5 Tips for Writing Better and Faster

Samuel Johnson famously said, “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.”

(8 Ways to Charge for Your Freelance Writing.)

But many of us do write for money—including me! And, the faster you write, the more writing you turn out—and the more money you can make.

Now, many writers today credit ChatGPT for their ability to write faster. But AI aside, another key to super-productivity for writers is to write about the familiar—to write about what you know, have seen, have experienced, or done.

#1—Write about something you know.

There are advantages to writing about something you know well. Either from your own extensive reading and research—or otherwise first-hand participation in the subject as a hobbyist, collector, enthusiast, or fan.

For instance, I have been reading and collecting comic books for decades. So I put together a book proposal for Comic Book Heroes: 1,001 Trivia Questions About America’s Favorite Superheroes, from the Atom to the X-Men, which my agent sold to Citadel Press.

Because I am such an avid collector and reader of comics, a lot of the research material was either already in my head—or else in my comic book collection—all of which was a considerable shortcut to completing my manuscript.

#2—Write about something you have done.

Back in the day, my then-employer—Koch Engineering, an industrial manufacturer—asked me to relocate from Manhattan to the company headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. I chose instead to go out on my own and become a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant.

I knew many people want to leave the 9-to-5 rat race and strike out on their own as a freelancer or small business owner. So I wrote a how-to book to guide them: Out on Your Own: From Corporate to Self-Employment, published by John Wiley.

I could write confidently about quitting a good, secure job and making the transition into new and unchartered territory…because I had just done it myself.

#3—Write about your job, work, profession, or field.

In my first job, as a technical writer for an aerospace company, I was frustrated that the company did not provide employees with a style guide. So I put together an informal technical writing style sheet for my own use; it addressed writing situations and problems for which I could not find good advice or guidance elsewhere.

A couple of years later, I expanded my style sheet into a book for McGraw-Hill, which they published—and today it is still in print, with a new publisher and a new title, The Elements of Technical Writing.

#4—Write about things you have closely, carefully, and thoroughly observed, studied, followed, or talked about.

When I lived in Baltimore, I liked to go to Dorsey Speedway on Friday nights to the stock car races. While at the track, being a friendly sort, I talked to a lot of the people there, including spectators in the stands, the track crew, mechanics in the drivers’ pit, and of course the racers, who regaled me with car talk.

I eventually turned all this chatting and observation into a feature article for the Baltimore City Paper, “It’s No Drag Racing at Dorsey Track.”

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#5—Write about things you have already written about.

There are subjects you probably write about repeatedly. For me, those subjects include investing, alternative health, and science. Yours may be other topics, from gardening and pets, to coin collecting and home repair.

Invariably you will find it an enormous time-saver to recycle ideas, interviews, and research done for one piece into others on similar or related subjects for other publications and media.

One more thing: I apply the 80/20 in choosing my writing projects as follows:

That means 80 percent of the content and copy I write deals with things I have already written about—and I can (and often do) recycle, repurpose, and reuse some of this material in multiple projects. Which keeps my writing productivity—and my income—high.

But, the other 20% of my projects are on new topics that are relatively new to me. These pieces on unfamiliar subjects take me longer to write, because the learning curve is steeper for me. But, they also keep me—as a writer and also a reader—interested, fresh, and engaged.

For me, 80/20 is the right balance—but there is nothing magical about that ratio. And I advise you to choose the ratio that works best for you.