Okay, you want to learn how to become a great writer and write an article very quickly. I will show you these tips, but before revealing them, I want to clear up what kind of articles you may write in less than one hour.
First of all, writing quickly doesn’t mean writing with poor quality. If you have something important to say, your article may be quick, without wordiness. One hour is a short period of time, but within it you can prepare a great article of about 500 words. In that time, you can discuss about three to five major points. So, if you plan to write a longer, higher quality article, you will (probably) need more time for it.
The second point here is that, if you need to interlink between your posts, finding related posts and proper anchors will also take time.
You will also want to find proper pictures, videos or other multimedia for your article and that can be timeconsuming.
So, let’s go to our tips:
Table of Contents
How to Write an Article in Less Than One Hour
1. Plan One Hour Free of Distractions
It may be obvious for you, that time for writing post or article should be free from distractions. But sometimes we forget about it. We are trying to concentrate, but we didn’t switch off Facebook or we are thinking about something else. We should try to get rid of all unnecessary thoughts and distractions, like Twitter or emails.
Here you can find my 10 tips How to Fight with Distractions
2. Believe in Yourself
Yes, it’s really important. Believing that you can write an article in less than one hour is very important. Without it you will write your article in hours or even days.
I’m not an English speaker or writer; what’s more, I started writing in English just half a year ago. I’m sure that my English teacher will be proud of me, even despite my grammar mistakes 😉 But without self-confidence I would never start writing in a foreign language. So – believe in yourself!
3. Plan What You Want to Achieve with an Article (2-5 minutes)
This point is essential. You have to know what you want. Should it be a promotional article? Or maybe you want to share your experience about something? Or is it a simple story for your readers? Do you want to make them cry? Or laugh? Or maybe you want to arouse interest about something? You should answer these questions before you start writing your article.
4. Do Some Quick Research On Your Topic (2-5 minutes)
I assume that you know the subject matter of your article. But even if you are an expert, it’s worth it to some research about it. You should check in your favorite search engine 😉 what’s hot, and what’s not. You can do it also on blogs you are following.
5. Write Down the Most Important Points of Your Article (2-5 minutes)
As I wrote at the beginning of this tutorial – find three to five important points you want to raise in your article. If you find more – it’s okay, but your article will be longer and probably will take you more than one hour (for example writing this article, finding related articles, anchors, pictures and publishing it, took me about three hours).
6. Use (12+2)*3 Technique
This technique is very simple – write for twelve minutes, take a two-minute break, and repeat it three times. If you need less or more time for writing an article – you should repeat it less or more times 😉 . But remember – for 12 minutes you should write and only write, without exceptions. After that, you will get a two-minute break, when you can do something else (but I recommend you to stay on the computer).
For counting minutes you can use a timer on your clock or smart phone. Even a kitchen timer may be good for this technique. This tip is modification of (10+2)*5 rule from www.43folders.com
7. Prepare a Tea or Coffee For You (2 minutes)
Yes, it’s really important for your mind. So, stand up and go to the coffee room or to the kitchen. If possible, you can even talk with somebody – but remember about the time limit – you have only two minutes for it!
8. Read Carefully and Correct All of Your Bug(s) or Misspellings (2-5 minutes)
You should read your article at least once and mark all errors or misspellings. After it, you should check it in your dictionary (or in Google 🙂 ), and correct all. If you have some time, you can read it once more.
9. Format Your Article – Make Points, Paragraphs, Links to Other Sites (2-5 minutes)
Now it’s the time for improvements and for formatting your post. Your article should be readable – think about it as brochure – is it easy to read, understand and find the main points?
10. Be Consistent in Your Actions
That means try to write an article every day, at least for two weeks. After two weeks you will see that your writing ability will improve very quickly.
And I have one more tip about fast writing for you. If you have other ideas or topics for your website or blog – write them down. Every time you find something interesting – put it on paper (or .doc 🙂 ).
For instance I have a list about 50 new topics and ideas for my blog – and you?
Now you can see, that these tips are great not only for free articles directory ;), but also for your own blog or website. If you want to write killer article, which will charm your audience, you must read two more tutorials:
How to Write Killer Article – 10 Article Writing Tips
and
How to Attract Your Blog Posts – 20 Tips for Normal People
Of course, for writing articles or posts you may try to use one of the article writing services or hire a professional copywriter. But it costs you a lot of money, it’s also time-consuming (you must find high quality writers, discus idea(s) of article(s) with them, check their articles and finally pay them for the staff), and it doesn’t give you satisfaction from well written article 🙂
Do you like this article? Still not enough? Subscribe to our newsletter and get our great ebook “DON’T WAFFLE! 15 Awesome Tips About Creating Great Content for Your Blog“ for free!
