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How to Write Fast: Better Words Faster
What if you could make your writing FAST, FUN, and BETTER THAN EVER?
In the indie publishing world of rapid releases and blistering word counts, it’s easy to end up burned out with subpar work, and a loss of the enjoyment that once fueled your craft.
There’s a better way.
In How to Write Fast, Platt and Silver show you how to shift your approach to writing to dramatically increase your natural speed, while tapping into your inner storyteller and unleashing more of the stories you were born to tell.
You will discover:
* How to immediately improve your writing speed.
* Why writing fast will result in better writing.
* How to redesign your writing strategy to promote going faster.
* The five simple hacks Platt, Silver and the entire story studio have used to repeatedly best themselves and move many of them to producing more than a million words a year.
* Mental tricks to bypass your inner editor (and why using them will retrain your brain to write faster, while also creating the cleanest copy you’ve ever created).
Isn't it time you did more than just write fast? Now you can.
Start writing better words faster today!
In the indie publishing world of rapid releases and blistering word counts, it’s easy to end up burned out with subpar work, and a loss of the enjoyment that once fueled your craft.
There’s a better way.
In How to Write Fast, Platt and Silver show you how to shift your approach to writing to dramatically increase your natural speed, while tapping into your inner storyteller and unleashing more of the stories you were born to tell.
You will discover:
* How to immediately improve your writing speed.
* Why writing fast will result in better writing.
* How to redesign your writing strategy to promote going faster.
* The five simple hacks Platt, Silver and the entire story studio have used to repeatedly best themselves and move many of them to producing more than a million words a year.
* Mental tricks to bypass your inner editor (and why using them will retrain your brain to write faster, while also creating the cleanest copy you’ve ever created).
Isn't it time you did more than just write fast? Now you can.
Start writing better words faster today!
- GenresWritingNonfictionCrafts
126 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2019
51 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 4, 2019
As craft books go, this one is invaluable, and I'll be referencing it often for tips and tricks as I begin my journey to become a faster writer. Which can't be too tough because I am slow as ----. Wish me luck.
—
“The first step is to know you’re going to write a vomit draft. You’re getting the story out because you’re smart enough to know how much more you can do with it once the narrative is living outside of your head. Get down with your adverbs and adjectives, have a party with misplaced punctuation, pretentious word choices, and purple prose. Kill it all later.”
—
“The first step is to know you’re going to write a vomit draft. You’re getting the story out because you’re smart enough to know how much more you can do with it once the narrative is living outside of your head. Get down with your adverbs and adjectives, have a party with misplaced punctuation, pretentious word choices, and purple prose. Kill it all later.”
September 7, 2019
This book has some great tips. I especially liked the idea of calling it "making cheese" when you're aiming for a 10K word day. For some reason, that adds a fun element to it.
The reason I didn't rate this higher is that the authors kept mentioning another book that was going to come out in the future where they'd explain the concepts in more depth and give more tips for how to achieve the things they were describing. That was incredibly frustrating. I felt like I was getting a version that was only put out so they could get more money.
I think authors should make money from their writing, but I have a problem with authors selling me a book that repeatedly says "if you really want to know about this topic and how to execute all the things we're saying you should do, you need to buy this other book instead." In other words, this book felt like a long description of what would be in the other book. Why didn't they simply wait and publish that other book?
I wish there'd been less profanity in the book as well.
The reason I didn't rate this higher is that the authors kept mentioning another book that was going to come out in the future where they'd explain the concepts in more depth and give more tips for how to achieve the things they were describing. That was incredibly frustrating. I felt like I was getting a version that was only put out so they could get more money.
I think authors should make money from their writing, but I have a problem with authors selling me a book that repeatedly says "if you really want to know about this topic and how to execute all the things we're saying you should do, you need to buy this other book instead." In other words, this book felt like a long description of what would be in the other book. Why didn't they simply wait and publish that other book?
I wish there'd been less profanity in the book as well.
February 9, 2020
I found this book to be very helpful in showing me how I could write faster. I identified a few tactics I could use and on adopting them have found that I am writing faster and enjoying the writing process as a result. The authors also helped me discover where I might be sabotaging my writing process. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to write faster and improve their craft, but also to anyone who is serious about making their writing into a business.
