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10. Can you explain your proprietary technique called Talktation? Can you give an example of how you might use it?

Talktation is essentially "talking" your words onto the page. Think of it as "dictation" without the Dictaphone or the secretary transcribing it. It's a conceptual technique that actually gets your fingers typing (or hand-writing) the words more quickly than you can right now.

The goal is to write as quickly as you can speak. And if you've ever tried writing and talking at the same time, you know that you talk much quicker than you could ever type. Well, unfortunately, in that lag time between your fingers and your voice, your head gets in the way of your writing. It comes up with ideas that throw you off course... or it reviews what you've written, forcing you to stop and get out of the flow. Talktation is a simple approach that gets your fingers in sync with your thoughts.

Once you understand it -- once you get your head around the concept -- you'll use it forevermore. It's not a question of when or how you'd use it -- it simply becomes the way you write. And you'll watch your writing speed rocket forward.

Think of speed-reading. Once you understand how to do it, you just always do it. The same goes for Talktation.

11. How does an "idea tree" work? We use a similar technique which we also call an "idea tree" when writing sales copy or articles.

It's a little difficult to explain out of context. (Bear in mind that the FAST System is an integrated whole. Each piece works with each of the other pieces, and that's why it's so effective.)

But basically, when you write with the FAST System, you'll regularly have too many ideas -- ideas that can often get in the way of your writing. But they're valuable ideas... so you don't want them to slow you down, but you don't want to lose them, either. So we harness those ideas with one of the techniques in the book.

Well, at certain points in the process, you'll review these ideas you've harnessed, and you'll discover that there's usually a strong link, or a running throughline that you haven't included within your project. The Idea Tree is a simple way to connect those ideas and find the hidden links your brain is trying to reveal to you.

See, the truth of the matter is that your brain knows what to say. The only reason writing is so difficult is that you can't get it from your brain to the page without interference.

The Idea Tree is an exercise you'll do at one of your resting points to see how all your stray ideas connect. Some people will literally draw a tree with branches; others will create an outline or a diagram. But the key is to find the base ideas, and see which of the other stray ideas connect to it. And then you'll use the Idea Tree when you go to Strengthen your work.

Like I say, it's difficult to explain out of context, but it's basically a way to USE those stray ideas that used to slip away.

12. What is the single most important technique for overcoming the fear of writing and writing great content?

Realizing that it doesn't have to be perfect the first time you write it. Fact is, you'll gradually get to the point where it IS perfect the first time out, but that comes after you instinctively understand how to write fast, and write well.

But, particularly when you're starting, it's absolutely vital to keep from judging yourself too early. Judging yourself doesn't come until the Tweak phase in the FAST System -- and you'll notice that's LAST! Everything you do before then MUST be free to be terrible.

If you demand perfection, you'll never write. And if you never write, you'll never improve.

Every one of us has GREAT content inside, just waiting to get out. The problem is that most writers don't realize that it doesn't come OUT great -- it BECOMES great when we use the process.

13. What are some idea generating techniques you use to stimulate your
mind?

As I've spoken to hundreds of students over the years, I realize I'm a rare animal. I'm one of those people that has no shortage of ideas -- at least for the kind of writing I like to do: screenwriting. So I'm not sure I'm the right person to ask!

But if I were to suggest ways for your readers to stimulate their minds, I'd have a few ideas. Firstly, brainstorm. Don't just look at the idea you've got -- look at all the different "angles" and "connections" to that idea. Every idea in your head is capable of sparking a thousand other ideas. You only run out of ideas when
you follow the same spark over and over again.

Another great technique is to look at other industries, and ask yourself how it applies to your own idea. Writers of one kind of writing always seem to focus on their own industry or interest. Cross-pollenation is such a powerful source of stimulation, I'm surprised more people don't actively do it. For example, if your
business is selling bicycles, you read all the bicycle trades, learn about all the latest bicycle-selling techniques, etc. But why not look at other, completely unrelated industries? See what the latest advances are in the medical imaging industry. And then ask yourself how you could apply that to bicycles. I guarantee, your mind will find creative answers that take you in directions you weren't expecting.

The best advice, though, is just to think outside the box. It's such a cliché these days, that a lot of people say it... but very few people DO it. Look around the room you're in right now. Find an average, everyday item that you take for granted. Now ask yourself how you could use that item in a way it's never been used before. Then just start writing!!

14. You talk about amplifying your work. Can you explain what this means, and how do you go about doing it?

Amplifying your work is the third step in the Strengthen phase. To really understand it, you need to see how the Focus phase prepares you for the Apply phase, and how Talktation gets the words written quickly. I can't really explain all that here, but here's a simplistic version of it:

Talktation is like spilling raw data from your mind onto the page. You've prepared yourself to write quickly (during the Focus phase), and then poured it out (during the Apply phase).