And what are your tips for fast writing? Do you have some techniques for it, or are you spontaneous with it? Please share your experience below in the comments.
btbuzz says
Yep i hire text broker , or use my staff to write them
I can write a song , but on the im biz i use pros
I have great ideas on subjects, i let someone else write them into readable grammar.
Is readable grammar a term, probably not , see what i mean .
Creative ideas are my forte, I let the people with proper english do the fine tuning, at least for me.
Chris says
Hi btbuzz,
sometimes is better writing article alone, sometimes is better to hire someone 🙂
BR, Chris
Amit Shaw says
Hey Chirs, Nice Write Up Mate. I love the way you explained all points.
I am impressed with your #6 Points 😀 Great. Keep up the hard work 🙂
Chris says
Hi Amit, thanks for your comment. My favourite is point 7th 🙂 – your article is almost finished, and you can relax for some minutes…
BR Chris
Lisa says
Love your image of the dog reading – way too cute. An hour without distractions is really important. I shut down all the tabs with social networks so I will not be tempted to check on them until I’m done writing. I love proofing on my Droid, something about reading it there always makes me catch something. I used to print them out but that gets costly and a waste of paper.
I find if I go for a walk ideas flow to me. I just have to get better about writing them done so I can have a long list like you to refer to.
Chris says
Lisa – thanks for your comment. And yes, time without distractions is very important. As Erik wrote – maybe it’s better to shut down internet connection 😉
BR, Chris
Marck says
I find easier to create a draft in 5 minutes and continue writing the entire article in less than 30 minutes the next day. If you can’t structure whatever you are going to write, you end up revising the post over and over again so you end up wasting time. The process of writing and proofreading should be separated in practice so writing comes more naturally.
Chris says
Hi Marck – sometimes I also use some kind of your tip – I write a draft and try ti finish it next day. But unfortunatelly I have to many unfinishedd drafts at the moment 😉
Thanks for your good advise!
BR, Chris
Chris says
Hi Erik, thanks for your comment. Sometimes I really think about it…
BR, Chris
Arbaz Khan says
Great post Chris.
The (12+2)*3 technique – amazing point. I will surely try to implement it.
I normally take about 1-2 hour to write an article. All the distractions around – Facebook, Twitter and now Bloggers. All this distract me while writing and it takes around 2 hours.
I will try to implement all your points.
Simply superb. You rock and so do your articles 🙂
Chris says
Thanks for stopping by, Arbaz. 2 hours is also no bad 😉
For me emails are my worst distractions, and I try to use my email client only when it’s really necessary…
BR Chris
Adrienne says
That’s all great advice Chris. I don’t think I’ve ever really timed myself with writing posts. It use to take me hours only because I might have in my mind what I want to write about but I’ll get it all on paper and then write it over and over again. I’m much better now then I was when I started.
Now articles do take me longer. Not sure why. I probably just think way too much.
I’m going to give this a go. I mean really take this to heart and give it my all. All accept the coffee or tea part. I’m a water drinker only, sorry.
Thanks for sharing these steps. Wish me luck.
~Adrienne
Chris says
Hi Adrienne – so good luck! You can exchange coffee for a water – it’s all about a real break in thinking 😉
Thanks for the comment and have a nice week!
BR, Chris
Sanjib Saha says
Hi Chris,
We all know that Content is the KING, no doubt about it. On the other hand behind the success of any blog, writing the content is not everything. It is just a ten percent work. There are any other things which one needs to do and these are time taking too.
In such situations, it is very important not to waste too much of tie in writing. And you have mentioned some terrific tips on how to write a great post in less than sixty minutes. Thanks Chris! Great Job!
Sanjib
Chris says
Hi Sanjib, you are totally right – blogging needs a lot of time, it’s not only about writing articles 😉 And content is a king of course.
Thanks for commmenting here,
Chris
Robert says
Free of distraction is the best tip. It will save more time since you focus on what you are doing. It took me 72+ hours to compile a huge list, but it will be shorter if I can focus on my work and shut off the TV.
Chris says
Hi Robert, thanks for your comment. Distractions may kill all ideas and we must fight with them!
BR, Chris
Mary Metcalfe says
Hi Chris – great advice! But, to really hit home,it would be great if you had no grammar mistakes or spellos…I can’t help it, I’m an editor and author. For example – first sentence!!
“I will show you these tips, but before revealing it” … that would be “them”…. tips is plural! You stopped me right there.
Cheers!
