It actually depends on what you are writing about. For e.g. if you are a...say Neurosurgeon, then you can obviously churn out high quality articles on the same within minutes. However, for a ordinary writer, it would take time to do the research work, the editing, checking the accuracy of facts and figures etc. So, I believe, the "time" someone requires to write an article is immaterial. What is important, is the "quality" of the article. I completely disagree with the theory that if someone writes more articles in a short span on time, the articles are bad, and if someone takes hours to write something, it is going to be great.
It takes me about 30 minutes to write a 500 word original high quality article on a topic I know NOTHING about. That includes research time. And I'm an average typer. Probably 30 wpm, I guess. The trick for me is to know what to look for when researching. I take my main keyword topic and google it. Then I'll visit the top 10 sites and scan them looking for "Aha" stuff. Anything to make me go "now that's interesting." And I scribble notes -- usually with a pad and paper. This takes about 10 minutes. And I have enough good info to write a quality article. Then I usually write a formula article such as a "Step" article or a "FAQ" article. For instance, "4 Steps to Removing Spyware" or "5 Things You Should Know About Vitamin Deficiency." I make a list, write 2-3 sentences to explain and support each item, write a 2-3 sentence intro, and a 2-3 sentence conclusion. Then I'm done...with the writing. Often my articles end up being 600-700 words...still under 30 minutes. The real trick to writing fast is to not let your inner-editor get in the way. Save the editing until it's done. Usually I'll shelve the article for a couple of days. Then I'll do a 5-10 minute edit, polish it a bit and send it off. Hope this helps.
Very, very good advice. Especially the part about saving your "editor personality" for after the writing is done. Writers have to have split/schitzo personalities. Start with Charlie the Creative Writer one moment, then in a split second, become Eddie the Nagging Editor. On the part about the notepad. I rarely use a notepad these days. I found a program called "One Note" that I absolutely can't live without. It is awesome! I can organize all my notes and ideas into one program. Long gone are the days of having 15 txt files on my desktop. If they made the formatting of the documents more like word that program would be perfect. About the only time I use a notepad is to jot down a phone number or email address or website or something like that. Eventually, though all that information usually ends up in OneNote.
Yeah, I've been hearing that more and more lately. I really need to look into it. Sometimes I can just write something faster than I can type it, drag it, file it, or whatever. Especially in the scope of writing fast articles. Having said that, for my larger projects, niche research, keyword lists etc., I've been using Google Notebook. I love it, but it is a somewhat limited. I think it's time I take the plunge and look at One Note. Thanks for the tip.
No problem. If you do, make certain you get the 2007 version. The 2003 version is not as good as the 2007 version. Google is good too, but kind of a pain to deal with, when I already have OneNote. I use Google Documents when I am not at home. Very useful when I have a great idea for an article but don't have a computer of my own to type it on.
I'll remember that. Seems like an easy way to organize material. I'm finding that instead of trying to tackle articles on subjects about which I know nothing, to write (as others have said) on topics with which I am familiar and enjoy. Some outfits want first hand accounts of experiences in a conversational tone. Like how easy is that!!
First of all, thanks for all the input everyone! I agree with you jjpmarketing - One Note is a great program, I've never actually used it for my internet marketing (going to start now though) but have used it for my university classes and its extremely useful. u2charger - thanks for sharing how you write articles in short period of time, will definitely give that try. As I just mentioned I haven't been using One Note for my IM stuff but have actually been using Google Notebook that you mentioned. I find it useful just because it's always there when I'm doing my surfing (thanks to a firefox plugin I have a nice little shortcut to my Google Notebook in the status bar area of my browser) and yes while limited in features its great for taking down just short notes I know I'll otherwise forget.
I thought 300 words was short. I just put a post on my blog that was over 2000. Who put the nitros oxide in my keyboard? Next thing you know, I'll be writing a book.