Maybe it’s just me, but if, after a whole morning’s work doing research and reading, all I have written down is a title (and probably a working title, at that), I feel that I haven’t done any work.
Read MoreBash it out
writing quickly
Bash first, craft later
There is a “law”:
Ninety-nine Rule of Project Schedules
The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of the time, the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent.
I never really understood this in the context of “projects” as normally understood. But in the context of a writing project or assignment, it makes perfect sense.
4 Ways to Write Quickly
in How to
“Well, just bash it out. Even if you have to do it all in bullet points and stitch it up later.”
That was Elaine’s response to my comment that I had, in effect, only a few hours in which to write a comparative review of two educational technology products, obtain all the specs, and come up with ratings and an incisive conclusion, and all in 1500 words.
My cup of tea froze halfway to my lips.
“Bash it out?! Stitch it up? I’m not some hack who just churns the stuff out like a machine. I’m a craftsman. Each article is a work of art, each word carefully selected having been hand-picked from the millions of words available. The result is a thing to be admired, savoured, treasured even.”
“You mean like haute couture?”
“Indeed. Exactly so.”