The Step-by-step Guide to Becoming a More Productive and Prolific Online Writer
The Super Writing System for the Super Online Writer
I was a classic self-saboteur.
Lacking discipline, focus, and persistence, I found it incredibly hard to write even though I wanted to become a full-time writer.
Sometimes I wrote. But most times I caved. Then I would hate myself for weeks, even months, for not writing a thing. The cycle continued for most of my adult life until I was finally tired of all the shit.
My money had run out because I blew most of it on a website. My web host had almost expired, and I couldn’t renew it because I was broke. And worse, I still hadn’t written as much as I wanted even after wasting so much money building my blog.
Tired of all the shit, I humbled myself and went back to basics. First, I would forget about the fancy paid website and focus on a free platform. I chose Medium, republishing all my old articles on the platform.
But then I ran out of stories to publish. And I was too lazy to write as consistently as I wanted to. I had no system to keep me focused. Let’s be real, it takes more than just your love for writing to keep doing it. Had I depended on the sheer love of writing, I would have given up a long time ago.
I used to sit behind the computer not knowing what to write, simply staring at the blinking cursor of doom. I would spend all my mental energy fantasizing about my future self instead of actually writing. And even when I wrote, I would edit it at the same time, leaving me even more exhausted.
I was dangerously unproductive, so I didn’t have a lot of work to show as a writer.
I thought I was just lazy. I mean, I still am. But the root cause of my problem was the lack of clarity.
Having a writing system gives you the clarity you need to get stuff done.
Without one, you will go aimlessly, jumping from one shiny thing to the other. This is the surest way to kill your motivation and drive as an online writer.
Adopting a writing system made me a more productive and prolific writer.
What exactly is a writing system and why do you need one?
You have goals. Everyone does, no matter how small they may seem.
As a writer, you probably have big, lofty goals.
You want to master your writing craft to the point where you produce masterwork after masterwork.
You want to upscale your online writing business to make four or more figures per month.
You want to write several bestsellers.
You probably want to be a famous author.
You want so many things out of your writing career.
And I totally feel you, my friend.
While none of these are particularly impossible to achieve, simply having them as goals doesn’t guarantee you’ll achieve them.
The goal itself doesn’t matter. The small things you do each day to reach it are the real deal.
And that brings me to the difference between goals and systems.
A goal is saying that you want to be an online writer who dominates your niche on the Internet so you can make enough money as a full-time writer.
A system is saying that you’ll write X number of articles at Y time for the next Z number of years.
A goal is saying that you want to write a novel.
A system is saying that you’ll write X number of chapters or scenes at Y time at Z place.
The goal gives you a destination (which is important if you’re to get there eventually). The system gives you a step-by-step direction to get there.
That’s the purpose of a writing system.
It takes you from merely thinking about doing something to actually doing it and making it a reality. It also breaks down your goal into smaller parts so you don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it.
Think about it. What’s easier to do? Writing an eighty-thousand-word novel or writing a thousand words per day?
The second one, right?
It’s not easy to write a book — saying you want to write one will not suddenly give you the willpower to do so. But instead of thinking about the novel in its entirety, what happens when you write one chapter (or a thousand words) every day? Suddenly, it doesn’t feel like an impossible task anymore, does it?
Instead of focusing on the whole thing, break it apart, working on it one morsel at a time.
It will not seem like you’re making any progress. But as long as you stick to it, in the next three to six months, you’ll have a complete first draft.
This is the power of a writing system.
As an online writer, you cannot do away with one. The efficacy of your writing system will determine how long you last. Unfortunately, so many writers gave up too early because of this.
What’s in a writing system?
Everyone is different — what works for me may not necessarily work for you. But every online writing system has the same stages. The difference is that the writer handles each stage differently by adapting it to suit their needs.
My writing system looks like this:
- Idea generation
- Outlining
- Writing
- Editing
- Publishing
That’s it. Sounds pretty simple, right? But it’s so powerful it transformed my writing life.
Let’s go through each stage.
Stage #1: Idea Generation
Have you ever said to yourself that you don’t know what to write, that you’re short of ideas, or that you have nothing to write about? Well, I’ve done all three.
The idea generation stage, while it sounds pretty mundane compared to the other stages, is by no means less important.
If you have zero ideas, you can’t write anything, and if you don’t write, you have no online writing business or books. Either way, you have no money.
See… Idea generation affects everything.
But where do ideas come from?
Everywhere.
I write fiction, articles on writing, and whatever I fancy. My ideas come from books, articles, videos, podcasts, everywhere. Whenever I read, watch, or listen to something, I get new ideas.
Chances are that you get ideas daily too. Many of them may be terrible, but a lot of them are amazing. The problem is that many people tend to lose these ideas or don’t even know they have them since they haven’t primed their minds to see them.
As a writer, you should be in the business of idea hunting — always be on the lookout for them. It’s part of your job just as the actual activity of writing. Train yourself to see ideas all the time. And once you find them, write them down.
Every. Damn. Time.
It doesn’t matter where you write them. In a notepad, your phone, computer, a napkin… write that shit down.
Another way I brainstorm what to write is by rewriting ideas as headlines. I have a Word document on my laptop named Headlines. In this document, I write at least ten headlines every other day or so. I have so many I’ve lost count of them. This technique which I learned from Ayodeji Awosika (who also learned from James Altucher), was a real game-changer for me.
It took me from a newbie writer who was always struggling to come up with something to write, to someone who consistently knew what to write all the time. I literally have too many ideas.
Because of my endless supply of headlines, I wake in the morning and know exactly what to write for the day. I don’t have to struggle to come up with new ideas on the spot or stare at a blank page.
