Chapter 1: Shortcuts
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Goooooooooooood morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you might happen to be!
I have to say, I’m a sucker for a good shortcut. Whether it relates to writing, cooking, driving or whatever, I’m always on the lookout for ways to get me where I want to go just a little bit faster!
Speedreader
I’m not sure I could ever claim to be a competitive speedreader (is there such a thing?), but I’m definitely getting in some practice these days. My reading list is huge, so I’m trying to find what I need as quickly as possible! What I need is usually a general sense of the arguments the author is making, what ground they’re covering, and which examples they use where. There are two things I find really helpful when doing this:
First, I try to focus on thesis statements and topic sentences. That means I give most of my focus to introductions, conclusions, and the first sentences of paragraphs. That gives me a bird’s-eye view of any article or book pretty quickly.
The other thing I do—even though it sorta kills me to do it—is I skip the examples. Is there a massive block quote and accompanying translation? Skip it. Maps or tables with lots of data? Skip it. That doesn’t mean I never go back to it—I just take note of where the examples are, and only give them my attention later if it’s clear I really need to.
Just three ingredients!
Speaking of shortcuts: have you all encountered the marvelous three-ingredient recipe for simple tomato pasta sauce? All it takes is a tin of whole, peeled tomatoes, some butter, and an onion. That’s it! I believe it’s originally from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking, though I could be wrong about that. (Also, c’mon: ALL Italian cooking is essential.) It is a total lifesaver. I recently had to cook dinner for myself and a hungry 8-year-old after carrying heavy things up a mountain, and was able to whip this up despite exhaustion and back pain (I’m out of training at the moment). It’s so comforting and simple that you might not even need Parmesan! Though I do tend to add a pinch of sugar and salt….
HTWAB returns!
Don’t forget to register for the next ‘How to Write a Book Workshop’ on ‘Managing Multiple Projects’, which will take place on 26 September at 8pm CEST (7pm GMT and 2pm EST)! It will feature none other than the amazing Professor Carissa Harris of Temple University. The author and editor of some truly outstanding scholarly books and articles, as well as thought-provoking public-facing essays, Professor Harris will be talking with me about how to write a book while managing multiple projects. You can register right here!
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VB,
M