WEBVTT - Second Cup: Write fast, edit slow

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to write fast and edit slow. When

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<v Speaker 1>you're working on a project that requires making something new,

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<v Speaker 1>aim to create first without questioning yourself. Then, once you've

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<v Speaker 1>gotten your ideas down, you can be more disciplined about

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<v Speaker 1>turning this something into something better. This council to write

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<v Speaker 1>fast and edit slow will be familiar to writers who

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<v Speaker 1>are often encouraged to treat writing and editing as separate processes.

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<v Speaker 1>They require different kinds of thinking. Just as we can't

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<v Speaker 1>really multitask by checking email while running a conference call,

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<v Speaker 1>we're better off writing and editing successively rather than oscillating

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<v Speaker 1>between them in one sitting. In her classic book Bird

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<v Speaker 1>by Bird Some Instructions on writing and life, author and

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<v Speaker 1>LaMotte urges would be writers to pen crummy first drafts. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>crummy isn't the word she uses, but it's what will

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<v Speaker 1>use for this family friendly show, and not very good

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<v Speaker 1>first draft paves the way, she says for good second

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<v Speaker 1>drafts and terrific third drafts. Lamott discourages perfectionism, which she

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<v Speaker 1>writes means that you tried desperately not to leave so

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<v Speaker 1>much mess to clean up, but avoiding mess may not

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<v Speaker 1>be advisable. According to Lamott, clutter is wonderfully fertile ground. Tidiness,

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<v Speaker 1>she writes, suggests something is as good as it's going

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<v Speaker 1>to get. Tidiness makes me think of hell breath or

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<v Speaker 1>suspended animation. Well, writing needs to breathe and move I

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<v Speaker 1>love that description. When we write fast and free, we

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<v Speaker 1>give our writing breathing room and space for movement. We

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<v Speaker 1>don't stifle it with premature criticism. Only after we've gotten

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<v Speaker 1>our ideas on paper are we ready to shift to slow,

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<v Speaker 1>painstaking editing. Right fast and edit slow could be the

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<v Speaker 1>mantra for National Novel Writing Month or Nano Ramo, the

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<v Speaker 1>month long challenge in which hundreds of thousands of people

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<v Speaker 1>try to write a fifty thou word manuscript during the

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<v Speaker 1>month of November that works out to an average of

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen hundred sixty seven words per day across the thirty

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<v Speaker 1>days of the month. You can't write sixteen hundred sixty

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<v Speaker 1>seven words per day and do everything else you do

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<v Speaker 1>if you stop to critique yourself every time you've written

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<v Speaker 1>ten words. You have to keep going and save the

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<v Speaker 1>editing for December and beyond. I wrote the first draft

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<v Speaker 1>of my time management fable, Juliette's School of Possibilities during

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<v Speaker 1>Nano Ramo yep I wrote in an entire draft of

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<v Speaker 1>a book during Novem birth, but the book wasn't published

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<v Speaker 1>until March of My editors and I spent big chunks

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<v Speaker 1>of that time more than a year improving the novel. Honestly,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that was about the right pace. The underlying

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<v Speaker 1>principle of right fast edit slow works for other endeavors.

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<v Speaker 1>Besides writing in many contexts, generating ideas freely allows you

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<v Speaker 1>and your team to have a lot of content to

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<v Speaker 1>work with. Then you can refine the ideas with rigor

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<v Speaker 1>and discipline. You're better off generating a ton of ideas

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<v Speaker 1>for how to market your new product and then analyzing

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<v Speaker 1>what will work verse analyzing each idea as you come

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<v Speaker 1>up with it. That's a great way to get bogged down.

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<v Speaker 1>Being okay with lots of crummy stuff allows us to

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<v Speaker 1>sort through the rocks to find the gems and get

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<v Speaker 1>those gems polished to share with the world. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to make

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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