certainly," it said, in that clipped, chipper manner it has. 

Three seconds later. I had it in my hands.

I read it. I printed it out.

Then I crumpled it up and threw it away.

That small, simple act made me realize I'm a better writer than ChatGPT. Seeing AI's weak, stilted effort helped me realize that I had more to say. 

I had ideas. I had a clear point of view. "You got this," me said to me.

AI can be an incredibly useful tool. But sometimes where it really helps is when it reminds us of the power of our own voices.

* * *

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This year's research uncovers some fascinating insights into how we can craft better customer engagement, including 3 central trends:

▶️ 1. Creativity + strategy can work better together with AI... But! There are obstacles: 79% of us we want AI to automate routine tasks and free up more time for creative thinking. But the reality is there's room for growth in the effort to use it to ignite strategic, creative customer-focused experiences. (The report offers an antidote here.)

▶️ 2. The potential of first-party data is more promising than ever. Note the word "potential." We have a way to go. "Customer behavior and sentiment are crucial to understanding—and meeting—consumers' wants and needs, but less than one in five of the leaders we surveyed (17%) say they're mapping customer behavior and sentiment."

▶️ 3. Consumers use more than one channel. Brands should, too. Yet, being consistent isn't a top priority for most companies: Only 37% say it is. Why does that matter? I'll just drop this right here:

The research also shares the stories of how some companies (Wealthsimple, e.l.f., Joe and the Juice) are killing it with engagement... and how you can, too.

Download the whole, glorious, 4th annual Global Customer Engagement Review to evaluate and elevate your own customer experiences. [Reg. required.]

DEPARTMENT OF SHENANIGANS

"The lovechild of Don Draper and Banksy with a sprinkle of Steve Jobs' visionary mojo."

P.S. That "we have dogs" part. Love.

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Stay healthy.

Breathe.

🫡 See you March 17!