Content, Writing and Copyright Forum

1. Research and Note taking: I locate 2-4 sources on a topic (books, websites etc...) and read them through while taking some simple notes as to the important and relevent points to me.

2. Outline: Then I write up a simple outline, incorporating those points I collected in step 1 into a way that theey are logical and the topic completely covered.

3. Write: I use this outline to know what to write about in each paragraph, this lets me concentrate on each point in detail without digressing from the overall topic.

4. Sit: I let the article sit unedited for a while.. soimetimes an hour... but perferable a week.. basically until I have forgotten what I wrote.

5. Edit: This is pretty much self explainatory.

I do my "research scribbling" by keyboard, by voice recorder, by pen or pencil on any scrap of paper - whatever is handy at the time. I write/mumble/type in "free flow" without attention to grammar, spelling, or logic order. From initial draft on I use a simple text editor and am constantly editing.

Please note that I am a veerrryyyy slow typist - your writing times might well be less because all ten of your fingers do as they are told.

Step One:
Note: much of this step might already be detailed by a contract proposal.
Decide topic, initial boundaries and scope.
Determine approach to subject.
Create a bulleted outline with brief initial thoughts. (This is important because I am an information/trivia junkie and can be sidetracked easily.)
Average time: 1/2-hour.

Step Two, Part One:
Do initial research. Note: If inter-library loan is required to access off-line material wait time can be weeks. This is the area with the greatest spread of time required (wait time NOT included!).
Average time 4-hours.

Step Two, Part Two:
Organize research into appropriate outline categories. Adjust outline categories as necessitated by the found information. Usually done simultaneously with Part One.
Average time: 1/2-hour.

Step Three, Part One:
Write first draft in strict linear fashion: first bullet category information, second, etc. ensuring my words, my sequence, quotes matched with attribution, etc.
Average time: 2-hours.

Step Three, Part Two:
Note sources for all used information in bibliography (for my own use only) for reference re possible infringement (copyright, plagerism, libel, etc.) concerns. Usually done as doing Part One.
Average time: 1/2-hour.

Step Four:
Put aside for at least a day.

Step Five:
Read for logic flow and for completeness of information at the level appropriate for the particular article: neither too much detail nor too little or missing data. NOT read for grammar or spelling.
Average time: 1/2-hour.

Step Six:
Do additional research as required to fill in holes, answer possible questions.
Average time: 1-hour.

Step Seven:
Repeat Step Three incorporating the new information, adjusting to logic and flow as necessary.
Average time: 1-hour.

Step Eight:
Put aside for a month (if possible) - as long as possible short of that.

Step Nine, Part One:
Write final draft as a stand alone html document (meeting clients site design requirements) incorporating all css design elements and attributes, and including graphics as required. (slightly different format for print article!)
Average time: 4-hours.

Step Nine, Part Two:
Repeat Step Five. Correct for grammar and spelling.
Average time: 1-hour.

Step Ten, Part One:
If thought necessary (rare and depends on subject/material/client) have my lawyer read my copy, source material, and my bibliography.

Step Ten, Part Two:
Present to client for approval.

Step Ten, Part Three:
Make changes as necessary to obtain approval.
Average time (all 3-Parts): 1/2-hour.

Step Eleven:
Upload.

Total average time (excluding wait and "put-aside" time): 15.5-hours. I ran a database query (I am a DB geek and track all my design and copywriting job breakdowns by DB) and found my shortest time: 2-hours and my longest time: 67-hours. Note: the detail and length of content were much different (I should hope so!).

'How I research' is a whole different topic altogether.

I think the thing I find so difficult about writing is that I have to 'shift gears' to really get something that reads well. The first few pages are horrible and need a lot of editing.

I have met several people able to fall asleep at a moments notice. I have not yet met anyone able to be "creative" without warmup. Training can provide "first responses" that are appropriate to given situations but that is learned reflex behaviour and not original thought.

It takes time (sometimes until the next day!) to get my mind to a state where work (whatever it might be) draws me in, the outside world recedes, and work simply flows. Such flow is evidenced by looking up after ten minutes to find that ten hours have passed.

This is why I start with reading (initially reading the research, later my previous writing). It conditions my mind to the subject and seems to bring the creative juices to the fore. Then I start to write. I still end up writing better later in a given period than when I started.

Your twenty minutes sounds very reasonable, especially if you are starting cold. I suspect that you can finish one topic and flow into a new one without as much time "getting your brain in gear" around the shift - you are already in "creative mode".