July 25, 2019
A quick dose of motivation
There’s nothing in this book that you won’t already have heard if you follow any sort of writing/self publishing podcasts, books etc. (Unique Sterling And Stone vocabulary aside!!) But, it’s a quick, no nonsense distillation of a load of best practice advice for consistent production and gradual iteration and improvement of your writing process and daily word counts. Great for a kick up the backside and making you feel like it is possible to write better and faster.
There’s nothing in this book that you won’t already have heard if you follow any sort of writing/self publishing podcasts, books etc. (Unique Sterling And Stone vocabulary aside!!) But, it’s a quick, no nonsense distillation of a load of best practice advice for consistent production and gradual iteration and improvement of your writing process and daily word counts. Great for a kick up the backside and making you feel like it is possible to write better and faster.
October 15, 2020
Very short book (helpful) with some common sense tips that you still might not have thought of.
Foundations for Speed:
• Plan: Planning is the blood that will keep your speed pumping. The better you plan,
the more you’ll be prepared to tell your story. This doesn’t mean you have to be a
plotter to write fast, but it does mean the more familiar you are with the material and
the more you have carefully thought it all out, the faster it will flow.
• Have a system: Create a system that’s consistent, and then adjust with iteration until
you have one that works for you. You want to send your brain signals that it’s time to
write. This will help it slip more easily into your story and writing mode.
• Turn off your inner editor: Judging your writing as it comes out kills your speed.
You need to turn off the inner editor as you write and let it stream out. It can help to
tell your inner editor that there will be time for edits later.
• Work in passes: Passing through your manuscript is a verb. It’s an action. It’s easier
to see it as a stage of your writing process rather than the end goal. Each time you
pass through the manuscript, you hold a specific intention for the pass. This keeps you
focused in one mental state.
Tricks to Help You Go Faster:
• Sprints: Write in 15-minute sprints to put a container around your writing and train
your brain to focus. During the sprint all you’re allowed to do is write forward. As
you get better you can increase the sprint length.
• DailyFuckYeah: Find someone you can share your daily wins with, even if it’s just
that you wrote one hundred words. The extra accountability and encouragement will
keep you moving.
• Making Cheese: Create concrete landmarks on your quest to write faster, and give
them a fun name to make it fun and low pressure. “Making Cheese” is writing 10,000
words in one day.
• Write-Ins: Find fellow authors to write with. Doing the same task at the same time
will keep your brain focused.
• Rewrite Your First Chapter: You never know your characters when you’re starting,
at least not like you will later. Same for your world or your rhythm or anything else
that’s unique to that particular story. As soon as you finish your last chapter, take
another crack at the first. (This takes the pressure off your first pass).
Foundations for Speed:
• Plan: Planning is the blood that will keep your speed pumping. The better you plan,
the more you’ll be prepared to tell your story. This doesn’t mean you have to be a
plotter to write fast, but it does mean the more familiar you are with the material and
the more you have carefully thought it all out, the faster it will flow.
• Have a system: Create a system that’s consistent, and then adjust with iteration until
you have one that works for you. You want to send your brain signals that it’s time to
write. This will help it slip more easily into your story and writing mode.
• Turn off your inner editor: Judging your writing as it comes out kills your speed.
You need to turn off the inner editor as you write and let it stream out. It can help to
tell your inner editor that there will be time for edits later.
• Work in passes: Passing through your manuscript is a verb. It’s an action. It’s easier
to see it as a stage of your writing process rather than the end goal. Each time you
pass through the manuscript, you hold a specific intention for the pass. This keeps you
focused in one mental state.
Tricks to Help You Go Faster:
• Sprints: Write in 15-minute sprints to put a container around your writing and train
your brain to focus. During the sprint all you’re allowed to do is write forward. As
you get better you can increase the sprint length.
• DailyFuckYeah: Find someone you can share your daily wins with, even if it’s just
that you wrote one hundred words. The extra accountability and encouragement will
keep you moving.
• Making Cheese: Create concrete landmarks on your quest to write faster, and give
them a fun name to make it fun and low pressure. “Making Cheese” is writing 10,000
words in one day.
