1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to write fast and edit slow. When 4 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: you're working on a project that requires making something new, 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: aim to create first without questioning yourself. Then, once you've 6 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: gotten your ideas down, you can be more disciplined about 7 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: turning this something into something better. This council to write 8 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: fast and edit slow will be familiar to writers who 9 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: are often encouraged to treat writing and editing as separate processes. 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: They require different kinds of thinking. Just as we can't 11 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: really multitask by checking email while running a conference call, 12 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: we're better off writing and editing successively rather than oscillating 13 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: between them in one sitting. In her classic book Bird 14 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: by Bird Some Instructions on writing and life, author and 15 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: LaMotte urges would be writers to pen crummy first drafts. Well, 16 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: crummy isn't the word she uses, but it's what will 17 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: use for this family friendly show, and not very good 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,279 Speaker 1: first draft paves the way, she says for good second 19 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: drafts and terrific third drafts. Lamott discourages perfectionism, which she 20 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: writes means that you tried desperately not to leave so 21 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: much mess to clean up, but avoiding mess may not 22 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: be advisable. According to Lamott, clutter is wonderfully fertile ground. Tidiness, 23 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: she writes, suggests something is as good as it's going 24 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: to get. Tidiness makes me think of hell breath or 25 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: suspended animation. Well, writing needs to breathe and move I 26 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: love that description. When we write fast and free, we 27 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: give our writing breathing room and space for movement. We 28 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: don't stifle it with premature criticism. Only after we've gotten 29 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: our ideas on paper are we ready to shift to slow, 30 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: painstaking editing. Right fast and edit slow could be the 31 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: mantra for National Novel Writing Month or Nano Ramo, the 32 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: month long challenge in which hundreds of thousands of people 33 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: try to write a fifty thou word manuscript during the 34 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: month of November that works out to an average of 35 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: sixteen hundred sixty seven words per day across the thirty 36 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,359 Speaker 1: days of the month. You can't write sixteen hundred sixty 37 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: seven words per day and do everything else you do 38 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: if you stop to critique yourself every time you've written 39 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: ten words. You have to keep going and save the 40 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: editing for December and beyond. I wrote the first draft 41 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: of my time management fable, Juliette's School of Possibilities during 42 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: Nano Ramo yep I wrote in an entire draft of 43 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: a book during Novem birth, but the book wasn't published 44 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,239 Speaker 1: until March of My editors and I spent big chunks 45 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: of that time more than a year improving the novel. Honestly, 46 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: I think that was about the right pace. The underlying 47 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: principle of right fast edit slow works for other endeavors. 48 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: Besides writing in many contexts, generating ideas freely allows you 49 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: and your team to have a lot of content to 50 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: work with. Then you can refine the ideas with rigor 51 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: and discipline. You're better off generating a ton of ideas 52 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: for how to market your new product and then analyzing 53 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: what will work verse analyzing each idea as you come 54 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: up with it. That's a great way to get bogged down. 55 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: Being okay with lots of crummy stuff allows us to 56 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: sort through the rocks to find the gems and get 57 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: those gems polished to share with the world. In the meantime, 58 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to make 59 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 60 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 61 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 62 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the 63 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also 64 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i 65 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out 66 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look 67 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 68 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, 69 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 70 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.