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There’s a wonderful exercise for getting off the starting block quickly when you have something to write. It’s called timed, nonstop writing and here’s how to do it:

1. Get in front of your screen or paper.
2. Start writing whatever comes to your mind about what you want or need to write about.
3. Don’t stop writing for anything for at least 10 minutes.

That’s it. It’s a great way to force yourself to make the world go away, get your project into your mind and get started. It’s like a warm-up when weightlifters go to the gym. Unless they’re fools, they don’t go to the bench and immediately try to press 300 pounds. They start with much smaller weights and do several sets of numerous repetitions to warm up their muscles and prepare themselves mentally for the big one. That’s what this exercise will do for your writing.

Here’s what will happen when you do a timed, nonstop writing exercise: You will force yourself to concentrate on what you are writing because you have to keep writing without stopping. You will want to stop writing to change what you’ve written, look up a word or ponder just the right way of stating something. But you can’t stop. You have to keep writing. Painful as that may be at first, it will build your ability to focus your mind and produce content. Plus, as you get used to it, you will find that you can go back to what you wrote during the exercise and pluck out some very nice words, phrases, full sentences and ideas to use in your finished writing.

I assure you, you will regularly surprise yourself with what you put down.

PS. This exercise does not replace the pre-writing process I describe in the manual, The Magic of Pre-Writing. That process is a full-bodied, step-by-step way to set up non-fiction writing projects for success and save yourself time to boot. The timed, nonstop writing exercise can be used as a powerful transitional step between a project’s pre-writing and writing phases.

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