When it comes to writing sometimes our own worst enemy is ourselves.

When I write a blog post, I reread it no less than ten times before I hit publish. I revise and edit. I reword and rewrite.  I am so critical of myself that by the time I am done with all the editing my piece has lost its original meaning.

Writing is a product and we are delivering it to our audience.  We do, as we should, expect a certain level of quality both in the blogs we read and the blogs we write.

Sometime though, in all that editing; we lose something.

That is why I love speed writing.  I probably wouldn’t post my speed writing on my blog but it is a great warm-up technique.  It’s also a way to get motivated when you find yourself stuck.

There are several approaches to speed writing.  The first approach is also sometimes called free-flow writing. For free-flow writing you set a specific time period (such as 5 minutes) and write constantly for the entire time.  You write down any and every thought that comes to mind.  Don’t pay attention to grammar, sentence structure, or even topic. Just write, write, write until the time is up.

The second approach to speed writing is to write about a specific topic for a certain amount of time.  Usually a shorter amount of time is effective for this exercise.  One of my favorite writing websites is The One-Minute Writer.  Each day the author posts a one or two word topic for you to write on.  On the side of the page is a timer. Just press play and then write.  A little buzzer sounds when the minute is up!

Today’s micro blogging challenge is to spend some time speed writing.  Hopefully you will find that is helps set your mind at ease and that it gets you into the writing spirit!