Jun 6, 2011 / General Advice & Pro Tips

How to write 1000 words (live)

A few weeks ago I shared a time-lapsed video of me writing a 1000 word post. That video came from a live presentation I did at Ignite Seattle, and the actual talk is available now.

It’s a different set of stories about the writing process I use:

And the video with slightly different commentary (not performed live) can be seen here:

And lastly, you can read the actual essay on writing shown in the video over here: How to write 1000 words.

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  1. Writers/people are always talking about carrying a notebook, write everything down, do what must be done to keep a big arsenal of ideas. But I found its not practical at all. You need a pen where ever you, you need paper where ever you go. And every time you go out the door “oh I almost forgot my book to write stuff down”. Yeah thats not working for me.

    I started doing it on a different level. Just grab a instant camera and take a picture of something that you find interesting. That way you are being forced to remember what the picture is about. No writing anything down on the picture. Just a firm memory in your head about that picture. Not only do you have a big memory that lasts forever but you have a picture you can add to the blog. An original picture, not from The Big Ol Interwebs, not from some fancy book or poster. No you made it. Its something special you can add to the story.

    The instant camera is just an option offcourse. I started using Evernote for Android, but Im also taking pictures. People think im nuts, taking so much pictures. But those people that are telling me im nuts taking als those pics, are also the same people that are very happy when I hand them a picture i made when the told me I was nuts, taking so much pictures 🙂 You are doing people a favourite by making a picture. It wil turn your story/blog in to something living, something people can relate to.

    And taking pictures and writing storys around them is something I started doing lately, but its fun. Its the best fun I ever had when writing stuff. Not only can it make you a better writer (in my eyes) but you will also gonna be better at making pictures. Grab every moment you can, and make a picture of it. Every moment, any moment. When you are thinking “Oh maybe I should get a picture of that” you are to late. Moment is gone.

    So next time, grab your phone/camera and take that shot. Print it out and put it up on the wall behind your screen. Stare at it. Remember the memory, think about the people, the emotions, the light, the reason, the fun.
    Start writing 🙂

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    2. Ah, thanks for this pointer Robert. I just have to figure out the journey of the shot from the cam to the WordPress page ! 🙂

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      2. Yes I understand what you mean. I have yet to connect a cable from phone to computer to see if it is that easy ! 🙂

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    3. Yep. The camera works for me too. The pen and pad thing is a great idea but that means I need something to carry the pad in. Sticking one in my pocket isn’t very practical. I snap stuff with my camera phone. It’s always with me and I use it constantly through the day. In the evening I plonk my photos on the pc and check through them. Sure there might be plenty of pics I can’t remember why I took them but often there are enough gems in there to give me ideas.

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  3. Writing? Not so easy. writing almost every day? Difficult exercise. I do write almost every day now.Different subject ,maily politics, economics, international relations. By the way I’m writung in my own language ,italian, but time to time also in french.. My usual length it’s about those thousands words you’re referring to……Very often the subjects chosen are somewhat related to facts I consider peculiar …Last but not least .The best way to feel good about it is forget you have to…..Good life to you all.

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  5. Thanks Scott for the video. I learn quickly by example that I can see. Now I’m on the roll again, on a higher gear ! I can aim for 100o words too 🙂

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  7. This is great, Scott….thanks! This video is a keeper. It clearly shows that cutting and editing is the key to good writing. I chuckled at the `prize winning sentence`dilemma. Yup, been there! Saving it for future use is an easy solution – even if it only collects dust in my bin of brilliance. 😉

    P.S. I use my Blackberry as my notebook on the run.

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  8. Thanks, Scott! I feel less ridiculous now for the amount of time I spend on my blog. My husband occasionally looks over my shoulder (before I hit him) or calls me the queen of the backspace key because of my indecisiveness, but seeing your video made me feel (somewhat) normal.

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  9. I enjoyed the presentation – well delivered. I don’t think it helps me too much though… I write about specific things that interest me. My camera is often my notebook and as a result I can easily find myself in the ‘picture paints a thousand words’ scenario. It clearly has helped others though, so a job well done 🙂

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  10. Você Scott, é mágico eu não sou então creio que nunca cheguei no seu patamar.
    Até pode ser que já escrevi esse tanto, mas como nunca contei não sei não.
    Abraços meu querido!
    Mina!

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