(Originally published June 2017) The story I am about to tell you is true, although embarrassing. But I share it because there’s an important lesson to be learned here about becoming a better faster writer…

The story of how I learned to write faster and faster
Once upon a time, this freelance copywriter fell on hard times. That’d be during the post 2008 recession when every single one of my high-tech clients disappeared.

As a single mom who still had to pay the bills, I took on some writing work I can only describe as gross to tide me over until the economy improved. No, not that kind of gross, but for someone who wrote marketing copy for a living, it was enough to make me nauseous.

What was this dreaded deed I had to resort to? It can best be described as bulk blogging. Specifically, I was tasked with writing 500 blog posts per month on household electronics and appliances. And I was paid $5/post.

So, let’s do the math here:

  • I had been a $120/hour copywriter.
  • I was now being paid $5/post.

“I had been a $120/hour copywriter. I was now being paid $5/post.”

That meant I had to write those posts as fast as I possibly could in order to make the job make financial sense…so I could still do other, better-paying jobs and look for new clients who would pay me what I was worth.

And that’s what I did. I wrote those posts very quickly. Not at first! But I got faster, and faster, and faster.

Soon I was writing 10 posts per hour!

And that included finding and adding photographs and URLs, as well as using keywords for SEO. To this day, I still can’t believe I got that fast!

I hated that job — hated, hated, hated it. It wasn’t real writing. It was nothing I could take any pride in. I felt dirty and gross after writing 25 posts every morning. But it helped pay the bills.

And guess what?

  • I became a better, faster writer.
  • My typing speed improved.
  • My ability to write clearly and concisely (and still at least a little creatively) improved.

I had been a professional writer and copywriter for over a decade at that point. Yet I obviously still had room to improve. Writing that kind of quantity in such a short time made a difference.

Why am I telling you this embarrassing story?
I tell you this story to emphasize the importance of practice, practice, practice to become a better, faster writer.

I don’t suggest you take on a job like this. It was demeaning and I hope I never have to stoop that low ever again. But I do suggest you look for ways to do something similar. And there are other ways to practice writing without feeling like a sellout, like:

  • Start journaling on your own time and write as fast as you can.
  • Google “writing prompts” and do those for a set number of days.
  • Volunteer for writing assignments through work and service activities.
  • Set a time limit when you start to write something for work, and challenge yourself to do it in less time than usual.
  • Try to cut the time you spend on emails at work in half.

When you do this kind of practice, however, here’s the most important thing to remember: Don’t get hung up on “good” writing.

You’re writing more and faster for practice and practice only. The “good” will follow.

For now, just write and write and write and write.

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Sharon Ernst is a retired freelance copywriter now on a mission to improve the business and marketing writing skills of today’s workforce with her blog, newsletter and online classes.