Mary
Chris says
Hi Mary, thank you for your helpful tip. I know, that I make grammar mistakes – as I wrote in #2, I write articles in English since January… And I’m still learning 🙂
BR, Chris
Ehsan says
It usually takes more than 2 hours for me to write my post because I want to correct every spell and work of my article. This is really useful post. Thanks for sharing Chris.
Craig Desmarais says
Awesome article Chris! Setting the time aside to write distraction free is huge. I like to write on my iPad someplace where I do not have wifi because it hides all types of notifications from me that would distract me from geting my thoughts down.
This is a great break down of how to spend your time on a post. Thanks for sharing!
Chris says
Hi Craig – thanks for stopping by. And you are right – place without wifi is great 😉
abhishek says
Really awesome tips you gave 🙂 . I will certainly implement these tips from now on while writing articles 🙂 Thanks
Chris says
Hi abhishek – you should give it a try 😉
And thanks for your comment.
Jessi from Tefl online says
My son is weak to write articles, because he can’t make points and paragraphs. You have given good tips to write article within few minutes, so I will tell these tips to my son because this will definitely help him.
Chris says
Hi Jesi – he should try these tips 🙂 Thanks for commenting
sushil says
Great insights..! Really loved the article writing technique and speedy planning methodology.
Chris says
Hi Sushil, thanks for your comment. Planning is the most important here 😉
BR, Chris
Raaj Trambadia says
Nice tips out here. But I probably add the formatting (inbound links, H1 or H2 headers) while writing the article itself. The time consuming part is the optimization. Just for adding the keywords a few more times, you might have to change so much in the article! But that’s not the case when you’re just writing for your regular readers, and not for the search engine.
Nice post again! Cheers
Chris says
Hi Raaj, thanks for your comment. Keyword research you must do before writing an article, and all of the formatting after proofreading – it will save you a lot of time.
Yeremi Akpan says
Thanks for breaking the art of writing into managable chunks like this. I have found that the greatest roadblock to effective writing is productivity.
Dedicating time needed to take a writing task from start to finish requires discipline and nothing improve dedication like clarity.
That is what this post provides.
Chris Madej says
Hi Yeremi, thanks for your comment. You are totally right – strict discipline is the key here 😉
Sandeep Kumar says
Hi Chris bro….
Congr8s for another interesting and useful article…..
Great use of 1 hour……
Everytime I visit your blog I got idea for my next article….and same is happening this time as welll……
Your article is reminding me about 2 minute Noodle recipe…that I love very much and most of people love that…….
Chris Madej says
Hi Sandeep, thanks for your support. I’m very happy that you like my articles. And 2 minute Noodle recipe dounds really interesting 😉
sandeep kumar says
Hi Chris Bro…..
Finally I published my article that is inspired from your article……
Hope you will like it….
Tarun says
Thanks Chris for giving good tips.
These tips can really help me in my time management
Chris Madej says
Hi Tarun, great you like it 🙂
Navneet Singh says
For me writing a blog post takes around 2-3 hours, i don’t know why?! but this article is inspiration, i will now try to write in 1 Hour without any distraction 🙂
Chris Madej says
Hi Navneet.
I agree with you that creating great article may take longer than one, two or even three hours. But it’s possible 😉
Thanks for stopping by.
Chris
Scott Dudley says
Hi Chris,
I especially like the (12+2)*3 Technique as I think that this is doable in short 12 minute periods.
There is no way that I could correct my spelling and grammar errors in 5 minutes though. It is not so much that I make a lot of mistakes, but I am fussy with how my paragraphs read and quite often rearrange the order of words and the placement of comma’s etc.
But in general your tips are excellent and also actionable.
Chris Madej says
Hi Scott,
great that you like it. Correcting all spelling and grammar errors in 5 minutes isn’t easy, but it’s possible 😉
Chris
srilatha says
hai sir u have given a various tips for writing an article in a easy method and time utilisation
Ambika Choudhary Mahajan says
Totally agree with the writer.
It takes me 60-90 minutes to write an article. Inserting pics, interlinking and formatting takes another 45 minutes.
I was under the impression that I am a bad learner and am still taking unduly long to put up the posts over there. Good to know that other bloggers face the same issues.
Chris Madej says
Hi Ambika,
thanks for stopping by. I think that writing great article (with interlinking, formatting, etc.) in 2 hours is also amazing!
Chris
John Harder says
Great article and helpful tips.
I have a great FREE ecourse to help with those who have trouble writing articles or need some extra help.
check the site out.
T shirt printing says
Looks like an interesting guide…Mainly the researching phase takes a lot of time. Better the research is, the faster we can write.
Lee says
Hi when I read it like that it sounds so simple. I usually take hours doing an article I start off ok but there is always some where in the process that I get a block and end up taking an age. Will give your points ago and see how I get on.
