Writing Tips

5 Simple Ways to Write More Effectively (Without Losing Quality)

Write smarter, not faster.

Whether an aspiring writer or a professional, creating effective writing with quality content is what we all crave for.

Doing research is an important part of the writing process, but sometimes it can take up a lot of our time. On the other hand, not writing fast can hamper our ability to publish consistently.

When writing personal stories, we rarely need too much research because we usually use our subjective perspectives to help keep the writing more raw, honest, and emotional.

But if we want to explore a topic deeply or to offer a unique perspective on something, researching helps us provide some objective viewpoints and serve as seeds for analysis.

In most cases, research and writing go hand in hand. The research process allows us to gain expertise on a topic and develop a theory or concept, while the writing process helps us remember what we have learned and understand it at a deeper level.

Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought. — Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

I’m no expert at writing — far from it. But in the last 4 weeks, I’ve published 18 articles and had a 64% curation rate (4 of them are not in English, so not available for curation).

Therefore, I want to share what I’ve learned from my experience. As a side note, the “quality” that I mean here refers to the Medium’s Distribution Standards.

Write Smarter, Not Faster

To produce quality content more effectively, only “fast writing” is not enough, we need to do smart writing. I’ve found that balancing research and writing is the answer.

Here are five simple ways that help me write more effectively without losing the quality of my writing, and maybe it can help you do the same.

1. Connect to your writing

Before you write, know the ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of your writing.

What do you write? Is it a personal story? Is it an informational piece? Is it a descriptive essay? Is it a how-to or a piece of advice?

Why do you write it? Is it to express your mind? Is it to reflect and learn from your experience? Is it to analyze and interpret something? Is it to inform and propose a solution?

The ‘What’ gives you direction. And the ‘Why’ is what drives you. Knowing the answer to both questions will help you connect with your writing.

2. Set goals correctly

Make writing goals and commit to your writing plan. But only set goals that are achievable and measurable for you.

Just because someone writes 10.000 words a day doesn't mean you have to. Know your pace and your limit to avoid going insane.

I write 500–1000 words a day. Not a lot, but I try to do it consistently. While doing research, if I find something interesting to add later, I quickly jot down notes along the way and revisit areas of interest at a later time. It helps me focus on the primary aim of my writing, and thus, helps me write more effectively.

3. Plan your reasoning method

There are two methods of reasoning: the deductive approach (general to specific) and the inductive approach (specific to general). We can use one of these methods for our writing.

The inductive approach is more suitable for a personal story, as it allows more flexibility. We can write the story in our style and make conclusions by taking general takeaways.

For an informational article (or other types of writing), the deductive approach can help us draw connections in the writing easier and more efficiently. We can take a general view of the topic and use specific ideas or examples (by providing our personal views/experiences) before we conclude.

Good writing is clear thinking made visible. — Bill Wheeler

4. Prioritize wisely

I always prioritize my writing based on importance and urgency.

As I write this, I have 34 drafts waiting to be revised. I have lots of ideas to write about, but I prioritize them by selecting the topics I truly want to write and choosing what matters now.

Before doing research, you can ask yourself: Is the research more important than the writing? If yes, why? And how much research time will it take? If not, why? And how much writing time will it take?

Some topics need deeper research than others, asking this in the first place helps us to prioritize between the research and the writing.

5. Set a time limit

I like to learn about basically anything; it has a downside, sometimes I absorb knowledge for the sake of my curiosity.

If you’re like me, setting a time limit can help to not get too far off-topic from the main purpose of our writing.

I set 2–3 hours of my daily time for writing and dividing the time between research and writing according to needs and priorities.

Bonus trick: Notice the “information overload”

There’s a moment when we say to ourselves, “Just one more site and I’ll start writing.”

If this comes to mind, it means you’ve been doing too much research and you’ll reach information overload. You need to stop right away and come to your senses.

Information overload is dangerous, it shuts our brains down, and it impedes the way to achieve effective writing.

Conclusion

Effective writing will help us achieve our writing goals, especially if we want to write consistently. The key is not to write fast, but to write smart. We can write effectively without compromising our writing quality by balancing research and writing.

The 5 ways above help me have a clear and logical structure in my writing and make the writing process flow more easily, and thus, more effectively. And maybe it can work for you too. In the end, it’s not about how quickly we write or how much time we spend on research; rather, it’s about writing quality content.