Writing the First Draft, Quality versus Quantity
In the last post, I stressed how good writing captures the internal mind-state of the subject, letting you in on their motivations, what makes them tick, and why they want what they want. But that isn’t so easy. That writing takes effort and work and patience. And not always do you have that energy or insight. Sometimes, you sit there and watch the cursor blink without any idea where to begin.
When you don’t know what to do, do a lot. - Tiago Forte
Just go! Focus on getting many words onto the page, without caring where it goes. When you can’t produce quality work, focus on quantity. As you dump words onto the page, you start to gain momentum. Then, afterwards, you can always go back and add the layers and make the writing deeper.
Both methods have pros and cons, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is fitting the method to your mind-state. You can choose how to work. Could you find flow focusing on quality work? If not, flow into quantity. In due time, your mind will be ready for quality work again.