Great heads up thanks lee
nikhil says
hello, especially thanks to the witter for his golden suggestion….. things are different that how to approach a pin point of article.how one can make arouse to reader……how can we hit on the mind of reader…..there are lot of question and various answer, but the question is which one suitable for particular situation….we need to identify the proper way to seeking the path from where we make us able to generate new ideas.
Mitsakis says
If I want to write an article I spend 10 minutes writing a draft. I don’t worry about proper syntax or good writing in the draft. I only want to write down as many ideas as possible. Then I continue writing the final version of my article. I like this technique because the first time I only worry about ideas and the second time i only worry about syntax.
Anyway, I really enjoyed your article. thanks.
Lillian Leon says
Wow, really impressed you can write a post in less than an hour Chris, esp as English isn’t even your first language!!
I take between 4-8 hours, including finding images, layout, linking, etc!!
You’ve inspired me to be more disciplined. Don’t think I’ll ever be able to cut it down to an hour, but I’d be overjoyed to cut it back to 2-3 hours!!
Thanks!! 🙂
olayinka. says
Hi Chris, my problem in wrting either essay or article is the starting, I don’t know how start a given topic in an exam or test I feel so bad when I see my colleage contructing their words propely on paper with their pen. PLS AM URGING ALL GOODS or ANYBODY TO HELP ME OUT so i can help people like me. Thanks. This. Is facebook ID Sanni olayinka.
Arvinder says
Hi Chirs,
I liked your article and the 10 simple steps for writing a 500 word piece in an hour or so.
I have been procrastinating about writing a few articles for sometime now but after reading your article it somehow makes it look a lot simpler and doable.
Thanks for your help, shall keep checking on your new articles too !!
Chimica says
My job is all article writing. I’ve gotten it down to a science… I’m able to write a great article in 30 minutes max. I’ve got like 3 books of just article topics and ebook topics. Without my notebooks I’d have a head full of content that I couldn’t even use when I’m having to potty train my son as well. Loved this article and the comments that come with it. One great tip I’ve learned is to say your article and then go to Fiverr.com and have someone transcribe your recording. The main drawback is it will cost you $5 per 3000 to 4000 words..
Jacqueline says
This was fabulous! I tend to be a slow writer and these tips will definitely help me to speed things up. Bookmarked for reference 🙂
Colm says
I am trying to get into content writing online and I am trying to figure out how many articles I can write a day (whilst staying sane). What is your average article number per day?
Aasim Khan says
i realy like the way you have described for writing an article, specially the coffe time ….2 min
JamiePullman says
Excellent article! I was searching across net for these tips itself, I am glad that I finally found them. Thanks for the great tips.
Manisha Singh says
Approx every blogger faces the time problem.Your post has solved this problem and it is very helpful explanation.
Thanks you lot.
prabhat says
agree with you chris,
we should close our internet connection because i get distracted by facebook. and we should try to sit and write alone. no one should be there to distract you. ideas comes when we are less distracted
Rayah says
I’m planning on becoming a journalist and I’ve been having writer’s block lately, so this article really is useful. I think I’m going to try this and see what happens! Thanks!
anis says
Awesome article these tips are really useful for me thanks for sharing
Have a great day ahead !
Cloud Server says
I have never been able to write a post in that amount of time. I usually have to write out a diagram of what I want to write about just to organize my thoughts.
Junaid Raza says
Chris! to be frank i just loved your article. As i,m new i would try your suggestions. I,m sure i will achieve my Goals soon. You are right, if some one know all about the topic, he should take some time to plan all of the article. Still the article should not be more than 500 Words, its really easy to write article within 1 hour. As you mentioned you are not English, from where you belong, No one can judge you. 😉
Cloud Server says
Thank you for the great advice. Sometimes it is hard o churn out a great article in a short amount of time. With these tips you have made that a bit easier, again thank you.
Josh says
Thanks Chris for a great post, 8th point is important and we should make sure to allocate a few minutes to check the post thoroughly!!
Amal Rafeeq says
A distraction free surrounding is the first thing you should work on.
Keep your table clean. Tell your parents not to Disturb and start working. That’s how I start writing 🙂
Joe Hart says
I really like the (12+2)*3 thing…I am surely going to try that one out…It’s a great rewarding system which directly works on the mind..I see a bit of professional psychology in this idea..Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
Dave Clements says
When I saw your article title, I had to come over and see if my #1 requirement was on your list. And sure enough, it was number one. Getting somewhere where you can be free of distractions for as long as it takes you to write is critical to avoid a disjointed and clunky write-up.