• Write-Ins: Find fellow authors to write with. Doing the same task at the same time
will keep your brain focused.
• Rewrite Your First Chapter: You never know your characters when you’re starting,
at least not like you will later. Same for your world or your rhythm or anything else
that’s unique to that particular story. As soon as you finish your last chapter, take
another crack at the first. (This takes the pressure off your first pass).
March 31, 2020
I picked up this book and started reading it because I was desperate.
I needed to increase my writing output at work, but I felt desperately stuck on the same problem I'd struggled with since high school: I just couldn't write fast.
The older I got, the more my skill as a writer improved — but the more I agonized over every word. I became less and less satisfied with my writing, and even the act of writing fiction became increasingly less enjoyable.
After reading How to Write Fast, I have hope again. I've already applied some of the principles in the book to my content writing, and while I'm still not a speed demon, I'm a lot faster than I used to be. Fast enough to get a satisfactory review and a kudos on my writing productivity improvement at work.
Sean stresses the fact that writers who improve using the methods in this book really have themselves to thank for it because reading the book won't make you faster. Apply what's in it will.
But I'd like to thank Sean, Neeve, and everyone else at Sterling & Stone anyway.
This book is both incredibly accessible (it's beautifully down to earth and devoid of fluff) and contains pretty much everything a struggling writer needs to not only write faster, but to break through blocks and learn to enjoy writing again.
And while the advice is insanely good, I think what made this book truly helpful is that it didn't overwhelm me with a thousand-and-one tips for writing faster. It gave me the core advice, the stuff I really, really needed to know. It's designed to be truly actionable.
I'm now using the nifty 60-Second-Summary of the book's key points to give writing and finishing my first novel another shot. We'll see how it goes.
I needed to increase my writing output at work, but I felt desperately stuck on the same problem I'd struggled with since high school: I just couldn't write fast.
The older I got, the more my skill as a writer improved — but the more I agonized over every word. I became less and less satisfied with my writing, and even the act of writing fiction became increasingly less enjoyable.
After reading How to Write Fast, I have hope again. I've already applied some of the principles in the book to my content writing, and while I'm still not a speed demon, I'm a lot faster than I used to be. Fast enough to get a satisfactory review and a kudos on my writing productivity improvement at work.
Sean stresses the fact that writers who improve using the methods in this book really have themselves to thank for it because reading the book won't make you faster. Apply what's in it will.
But I'd like to thank Sean, Neeve, and everyone else at Sterling & Stone anyway.
This book is both incredibly accessible (it's beautifully down to earth and devoid of fluff) and contains pretty much everything a struggling writer needs to not only write faster, but to break through blocks and learn to enjoy writing again.
And while the advice is insanely good, I think what made this book truly helpful is that it didn't overwhelm me with a thousand-and-one tips for writing faster. It gave me the core advice, the stuff I really, really needed to know. It's designed to be truly actionable.
I'm now using the nifty 60-Second-Summary of the book's key points to give writing and finishing my first novel another shot. We'll see how it goes.
September 18, 2021
Sterling & Stone have formed a kind of umbrella [stable?] of writers who all work together and fill the gaps in genre and process.
The theory is if you sort out what you want/need to write before you start AND then write as quickly as you can, you will get around your inner critic; you will improve in self confidence and you will make a process that will work better for you to produce completed works.
> Or as they put it: **Say it, say what you mean, say it well, then spit and shine before sending it off to the editor.**
Writing more is the best way to learn.
> **Nothing will slow you down more than shifting modes. If you have to stop every few paragraphs to decide what will happen next, then you are literally changing which part of your brain you’re using. This will impede any chance you have at flow in your story.**
And Flow is how you reach the next level.
Lot of good advice here,
4 stars
The theory is if you sort out what you want/need to write before you start AND then write as quickly as you can, you will get around your inner critic; you will improve in self confidence and you will make a process that will work better for you to produce completed works.
> Or as they put it: **Say it, say what you mean, say it well, then spit and shine before sending it off to the editor.**
Writing more is the best way to learn.
