6 Speedy Tips For Writing Short Articles

Yes, it can take longer to say less, but it doesn’t have to

Do you want to publish an article every day?

Do you not have the time to?

And more importantly, do you fear that the quantity will kill the quality of your work?

Writing some short form articles may be the solution for you.

Not only will they save you time, and keep your stories in your readers’ feeds, but they will also allow you to preserve the quality of your longer pieces.

Short form for the win!

Still, saying less is not always easy. It takes really knowing what you want to say and being direct and succinct about it. It takes being confident in your voice, and in the message you want to share with your readers.

So here are the 6 quick tips that I use to guide me as I write short form pieces.

1. “Write like you need to pay $1 for every word you write.” — Nikhil Vemu

I came across this wonderful piece of advice while reading an article by Nikhil Vemu. As struggling writers, we are usually either frugal or living off of limited pennies, so it’s easy to relate to this idea.

If every word cost you $1, you wouldn’t really feel the need to add that extra adverb, and maybe “in order to” could really just be “to”, couldn’t it?

We often overword our writing because we are afraid of what we may not be saying.

But usually, we’re saying more than enough.

In fact, usually, we repeat ourselves using different words to pretend we’re not.

2. Pretend you’re selling something to someone who hates salespeople

I hate it when people are selling random stuff on the street and they feel the need to race near you to pitch whatever it is they are selling.

Or when you walk into a store and the salespeople keep asking you if you need help or if you want to hear about all of their new products and hot promotions.

Sometimes, on very rare occasions, these random folks look well-intentioned and desperate, and so I listen. But my attention span is limited because I was interrupted from my power walk.

So they have about 1–2 minutes to sell me. And if they are very, extremely convincing, I may just reach out for some spare change.

So write like that.

Like you are desperate, yet confident, about getting your idea through in 2 minutes.

Like you want to leave your reader with that long sigh of “okaAaAayyyy” as they click onto whatever additional story link you provided at the end of your short story.

3. Imagine it’s 11:46 and your short form story is due at 12:00.

You have precisely 14 minutes to write, edit and publish. Go.

If you worked well under pressure during school, this strategy will really work for you.

The buzz I got from leaving my assignments to the last minute gave me the perfect punch to power through my work.

What made it possible was that the essential ideas had already been marinating in my brain somewhere for some time. I just needed to stop beating around the bush and get them down on paper in an effective — and timely — fashion.

So do that. Quickly.

Time is money. And words are time. So choose wisely. And make money.

4. Are you trying to be fancy?

You can be fancy in your longer articles. Or in the picture you choose. Or even in your headlines.

But don’t be fancy in your short form text.

There is no time to adorn every word with an equivocal adjective that will leave the reader timidly intrigued by each sentence.

Be fancy elsewhere Sally.

Use the words you need to sell the idea. Don’t dress them up just to impress.

5. Imagine your article is like a speed date.

Who are you, what do you do, what do you like, what do you not like, what are you looking for, why do you want this — all in 2 minutes.

If it’s not interesting, the reader, just like the date, will move on.

Now mind you, there are tastes for everything and everyone. Don’t feel intimidated about making a good impression on every single reader.

But sell your story well in the short time you have.

Make it stand out. Make them remember your voice, and the funny anecdote you accidentally blurted out.

6. If the point of the story were a mountain, and you were sky-rocketing off it, turn it into another short article.

If you find yourself at a stark tangent, don’t be shy.

Turn it into another short form story.

The beauty is that they are short. So you can write a whole bunch of them.

Keep them rolling with each new thought. They will be useful as gorgeous interludes to publish in between your longer articles.

This will also help you to stay focused and on point when writing any story, really.

Long story short

I won’t repeat myself here. Take a deep breath in.

And now hold your breath and write.

Write, write, write until the cows come home!

Whether they be short or long, keep your ideas as focused as your breath, and just keep writing.

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