Lola Stoney says
Hi Chris,
I will vote for ‘planning’ any time. I will just add that, along with all the listed tips above, what gives speed is having a very good idea or knowledge about what you want to write about. That’s what makes research and formatting even faster and easier.
Yogesh says
Simple and very useful tips Chris. Time management is the factor which plays a vital role.
Harman says
Well said!
I got many ideas running in my mind but they get ruined when i implement them.
Jennifer Cunningham says
No, I still can’t write a post that quickly. But it’s getting quicker. Those darn keywords slow me down every time.You will notice that I have commented on your three most popular posts. I’m competitive. I like commenting. And I also want to be the top commenter, just because. I get value from your posts. I don’t see it as a time waster. And I’m growing my blog by learning on yours.
Mahesh says
Thank you for the great advice. Sometimes it is hard to churn out a great article in a short amount of time. this time I will definitely keep your tips in mind.
vipin says
so informative post..i will try to write one in one hour…
Devesh says
Hi Chris,
Nice thoughts buddy. I like your two tips very much i.e. Research and (10+2)*2. For writing research is very important. one should have complete knowledge about the topic because a little knowledge is dangerous thing. I will definitely try your tips.Thanks
Devesh says
“Hi Chris,
Nice thought buddy. I like you two tips very much i.e. Research and (10+2)*2. For writing research is very important. one should have complete knowledge about the topic because a little knowledge is dangerous thing. I will definitely try your tips.Thanks”
Ankur says
Hi Chris
Nice article and helpful tips. I have started blogging recently. Most of the times, I am able to finish my articles in an hours time. Sometimes I am satisfied sometimes I am not. But one thing is sure, if I wait for a long time to finish an article, it just loses soul.
Tharun says
Really article writing time taken more than expected. We need to trust draft and keep on making it. Your tips are good. I personally like a great tip that is, before starting up work we need to get ready with image and knowledge about post. So that if we have knowledge then our work would be fast with quality content. Thanks for all these tips you gave us.
varun says
some of you points are really good and i must follow them..
yogesh says
thanks a lot erik i write this article in less than 1 hour really after following your article. such a great help for me.
Vandefan says
Most bloggers don’t want to spend time on their blog like you have done so they fail. These are pretty good examples on how to become a good blogger by checking for errors on our content and making it better for users. Thanks for sharing what a great post.
Ashvin says
Hi chris,
Yet another mind blowing post!
Writing a blog post takes around 2-3 hours for me but this post really inspired me to write my next post, i will now try to write in 1 Hour without any distraction .
Thanks for sharing these awesome tips.
Romjan Dhayan says
Yeah, it’s a good idea to write article less than one hour. It will help bloggers to write more contents. But i think to write 500 words article it needs sometimes around 2 hours. However today’s online people don’t want to read like 1000 word article. So, it’s a good idea to write short article and attract them to your blog. Thank you!
Vashishtha Kapoor says
This is really awesome.
A best time management guide for bloggers. Thanks for sharing Chris and Erik for publishing this on your blog.
I read somewhere, failing to plan is planning to fail. And this post exactly resembles that line.
Have a nice day Erik Sir and Chris .
Reading more
Sharad Gupta says
Useful article to create blog posts fast. Believe in yourself is the key of success at blogging. Quick research saves a lot of time !
Avitus says
This will come in handy as i am planning to post at least 10 articles every month in 2016 starting this February. Thanks for the tips
Robert says
Thanks for the helpful tips, but I think it’s not always possible to write a good article in less than 2 hours. It ultimately depends on the type of article, how much knowledge you have about the topic at hand and the length of the article, but generally speaking, it’s not as easy as it sounds to write a quality article in less than an hour.
Ravinder Dande says
Hi Cheris,
You mentioned every steps which every bloggers and writers go through for writing. I also do same but one thing that keep me writing is believing in myself that whatever i write will be liked by audience.
Swapnil says
Hi Chris,
Here you shared one of the most common questions of every newbie blogger. Newbie confused for in a week how many times write a article or how much time can take for one article.
Here you answer all of the questions. Thanks for the great article. 🙂
Mallorie says
If I want to write an article I spend 10 minutes writing a draft. I don’t worry about proper syntax or good writing in the draft. I only want to write down as many ideas as possible. Then I continue writing the final version of my article. I like this technique because the first time I only worry about ideas and the second time i only worry about syntax.
Junaid Shahid says
Hi Admin !
Thanks for this guide. But what I think if you have full knowledge and well known background of topic you can write more than 500 words in one hour. I am writing on blogging and programming. I observed that i have written 700 words in 30 minutes. But for that I have spend 30 minutes to study the relative topics to grasp the idea.