In high school, I joined the newspaper staff as soon as they would let me, and I took all the honors English classes I could. I was in love with reading and writing — I couldn’t get enough of it.
In honors English we would read a book every two weeks (usually a classic), then write an essay about the book we had just read. It was like clockwork. Every other Monday a new essay was due.
But there was a catch. We never wrote our essays at home. We didn’t even type them! Nope. We wrote them out by hand… in class… in 90 minutes or less (we were on a block schedule with four 90-minute periods a day).
The reason my teacher did it this way was because essay web sites were just coming into fashion. Students could download dozens of pre-written essays on just about any book they wanted. The business of plagiarism had hung out its shingle and students were responding in kind.
At that time, search technology was in its infancy, so it was actually fairly difficult for teachers to discern whether a paper had been plagiarized or not. Thus the dilemma: Let students write essays at home or force them to do them in class?
My teacher chose the latter. And while it was stressful back then, I’m extremely grateful she decided to do it that way.
You see, the discipline of writing a timed essay by hand once every two weeks forced me to be an efficient writer. I learned how to write fast without editing myself. I learned how to build sentences in my head faster than my hand could transcribe them.
Now, years later, I will sometimes use an $8 dial timer that I picked up at Bed, Bath & Beyond to time myself. If I’m feeling distracted or I’m having a hard time focusing in on my writing, I’ll set the timer for 45 minutes. I’ll force myself to write for the entire time.
Guess what? Every time I set that timer, I write faster. The power of a micro-deadline works just like a normal deadline: it makes you work!
Next time you find yourself struggling to write, pull out your timer or stopwatch, set it for 30 or 45 minutes, and start writing. You’ll be amazed by how quickly your mind snaps to attention. And you’ll be amazed by how quickly the words spill onto the page.
-Ryan M. Healy
{ 24 comments }
Ryan-your post could not be any timelier-you can also download “cooltimer” for free and have that puppy counting down right on your ol desktop
I have a number of different timers that I use for different purposes:
1. Kitchen 'Countdown' Timer
I use this to give myself a set time period within which to produce focused work. The time interval varies depending upon how I feel e.g. 30-minutes if I'm feeling up for it or 10-15 minutes if I'm feeling less focused.
Years ago when I was a real student, I used to focus in 45-minute blocks and then take 15-minute breaks to do whatever I wanted, e.g. play guitar, goof off, etc.
I think that Eugene Schwartz had his timer set at 33.33 minutes.
2. Egg Timer
Back in 2003 I got a beautiful classic brass egg timer in Venice, Italy. On average, it takes around 5-minutes for the sand to empty from one end to the other.
I use this timer when I just want to get *started* on a project. Often the hardest part of a job is just to get going and then building up some momentum.
Sometimes the thought of using the other timer with say 30-minutes on it is not appealing at all but I can do anything for 5-minutes and then usually continue on from there.
3. Stopwatch Timer
I use this one when I'm working more loosely without any limits at all. I can then just glance at the stopwatch to check that I've not been stuck too long.
So, for me, it's a case of using the right timer, for the task at hand and taking into account how I feel and what I want to achieve at the time.
Shaun
How Timed Essays Helped Me Become a Stronger Writer http://www.ryanhealy.com/timed-essays/
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How Timed Essays Helped Me Become a Stronger Writer: In high school, I joined the newspaper staff as soon as they … http://bit.ly/9RWdQQ
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RT @christinahills I have to protect my time from myself. That’s why I often use a timer. (Same here! http://bit.ly/9RWdQQ )
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How Timed Essays Helped Me Become a Stronger Writer – In high school, I joined the newspaper staff as soon as they … http://ow.ly/16vcOS
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RT @healymonster: How Timed Essays Helped Me Become a Stronger Writer – In high school, I joined the newspaper staff as soon as they … http://ow.ly/16vcOS
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RE: @healymonster I have a number of different timers that I use for different purposes:
1. Kitchen ‘Countdown’ Timer… http://disq.us/awd1s
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Hey Ryan,
Lots of valuable nuggets in this post.
There's something to be said for writing out copy by hand. It seems like there is more of a direct connection to your “muse” when you write things out by hand.
Not sure if you know this or not, but Gary Halbert ALWAYS wrote his sales letters and newsletters by hand. Good thing too… he was a terrible typist!
And much to my initial chagrin, he made me write all my copy by hand while I was working with him.
Now that I think about it, many of my most successful sales letters were the ones I wrote out by hand.
Great advice about the timer, too.
Best,
Dan
Great idea. Thanks.
Hi Ryan,
Timely advice as I'm currently aiming to write my articles much faster and also to write more articles.
As for a timer – I often use the one on my cell phone.
You should write your teacher a note of thanks.
Reading: How Timed Essays Helped Me Become a Stronger Writer: In high school, I joined the newspaper staff as soon… http://bit.ly/druirU
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Barton – Thanks for sharing… I'll have to check out “cootimer”. That's a good idea.
Shaun – I love your idea of using a 5-minute timer just to get started on something. Sometimes it's the “getting moving” part that's hardest.
Dan – Writing copy by hand has to be the most underrated technique in copywriting.
I still carry a paper notebook and write out copy by hand. Not usually the whole sales letter, but enough copy to give me a solid start on a project.
And guess what else? I can't check my email on my notebook! :-)
Reading – How Timed Essays Helped Me Become a Stronger Writer http://bit.ly/9fHTTL
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Ryan… as you know, I'm a “closet” songwriter. I attended a songwriting workshop a few months ago put on by a pretty successful singer-songwriter. One of the exercises was to randomly pick 2 or 3 words… and write as much of a song as you can (lyrics only) in 10 or 15 minutes. She does this in all her workshops, but also as a regular practice when she’s in a writing slump. After the timer went off we all took turns reading what we had written. It was actually a pretty fun experience… done regularly it would help creativity a lot!
“And guess what else? I can't check my email on my notebook! :-)”
Most powerful productivity booster… ever.
Stupid e-mail. Making us check every five minutes… (maybe it's just me on my “off” days. heh.)
Hands down, that's good advice ;) I find that is the case for me Dan, NOT because I am lousy on the keyboard though hehe…it does seem that the creative juices flow in an uninhibited spirit that I prefer.
caution: just as anything on the desktop it can have a tendency to be ignored at times…;)
Ryan – There's a wise old Irish saying “A good beginning is half the work” :-)
Like a stationary car, inertia can get in the way of even starting a task so having strategies to get started is important.
By the way, an additional tip to help you write better quality material in a given time period is to use the power of scents. For example, peppermint oil can help you focus more easily and it can also influence subconsciously to associate 'strong' writing periods with the smell of peppermint.
Use any triggers that can help you to get yourself in the groove.
For example, I know someone who dresses up (smart not kinky!) when they want to produce sharper work. They've got like a uniform – crazy but it works for them!
_
During the past month or so I've finally acknowledged that I'm a sprinter, in regards to writing, and not a marathoner. Instead of starting the day with a vague sense of heaviness, knowing I have to get X amount of writing done, I now break it up in chunks and will tell myself, “I will write X by 11:00″ and then write as fast as I can. It helps tremendously.
During the past month or so I've finally acknowledged that I'm a sprinter, in regards to writing, and not a marathoner. Instead of starting the day with a vague sense of heaviness, knowing I have to get X amount of writing done, I now break it up in chunks and will tell myself, “I will write X by 11:00″ and then write as fast as I can. It helps tremendously.
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