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November 23, 2009
50 in 50. #12: How to Write Fast Under Pressure
What a great premise: How to Write Fast Under Pressure. I picked up this book from the pile, thinking: “I could really use this now,” just 12 books into my journey to read 50 in 50ish days (Believe me, I know I’m slipping behind schedule).
And the author Phillip Vassallo does offer some helpful advice on how to make your writing more purposeful and efficient. For example:
- He suggests you start with what he calls “Direction.” “Hit the ground running with the end in mind,” writes Mr. Vassallo, by “knowing the road ahead, committing your ideas to writing, and devising a document plan.”
- Mr. Vassallo also gives advice on how to revise a draft. In 30 minutes, he promises you can improve the purpose, the structure and the style of your work in progress.
However, the book was not the silver bullet I hoped it would be, for three reasons:
1. Mr. Vassallo uses an annoying convention of telling the story of two fictional characters, “Mopey Mo” and “Speedy Didi.” I know he was trying to bring his concepts to life, but I found the characters irritating instead of illuminating.
2. He insists that all writers should take the “draft it fast and then fix it” approach to writing. I’ve known for years that I can’t write that way: I am someone who has to figure out the first paragraph and get it fairly polished before I can proceed to paragraph 2, etc. So Mr. Vassallo’s advice is not very helpful for a writer like me.
3. Too much emphasis is placed on overcoming procrastination. For some people, this is a very real problem, but for many of us, this is not relevant.
Still, Mr. Vassallo offers many tools and techniques, and it’s easy to cherry pick those that you might find useful. So, if you’d like to write faster, I recommend giving this book a quick read.
Posted by Alison Davis at November 23, 2009 04:02 PM
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