> **Nothing will slow you down more than shifting modes. If you have to stop every few paragraphs to decide what will happen next, then you are literally changing which part of your brain you’re using. This will impede any chance you have at flow in your story.**
And Flow is how you reach the next level.
Lot of good advice here,
4 stars
November 28, 2021
Read it twice because it’s that good.
Writing fast with the say it like you mean it mentality is key to allowing the pen and the story to flow! So much truth to the advice given: sprinting, write-Ins, and just duck it and write are helpful as well as knowing the passion can be procrastinated just like avoiding exercising- lol- just do 5 minutes and the passion returns faster than the moments of procrastination. Good book. Fast paced and worth re-reading when your stuck!
Writing fast with the say it like you mean it mentality is key to allowing the pen and the story to flow! So much truth to the advice given: sprinting, write-Ins, and just duck it and write are helpful as well as knowing the passion can be procrastinated just like avoiding exercising- lol- just do 5 minutes and the passion returns faster than the moments of procrastination. Good book. Fast paced and worth re-reading when your stuck!
February 24, 2022
What an excellent book. Part pep talk, part tips and tricks, the primary message is, "put your butt in the seat and start writing. Now!" Too often we allow distractions and our own internal editor to slow down our writing processes to a crawl. Platt and Silver emphasize getting the bones of the story down NOW and cleaning things up in another pass.
May 9, 2020
Stop procrastinating and get doing
One of my major mistakes is getting distracted. I spent my writing time looking at car crashes on YouTube just to make sure my protagonist’s car crash was authentic. I could have done that later!! This book will show me the way.
One of my major mistakes is getting distracted. I spent my writing time looking at car crashes on YouTube just to make sure my protagonist’s car crash was authentic. I could have done that later!! This book will show me the way.
August 13, 2020
Awesome kick in the pants!
Every once in a while you need a little inspiration to spur you on. This book was great for that and full of practical tips for increasing my word count. Can’t wait to try them out and see where it takes me.
Every once in a while you need a little inspiration to spur you on. This book was great for that and full of practical tips for increasing my word count. Can’t wait to try them out and see where it takes me.
March 2, 2022
Pretty solid guide at building speed in writing. It really comes down to three things
1. Removing distractions
2. Having an outline to some kind of road map
3. And just going. Don’t stop to think about a sentence. Just write it at keep going.
1. Removing distractions
2. Having an outline to some kind of road map
3. And just going. Don’t stop to think about a sentence. Just write it at keep going.
February 21, 2020
very interesting book
March 4, 2020
This is a must for any author who wants increase their output.
I started writing more as soon I had finished this book and implemented some of the practices that Sean, Johnny and Dave use.
I started writing more as soon I had finished this book and implemented some of the practices that Sean, Johnny and Dave use.
July 28, 2019
I’m a believer in the Ramit Sethi rule of buying books — buy the book. If you learn one thing, it’s worth the price. And since this is $3.90 Canadian, it’s easily worth it.
The advice is fairly standard - I don’t think you’ll come across anything brand new. But the phrasing may help. In my case, I think eliminating the word ‘draft’ and calling them ‘passes’ will actually help.
I also think that they are right about keeping the brain focused on one task at a time and that pre-planning is the way to do that. I’m going to try more in-depth beats for the novel I’m working on to see if that helps me stay in creation/imagining mode more easily.
Near the end, they make the point that lots of authors complain about how the writing is going — but few of them are working quickly. They argue that working quickly brings more fun to the process. Though I hadn’t thought about that much before, it does make sense to me since, if nothing else, working quickly helps you stay ahead of the internal critic.
The advice is fairly standard - I don’t think you’ll come across anything brand new. But the phrasing may help. In my case, I think eliminating the word ‘draft’ and calling them ‘passes’ will actually help.
I also think that they are right about keeping the brain focused on one task at a time and that pre-planning is the way to do that. I’m going to try more in-depth beats for the novel I’m working on to see if that helps me stay in creation/imagining mode more easily.
Near the end, they make the point that lots of authors complain about how the writing is going — but few of them are working quickly. They argue that working quickly brings more fun to the process. Though I hadn’t thought about that much before, it does make sense to me since, if nothing else, working quickly helps you stay ahead of the internal critic.