If you’re lost on what to do, here’s a simple checklist to generating your ideas so you never run out:
- Learn more about the topics you want to write about by reading, watching videos, and listening to podcasts. It gives you even more ideas.
- Write down every idea you get. You don’t want to lose it. Use either a notepad, your phone, tablet, or computer. Just write it down.
- Every day, write at least ten headlines. Do this by rewriting your raw ideas into engaging headlines.
Once you have the idea generation stage on lock, you can move to the next stage.
Stage #2: Outlining
You will think that as soon as you get an idea, you can go ahead and start writing. No. More often than not, you’ll be stuck if you skip this step. To unstuck yourself, you need an outline. This is the essence of the outlining stage.
Think of an outline as a map that directs you on what to write so you don’t fumble. Without an outline, you’ll feel lost.
Before I write anything, I outline it. Hell, I outlined this guide on Sunday before sitting down to write it on Monday morning.
It doesn’t matter the length — from novels to the shortest form of writing — I outline them all.
The outline of this guide was a little over five hundred words. Shorter articles take a paragraph or two. Or sometimes even a sentence. My longer articles may have an outline of about 800–1000 words.
And my novels… Dear Lord. They can be as many as forty-thousand words.
The length isn’t really important in the grand scheme of things. What matters is creating an outline to guide you.
When do you outline your work?
This is where adaptation comes in.
Try different things to figure out what works best for you and tailor it to suit your needs. I find outlining particularly enjoyable on Sundays. I do batch outlining. This means that I outline at least three stories in one day (sometimes six).
That may not be realistic to you at all. But that’s what I prefer to do. My Sunday evening is for outlining stuff. Because once the week starts, I’ll have to go all in on writing and I don’t have time to wonder what to write.
Find a time that works for you and stick with it.
Stage #3: Writing
Now that you have a headline and an outline, you know exactly what to write.
Write it.
But be warned. At this stage, don’t worry about making mistakes — you will definitely make them. So you might as well forget about it. That’s what the first draft is meant for. Only focus on getting the words on the page. Give yourself time to write everything in your mind. Don’t go back and correct anything.
Editing will come later.
Many writers fail to write consistently and at volume because they write and edit at the same time. This is a dangerous habit to get into as a creative.
You cannot be the creative and the critic at the same time. Nor can you be the writer and the editor at the same time. You can be one or the other, but never both simultaneously.
Each one requires a different set of skills. The writer is the dreamer, the creator, the artist. They just want to create and produce art irrespective of its nature. The creator in you doesn’t care about perfection. It just wants to create.
Don’t interrupt the flow of your thoughts by constantly tweaking what you write — it stifles your creative energy. Let your inner creative possess you and let the words fly out of your mind with the speed of a demon.
This is the key to increased productivity and prolificity.
When do you write?
Again, it entirely depends on you.
You know what your day is like — when you’re busy and when you’re not. If you have a full-time job but still want to create on the Internet, then that means you have to make time to write. That involves sacrifice.
Perhaps, you need to wake up earlier so you can write for two hours before your day begins. Or maybe you have to give up TV, clubbing, video games, mindless scrolling on social media, or whatever stopping you from actually doing what matters. It’s entirely up to you.
My ideal time for writing is the first few hours in the morning before 9 a.m. Beyond that, I lose my focus and can’t get anything done for the day. So because I know myself, I play to my strengths by waking up early in the morning and making good use of the time.
You’re probably a night owl and would fare better writing in the evening. Go for it.
There’s no right or wrong way. There’s only your way; the way that works for you.
Stage #4: Editing
The first draft of anything is shit. Ernest Hemingway said that. And believe me, your first draft will be absolute crap. It’s fine. That’s part of the process.
Editing will help you turn that crap into gold — you simply cannot do away with this stage if you want to be taken seriously as a writer. However, and this is nonnegotiable, you must never write and edit at the same time.
I’ve already said this, but it bears repeating.
Do not write and edit at the same time.
I write on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and edit on the rest of the days.
My editing is in three phases:
- Line editing
- Copyediting
- Proofreading
This story goes into the full details. But I’ll summarize it here to give you an idea.
Line editing, which I do on Thursday and Friday, involves restructuring sentences for clarity, cutting out run-on sentences, omitting needless words, adding necessary information, cutting out irrelevant information, and so much more.
I copyedit on Saturdays and Sundays with the help of Grammarly to identify all the mistakes I didn’t see while line editing. By the time I’m done with this stage, I have a much better draft.
Finally, I use text-to-speech software to proofread my draft so I can catch any lingering errors.
Once I do this, I have a significantly better draft ready for publication.
Don’t waste too much time editing your work. At some point, you’re going to have to be satisfied with it and publish it.
Here’s a rule of thumb: If your work is readable and devoid of major mistakes, you’re good to go.
Publish it.
Stage #5: Publishing
Publishing is the final stage of the writing process. You want people to read your work after all.
This might sound very obvious, but I’ll say it — if you don’t publish, no one’s going to see it.
So just hit publish. If you’re worried that your works suck, that’s fine. We all suck at some point. You still need to hit publish anyway. You won’t die if it’s not good enough. You’ll learn from your mistakes and get better.
I publish my article(s) and emails for the week on Sunday.
In the evening, I outline the next batch of articles and the cycle continues.
Final thoughts
Becoming a more productive writer is all a matter of getting better at:
- idea generation
- outlining
- writing
- editing
- publishing
As I’ve repeatedly stated, adapt this system to suit your own needs. Then double down on it when you find what works.
Be focused and patient. Nothing happens overnight. But as long as you do the small things that matter each day, you will accomplish big things.
All the best to you.
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