A Method for Typing Very Quick Drafts
When I type a draft of a story or something, or especially when I’m freewriting, I love being able to type incredibly fast without having to stop or think or edit. To that end, I’ve developed a way to type without ever using Backspace that still lets you go back and sew up a pristine draft very easily once you’re done with the initial headlong scramble of typing.
First, never touch Backspace. And never move the cursor back with the mouse or arrow keys.
Second, whenever you make an error, simply press Enter and start again from the most recent correct word (or easily recognizable phrase).
Use double carriage returns when you start a new paragraph. Type Nix when you want to delete to the top of the paragraph and start over, or Nix to Top when you want to delete everything you’ve written so far.
Then type. Really, really fast. Build up momentum and plunge forward. Don’t worry about correcting anything as you go, just start new lines and keep going. You may start the same line twenty times, but don’t even worry about it. You won’t lose any information and you’ll get into this beautiful groove of forward motion. Soon the need to edit as you go will begin to drop away, like those things that drop away from a rocket.
When you’re done with the manic scribbly typing of the first draft, it’s really easy to go back and fix your manuscript up, especially if you use keyboard shortcuts like I do. Start at the bottom. Skip to the top of the last paragraph. Delete backward until the word in front of your cursor replaces a word that looks the same. Skip to the top of the next paragraph. Repeat. If you hit a blank line, press backspace to delete it and you’ll preserve the intended paragraph break.
It makes more sense when you try it. And there’s something magical about watching your weirdo screwy swath of errors mechanically crunch itself down into a clean draft. Give it a try. You’ll see.
I’m still refining it and still forming the habits that will make it fully useful. But it’s nifty, and I thought some of you might enjoy it.
A couple protips for the advanced user:
– If you make a mistake within the first word of a new line, end it with a slash (/). When you’re fixing it afterward, delete the entirety of any line that ends in a slash.
– I’m not sure what the theory should be on exceptions to the no-backspace rule. Sometimes it seems like a quick fix of one or two letters is much more efficient than moving to a new line and retyping a correct word. That may be true, or maybe it varies from user to user. Same with inserting an idea a few sentences back.
– And, of course, there’s the question of whether you’re losing forward momentum by going back to retype your last correct word so frequently. The hypothesis behind this method is that there is enough of a psychological payoff to getting entirely out of edit mode and into a no-holds-barred headlong rush of typing that it will make up for the minor inefficiencies of the system. And the system is also designed to undercut and avoid a lot of the more substantial inefficiencies of editing your work as you go.
So that’s a tool I’m working on. What do you think? Is it useful? Can you think of any improvements?