Well, some of it's gonna need work. (But since you know that going into it, it won't slow you down.) Now, here in the Strengthen phase, you take that raw data, and figure out exactly where it fizzles. Amplifying your work is where you deliberately magify the underlying ideas.

I'm not sure if that's clear, so let me put it another way. This is the stage most people call "editing". But to my way of thinking, "editing" is a very specific PART of the Strengthen phase. "Amplifying" is what you're doing... and editing is one of the ways you do it.

15. Is brainstorming with others a major part of collecting your thoughts?

Traditional brainstorming is done with other people, and I think it's a fantastic way to spark ideas and launch you in new directions with your work. I'm all for it. In fact, in my workshops, we often brainstorm as a group, and the process is very enlightening to people that haven't done it before. It's a great way to demonstrate that ideas really do spark ideas, and that the first thing you think of is rarely the best idea.

But I don't think you need anyone else's help to write what you're trying to write. And I don't think you should avoid this technique if you've got no one else to do it with. Writing is simply the act of taking what's inside you, and putting it on the page. Communicating your ideas. And that's why I generally use brainstorming as an introspective technique -- something you do by yourself, to see what's really inside you.

I always say "Ideas spark ideas". In fact, in the first or second chapter, I show how this spark works. It's just the nature of the human mind. Ideas always spark ideas. And that's why you'll never run out of them, if you allow yourself the freedom to roam. Brainstorming is the act of letting ideas spark ideas deliberately and consciously. Do it alone, or do it with a friend! But whatever you do... just do it!

16. How do you go about polishing a project once the rough draft is written?

As far as I'm concerned, this is a common mistake writers make right here! Never ever ever polish a project after the rough draft! In fact, that's one of the surest ways to slow your writing to a crawl: trying to polish your work too early.

Focus, Apply, Strengthen, Tweak. If we had to call one phase the "polish" phase, it would be the Tweak phase, although technically, "polishing" is only a part of what you do in the Tweak phase. And you've already gone through three phases before you ever get there!

By taking your work through the Focus phase, you'll know exactly what you're writing before you ever write it. That way, when you Apply your writing plan, and get the words on the page, the ideas will be bubbling over, and entirely on track with what you have in mind.

Then, you'll go back and Strengthen those words, amplifying them to solidify the project. And only after it's solid, do you ever even consider the Tweak phase.

You'd hardly call it a "rough" draft at this point, and yet by using the FAST System, you'll have reached this phase a whole lot faster than you ever reached the "rough" draft before!

In "Writing FAST: How to Write Anything with Lightning Speed", I've got dozens of specific tips, and ways to Tweak your writing. But the most important thing to remember about "polishing" your work is that it's got to be ORGANIC! It must come AFTER you've done all the other work that makes it solid.

The goal during the Tweak phase is to control your reader's eyes. To grab them, and pull them down the page. You can see how it would be impossible to do that before you've Strengthened your work -- and even more impossible to do before you've even Focused it!

Take it step-by-step, and you'll fly through your project.

17. How long should we expect it to take to write a book, or even a screenplay?

I don't make ridiculous promises like "you could write a book in 14 days" or any of that kind of nonsense. I mean, after all, I don't know how fast you write NOW, so I have no way of promising that kind of thing.

But I DO promise you'll write ten times faster than you do now. Look, this might all sound a little complicated, but it's really not. The FAST System is very simple and efficient. Once you understand it, it becomes second nature.

Let's put it this way. When I wrote "Writing FAST", I had never written a book before. I Focused it (created the entire plan for the book) in 2 days. I Applied it (wrote it with the new speed-writing techniques) in 4 weeks. I Strengthened
it (took the raw material and made it stronger) in 3 weeks, and Tweaked it (what you might call "polishing" it) in 1 week.

Eight weeks for my very first book. And now that I've DONE it, I can see how I could write another book in less than 4 weeks. And I'm talking about 60,000 words!

Maybe you can write faster than me. Maybe you're slower at the moment. That's not the point.

The point is to turn YOUR ideas into solid, powerful writing as quickly as possible, isn't it? To write FAST. Whether you need content for a website, a new book to sell, a screenplay for an independent producer (yes!), or anything else... the FAST System is a systematic approach to writing that simply changes the way you write. Forever. You write faster, better, and without getting stuck. And early reviews are overwhelmingly positive (better than I expected, even).

One of my readers sent an email a couple days ago telling me he set an ambitious target of 60 pages for the weekend, and he finished 51 pages on Friday alone -- four times his normal output (consider that: he was already writing about 12 pages a day!).

Your speed may vary. But it fuels itself. So you'll be writing fast a whole lot quicker than you think.

Thank-you, Ansel, for giving me the opportunity to introduce your members to the FAST System.

Until next time... Keep on writing... FAST!

Jeff Bollow
Embryo Films

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