How to Write Faster and Avoid Missed Deadlines

One common problem that professional writers share but try to avoid are missed deadlines. You want to make more money which requires writing more and writing faster but you don't want to sacrifice quality which will also cost you time and reputation. Deadlines are an important part of the job and when you can learn to write faster and avoid missed deadlines, you will greatly improve your productivity as a writer.

Here are some ways that you can write faster and avoid missed deadlines:

· Do your research first-Your research is one of the first things you should try to tackle. While this is not technically a shortcut to writing faster, it does help set the stage for better writing and it helps you to organize and set pace for your article. Without the research phase, you wouldn't know where to begin to write the article.

· Use the keyboard shortcuts/hotkeys- Many people avoid hotkeys because they don't understand what they are or how they work. However, once you spend the time it takes to learn what they are and how they work, it will pay off in saved time.

· Outline your articles- There is no better planning method than the outline. You can do this in type or the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. Use the outline as a method of planning the main ideas of the article as well as the supporting facts that make up the body of the article. Outlining helps you to get an overview of what the writing will be about and this helps speed you up once you begin the actual writing part.

· Skip the outline but plan ahead- There are some writers (myself included) who just don't like to outline. It can be tedious when you are just trying to punch out a short article quickly. However, if you don't want to outline on paper, you should at least have a good mental note of how the article should end so that you can stay on track with the article's purpose.

Now that you know these tips on how to write faster and how to avoid missed deadlines, you can begin integrating them into your writing schedule immediately. This could mean all the difference when it comes to writing more and writing better. Preparation is always the greatest shortcut when it comes to writing. Take your time and do it right and it will take less time to get it right.

See "100 Days to Better Article Writing" to find out how you can become a master of article writing today.

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles and the author of How to Earn a Living Writing for the Internet. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content in her 10+ years as a professional writer.