August 11, 2019
Change the way you think
This book isn't about cranking out bok after bok until your fingers bleed and all love of writing has been scoured from your soul. Iss not really about increasing word count at all (I know! Stay with me!) What it is about, and what sets it apart from all the other thousands of writing advice books, is about letting go of the mindsets that keep you from writing fast and then watching as that naturally increases your speed in a fun, incredibly sustainable way. Which, hey! Sustainable is so much more important! All of the advice here is solid, adaptable to whatever your situation, and fun to read.
It's only been a week since I started putting these things into effect, and already I've gone from writing 1,200 a day, on a good day, to 1,750+ for the last three days!
Just a matter of time before I make cheese!
This book isn't about cranking out bok after bok until your fingers bleed and all love of writing has been scoured from your soul. Iss not really about increasing word count at all (I know! Stay with me!) What it is about, and what sets it apart from all the other thousands of writing advice books, is about letting go of the mindsets that keep you from writing fast and then watching as that naturally increases your speed in a fun, incredibly sustainable way. Which, hey! Sustainable is so much more important! All of the advice here is solid, adaptable to whatever your situation, and fun to read.
It's only been a week since I started putting these things into effect, and already I've gone from writing 1,200 a day, on a good day, to 1,750+ for the last three days!
Just a matter of time before I make cheese!
August 10, 2019
This came to me at the right time. Good advice on getting your first draft done and practical advice on what the authors do and what they’ve seen others accomplish and how. If you’ve been reading the how to’s and listening to podcasts, you may have heard some of this before. The difference for me, how it was written in a reality of how. Fun insider looks (make the cheese) and other fun tidbits that make you feel as if your apart of the Stone Table group. It’s the community and we’re all in this together mentality prose is inspiring - now I’m testing early morning sprints, so far so good! I’m prepping to make cheese :)
August 22, 2019
A great collection of some of the most effective tips on writing fast, with strong evidence from their large story studio collection of writers who have all improved their speed. They knock down a few myths, suggest some practical tools, and look at the obstacles we can face. They're also realistic (to some degree, but, people, be aware these people can knock out A LOT of words) about what writing fast might mean to different people.
The books in the series come with a set of downloadable '60 second summary' sheets which are a great addition and value add.
The books in the series come with a set of downloadable '60 second summary' sheets which are a great addition and value add.
August 6, 2019
Immediate results
I gave the writing Sprints a try for a day, and saw a huge difference at the end of day. I usually write 300 words a day, 500 in max. But I churned out 1953 on the first day. I am loving the tips and tricks in this book. There is no shortcut, you just gotta put in the work, suck it up and do it. But it is doable and it can be fun! Now I'm learning to acknowledge and soothe my inner editor/critic. I can't wait to see how much more I can improve.
I gave the writing Sprints a try for a day, and saw a huge difference at the end of day. I usually write 300 words a day, 500 in max. But I churned out 1953 on the first day. I am loving the tips and tricks in this book. There is no shortcut, you just gotta put in the work, suck it up and do it. But it is doable and it can be fun! Now I'm learning to acknowledge and soothe my inner editor/critic. I can't wait to see how much more I can improve.
August 22, 2019
A fantastic, short read to help authors ritualize and plan ahead to get the most out of their writing time. A great investment for any writer. Some swearing, but if you know these guys, that's par for the course (and perhaps part of their charm). Hoping to be making cheese soon. :D
September 3, 2019
Very helpful
This book gives you many ways to write better and get more writing down. It gives you structure and guides that have help them become better writes. The tips in book are very useful to get more writing done.
This book gives you many ways to write better and get more writing down. It gives you structure and guides that have help them become better writes. The tips in book are very useful to get more writing done.
September 29, 2019
Sean Platt has such a friendly and readable style. I always find his craft and practice helpful. This is the first time I've thought dictation might be doable for me.
October 27, 2019
Solid advice
Short and sweet with actionable advice. I was surprised how LCS-coach-like his mindset is. There's a great coaching niche here :)
Short and sweet with actionable advice. I was surprised how LCS-coach-like his mindset is. There's a great coaching niche here :)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews