Write Better, Faster

Info buried in an endless commercial for author

NOT for pantsers. There are good tidbits buried in this and probably easier to cherry pick in the print version than listening to the interminable excerpts from the author's books. When I realized how much of the last part of the book was going to be an appendix containing her diary of her writing process verbatim, I turned it off and walked away.

The biggest takeaway I got from this is how boring it is listening to long lists and interminable rewrites of classics. Imagine a writing book mixed with infomercials for the author and you've got this. Even a nag by the author how her methods are still valid even if you don't like her writing. Perhaps if you're a plotter. I simply couldn't stand any more.

Sure glad I picked it up on sale as I still feel I overspent. If you must, grab the print version.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Monica Leonelle, my self-pub mentor

Monica Leonelle is my self publishing mentor. No, I’ve never met her, or even spoken with her, but her books are the backbone of my knowledge base on operating a business as an indy author. Unlike a lot of the books on self publishing out there, Monica’s books are packed full of actionable information. There’s no padding or fluff here. Not a single word of it. This book is all vital, take-it-to-the-bank advice on writing and advancing your business. The production quality here is top-notch and professional, and I hope her other books come out in audio soon. If you’re serious about a career as an author, Monica Leonelle’s Write Better Faster should be the first book you buy. You won’t need much more. I simply cannot recommend it highly enough. An enjoyable read that left me feeling empowered as a writer and entrepreneur.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent: A masterclass in productivity

What made the experience of listening to Write Better, Faster the most enjoyable?

I read the print version of W.B.F. at the very beginning of my novel adventure. At the time I was hungry for a process, any process and was blissfully inspired that Monica provided such clear, thorough and above all, seemingly PRACTICAL advise. I loved her "this is what worked for me..." approach; and that she went a step further to "no, seriously THIS IS WHAT I DID" followed by data and details and breakdowns and real world samples. It was an inspiration. The audio version is, dare I say, almost a better experience because, in this era of the podcast (so happy Monica is finally launching her own!) I don't know...somehow HEARING this stuff sinks in in a way that feels more authentic, if you catch my drift? I don't know if I'm saying this right but it almost feels like I'm taking a class and listening to the tips hits my brain in a different way. It's 9 hours of audio and it definitely passes the "long run with headphones" test. The hard copy is a great resource and it's something that I'll return to as a reference, the audio version was a fantastic experience.

What did you like best about this story?

Ironically what I like best is the stuff I initially thought, "I don't know if I'm going to like this"....the unit where Monica shows how she goes from outline to beats to writing using her own book as an example. I thought...no way, this will be way too repetitive and I'll zone out. But once I started listening....it just works. you get the bare bones, then the expanded version and then the final version and after about three full examples, it really crystallizes as...YES this is how the creative brain works. it was very illuminating. painting a picture in your head as to how to really break things out...AND really drives home the point of starting with the skeleton and working through the process until you have cracked the code.

What about Cindy Piller’s performance did you like?

This is one of the better non-fiction audiobooks that I have listened to. Her voice is crisp, pleasant and soothing but not in a put you to sleep kinda way. excellent diction, great breath control (never noticed...probably a testament to the editing as well) and above all, able to get the performance of Monica's humor and delivery in a way that I imagined Monica probably sounds talking about it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

All of the tips an suggestions in this book are golden.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend!!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

9 hours could have been 3 hours

Basically:
1. Track your writing speed.
2. Dictate.
3. Know what you’re writing. (Outline.)
4. Use a pomodoro timer.

The first 44% of the book (4 hours) is about writing speed. This includes a 65 minute section where she gives the entire outline for one of her novels, then all the beats for it, then the mostly drafted first scene with beats filling in the gaps, then the same scene fully drafted.

The remaining 56% (5 hours) is 10 weeks worth of journal blog posts. She talks a lot about walking and dictating, her lose-weight-slowly goal, walking the westie, word count goals, and watching tv. The word count parts had a lot of many-digit numbers that are hard to follow in audio. It sounded like, “walked my daily 5 flights of steps, tested a new microphone, 6534689, 325, 55764, Dragon Dictate, walked the westie, edited 3 scenes, 5428 with 852 in 4865 by 68954, skipped my 5 flights of stairs...”

I don’t like to skip sections in books, so I listened to a lot of it sped up.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent audio book. I really enjoyed it.

I was very pleased with this audio book. There was the right balance of the author's experience combined with actionable advice.

Monica is really open and honest in her trials and obstacles in working to improve her writing speed. We hear about what worked and what didn't.

The narrator brought the story to life. As so much of the book is from the author's own experiences, including a diary section that could be a bit much to read is quite enjoyable to experience in audio.

I will certainly be recommending this book to my author friends.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

How to steps and motivation

What did you love best about Write Better, Faster?

Monica Leonelle does a great job in this book by setting up manageable steps to optimize your writing time. As a writer, the second half of her book is invaluable in showing us her own process and progress toward writing faster. Highly recommend if you're looking to increase your overall speed in writing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Gain Super Powers for Authors

Ever wonder why you're struggling to finish your novel, while others can crank out a dozen books a year? Maybe you've consoled yourself with the thought that you're producing art, while they're putting out crap.

Don't wait any further before buying this book.

Maybe they are putting out crap. But as Monica Leonelle shows us, the correlation between quantity and quality actually goes the other way.

You can write better while writing faster. You can write faster and write more. And the more words you put down, the better you get at putting words down.

The author starts out describing her own path to writing better and faster. Through research, measurement and experimentation, she finds several things that improve her writing speed.

Having solved the writing speed problem, she moves on to the finishing books problem. Eventually, she solves that problem as well.

Every part of her story is analyzed and explained. After reading this book, you'll know what she did, why it worked, and how you can adapt her techniques to your own work.

Maybe you don't want to do everything she did.

You don't have to. You can definitely pick and choose. Even she doesn't write at a 4000 word per hour pace any more, and she explains why she chooses not to. But she can if she wants to.

The book itself is a toolkit for looking at your own tendencies, improving your processes, and even finding flow. The section on getting into flow is itself worth the price of the book.

After you've gone through "the book", there's still an appendix containing the daily posts she made for two months while working on her output. There's also a quick section at the end describing how she was doing at the time of publication.

It's inspiring, and it's daunting. She shows how she went from writing five books in five years to writing dozens. And she provides enough here to allow you to do the same. Get this book now, and start putting it into practice right away.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent book with concrete and practical advice

Would you consider the audio edition of Write Better, Faster to be better than the print version?

Yes

Any additional comments?

An excellent book that is full of tools, concrete steps and practical advice. It has already helped me improve my own workflow and see immediate results.The author's honest self-assessment and discussion of things such as focus, discipline, habit formation and growth hacking was a refreshing.

The ‘Life of a Writer’ diary included in as an appendix was an interesting and useful glimpse into the interactive process of self-knowledge and discovery and helps to highlight how growth hacking is such a personal journey (not a cookie-cutter template).

The narration by Cindy Piller is Excellent.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

love it

love this book because of its information it's about beats I did not know you could do that and the personal reading the book is great to
She will go into her own story then pull out the beats

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An Amazing Book!

More than a book on writing faster, a look behind the scenes of a rising star. 

The first half of Write Better, Faster is packed with step-by-step training, awesome examples, and the tools needed to improve your writing on so many levels, not just your word count.

In the second half, Appendix: Life of a Writer Diary, which was my favorite, we not only get a peek inside Monica's life, but a front row seat as she takes on a two month quest to create a daily writing habit. Her struggles, successes, ups and downs...it's all there. 

Monica's honesty and commitment to the craft shine through making this one of the best books on writing I've ever read. 

The narrator did a fine job bringing the pages to life, well done.

After listening to Write Better, Faster, I realized that if I want serious results with my writing, I have to take my writing seriously.  

First thing I'm going to do is start tracking my progress, then it's on to the next book in the Growth Hacking for Storytellers series, Nail Your Story! 

1 of 1 people found this review helpful