Writing about writing

The quantitative list of why quantity is more important than quality in writing

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If you are a beginner in writing, this advice applies.

If you have been writing for long, this advice applies.

If you have never written, this advice definitely applies.

And the advice is: Quantity more than quality.

But isn’t writing about bringing change, selling products, moving people to action, and making them feel an emotion? Don’t we need to write quality words to achieve all these? Won’t writing more just decrease the quality of outcome?

When we, at The Folded Paper, say, quantity over quality, we don’t mean you publish sub-standard write up incessantly and thump your chest in victory. Rather it means, you can improve the quality of your writing when you have some writing to begin with.

We see quantity and quality as the subsequent steps to writing.

When we have 1000 words that mumble, we can cut it down to 500 good words. It is easier than expecting ourselves to produce 500 quality words and nothing else.

We should focus on writing for at least 10 minutes a day to create a piece that needs editing rather than writing for only one hour a week and spending half of that time judging our capability to write. Those daily 10 minutes prepare us to write better. We become better at the product because we focus more on the process.

Babies need to take more steps to learn how to walk. We don’t ask babies to catwalk their first time (should never ask this, though).

This is not just for the beginners, but also for the professionals and the trained writers — writing more and more will bring more experience and perseverance, few things we all can do well with.

We must devote time without any judgments when we write and that should be ideally every day. Just you and your words on the paper or laptop, without expectations of writing a publishable piece.

Below is a demonstration of what happens when we will focus on quantity over quality as we practice writing.

Here is an all-that-I-can-think-of list of reasons for why quantity over quality for me. Few could be really vague, not at par (my own) quality standards, and I might not use most of the ideas anywhere. But because I focused on finding more and more reasons to prove my argument, I ended of pushing my limits of creativity, and approached the topic from multiple angles:

1. The more I write, the more ideas I get. Well, writing is basically thinking.
2. I am now extremely comfortable with my voice after writing over 100s of pieces.
3. The pieces that I had written before reassure me — if I could write so much before, I can do now too.
4. Because I have written about many things like stories, dancing, writing, technology, I know what excites me the most. That is useful information to have about my preferences as a writer.
5. I can flaunt my writing in front of the people who don’t like me. Just kidding (or not)!
6. I can see how I have evolved as a writer, how much I care for my writing, and that gives me confidence.
7. I can show it to my kids and ask them to feel proud about me.
8. Now it takes less time to actually think of an idea and implement it. Because I am thinking in a more structured way.
9. I will be old one day, and won’t be able to write anymore. So, now, I am writing as much as I can.
10. Because I write and get clarity on many of my problems, I have become self-reliant.
11. I have a reason to cancel a plan if I don’t meet my daily quota.
12. I can practise math, on a lazy saturday evening, I can simply count through my writeups and simply gloat about how great I am!
13. I can quote myself. “I was right when I said, “I am right.””
14. Since I use pen and paper to write most days, I can buy more stationery without guilt.
15. I can create weird scenarios and live it, unlike my real life that can be bland on most days.

These are my reasons for why quantity over quality?

What is yours?

Before you write down your reason in the comments section, please keep in mind — more writing is no substitute for good writing, but it is a way to reach good writing.

The Folded Paper Writing Prompt

We are a writing community to “write a little more than before”. And this blog reflects our whole philosophy.

Why don’t you pick a topic and write down all the points that you can think about it, before you actually start to write. No matter how kiddish or irrelevant the idea, just write it down. Witness how great it feels to write more.

About The Folded Paper

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