The Packt Prison Speed Writing Experiment
A few weeks ago I conducted an experiment in speed writing. First I converted the basement of the Packt offices into a prison with 500 single person cells. I then invited 500 Joomla! power users to the Packt offices, telling them it was for an "open source for profit" conference and Packt would provide the pizza. They all came. Who could resist?
I split them into 2 groups. To each member of group one I gave the following task:
Write 1000 words explaining the virtues of the Joomla! CMS.
To group two, I asked something more complex:
1. Identify 3 specific reasons why you like Joomla! so much
2. Write 350 words explaining each reason and giving specific examples
In both groups, the subjects would be released from their cell upon editorial acceptance of the written material.
The results were pronounced. Group two all completed the task successfully in under an hour, and have been allowed to return to their families. I haven't heard from group one for a while. I hope that they are OK.
So a couple of hundred Joomla! geeks go missing. What's the big deal?
There's a lesson. It is much, much easier to write 350 words 3 times than it is to write 1000 words. It's much, much easier to write about something specific (one of things you like) than to write about a whole bunch of things ("the virtues" of Joomla!). And usually, 3 specific benefits will be a more compelling read than a generalized discussion of all the benefits.
This is why you can write a 350 word email or response to a blog post in what feels like a few minutes while writing a page of a book can take hours.
Try to write in 350 word chunks -- this is why you should have a chapter plan. 350 words is about as much as you can write "off the cuff" before you start worrying about restructuring, or you start to lose track of what's going on. It's why you should have plenty of headings planned before you start writing the body text -- it breaks up your task into manageable chunks. Try writing something now. I bet you start to run out of steam after about that long.
Identify the specifics before you start writing -- try not to write about a topic. Instead support a point, explain a concept, describe a task. Writing about a topic is a sure way to writers' block.
We won't be running any more prison experiments for a while. Even so, don't be imprisoned by your writing task. Break it down.
