Video: How to write 1000 words

I spoke at Ignite 12 in Seattle and presented this for the first time. It’s time-lapsed video of me writing an essay, called How to Write 1000 words.

I was inspired by Picasso’s movie The Mystery of Picasso (discussed in the Myths of Innovation), and Matt Wiley’s video of page design, where they bravely work, and makes mistakes, in from of a camera, showing what creating things looks like.

Here’s the video with audio commentary: flip to the HD version, which makes it easier to see what I’m doing.

And here is the live version (different commentary), performed at Ignite Seattle:

Stats on the essay:

It took ~150 minutes to write.
I wrote it over 2 days.
Yes, this is a hack of the ignite format. Hacks are good, as I’ve explained before.
The video is 30x normal speed.
Michael Pick helped tremendously with doing the time-lapse capture and production.
I finished with 1600 words on the page, to produce the 1000 word essay

For more advice on writing:

How to write a book – the short honest truth

If you liked this post, you'll love Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds, a new best-of collection of Berkun's famous essays and posts from 2000-2011.

Buy now on Amazon.com $8.69 (print / kindle), Barnes & Noble, & iBookstore.

Follow me on: Twitter, Facebook, email or RSS feed. Let my good work come to you.

Most popular related posts:

How to write 1000 words
Attention and Sex: 5 minute video
I will write you an essay – for free!
Thursday linkfest
Wednesday linkfest + Confessions

32 Comments » | Posted Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 at 10:55 am in On writing

32 thoughts on “Video: How to write 1000 words”

José - January 23, 2012 at 8:20 am #

Wow, interesting video! I think it’s usually interesting and useful to watch yourself doing things, so I’m definitely going to try this with my own writing.

Paul - December 5, 2011 at 2:39 pm #

Hi Scott,

cool vid – if you would like to do it again:
use the screen capture as you did already PLUS use a webcam to capture your posture, face impression while thinking, stand up…

compile it into one vid: one side text document – other side your face

:))) just thought this would be very interesting

Paul

Ian Timothy - September 13, 2011 at 4:49 am #

Hi Scott, loved this, I seem to work in a similar way, so its helps me to know that I am on the right track.
Many Many Thanks
Ian

Dugaldo - July 15, 2011 at 11:51 am #

I have boxes full of years and notebooks. This kinda inspires me to bust them out. Thanks for sharing.

Victoria - May 23, 2011 at 8:00 am #

That was fabulous. You need to get together with the guys at Khan Academy!

Chiwah Carol Slater - May 22, 2011 at 8:11 am #

I enjoyed what I saw and heard of your video, but it sticks so badly that the second half of it came out in tiny two-syllable bursts. Pretty hard to make sense of, especially since you were trying to show speed of writing. What can you do about that?

Abella Jucy Arthur - April 25, 2011 at 3:53 pm #

I just met you. I just met you on your blog. :)

Within two articles, I formed these opinions about you:

1. There’s an “honesty” (being direct) that I really like.
2. You like to share your sources and resources of inspiration and they are good ones.
3. Your writing is clear and flows. I don’t have to struggle to figure out what you want to tell me.

Fair assumptions?

Thank you. I’ll be sharing you.
And, I’ll be back! :D

Lankin - March 22, 2011 at 3:45 am #

;),

I started a comment… It is too long I find, so I will go and spam my own blog instead.
Short: A great video; it also reminded me of the Picasso movie ;)
I will rather NOT take screenshot while I try and write something that is not totally no-nonsense science, that’s for sure :D
The most important thing, as you said, is to get your point across. For me, as I’m not a native speaker this is especially hard in English. I think this is what costs me the most work and time. This is not even bound to a certain subject or genre.
Thanks again ;)
Lankin

Sue - February 27, 2011 at 9:01 pm #

Thank you for sharing this. I hit the “Like” tag and I’ll tray to share it on my Facebook page. I’ve often wondered how other people write e-mail responses that are about 1/2 page. My e-mails typically involve receiving an inquiry or request from a constituent or supervisor then I contact my staff and ask them to assess something and take appropriate action. I then follow up with them and perform research on the topic too. Then I write the response to the person that inquired or made a request. Perhaps you can write and e-mail and share that too.

Jelliana - February 8, 2011 at 8:04 pm #

Thank you for writing your many websites and blogs (was it around 10 with each around 50,000 words or more? ;) I don’t know, just guessing), it has helped me write so much. I’m much younger than all the people who have responded to your website (lets go waaaaay young, no, I am not in elementary school though) and I seem to fall victim to one problem. I keep changing topics.
I want to write a fantasy novel and I’ve probably created thirty different outlines for thirty different stories. Each I have written one to three chapters before giving up and finding a better idea. I know the answer to my question “How can I stop myself from doing this?” is “Keep working and don’t stop, don’t doubt”, but I still keep doing this. My longest story was 12 pages (not double-spaced and 12 size Times New Roman font). But I don’t know what to do? I can’t mash together all my stories, and I can’t seem to get caught up in one either. I know the good parts, but there seems to be a lot of “fat” in between there too. Delete? Re-try? Continue?
I don’t know if you’ll ever get this or reply, but it would be helpful. You can email me at the email address I provided to add this comment. Again, thank you for helping me in writing.

Scott Berkun - January 4, 2011 at 9:25 am #

Drew / Kristan: This video was made to be presented at Ignite 12, a live presentation format where you are supposed to use 20 slides, that are on screen for 15 seconds each. The progress bar was used to help indicate where in the 5 minutes you currently were.

When the video was combined with a new audio track for putting it online, I simply didn’t remove that progress bar.

Kristan - January 4, 2011 at 7:58 am #

I had the same question as Drew: What was that bar near the bottom of the screen?

Loved seeing the time-lapse and hearing your process. Thanks for doing this!

(Here via Writer Unboxed, btw.)

Drew @ How To Cook Like Your Grandmother - December 23, 2010 at 5:44 pm #

There was what looked like a progress bar near the bottom. It didn’t seem to match up with the time of the video. Was that some sort of real-time progress toward a word count?

Whether it was or not, I’m sitting here now thinking over whether that would be a good idea or a bad idea for someone writing to a target length.

Alison - December 22, 2010 at 1:16 pm #

Great video. I’ve often wondered the same thing – what it would look like to watch that process of writing/editing in motion. I’m always editing as a write too, so in 30x speed, your process looked very familiar. I do a similar line trick too. I put a heading at the bottom of the page called EXTRA and put cut info down there. Sometimes I end up pulling bits of it back in for conclusions or transitions, but usually it gets deleted at the end, or I’ll archive a whole EXTRAprojectname document, just in case.

Livia - December 21, 2010 at 6:57 pm #

Thanks for sharing this Scott. I noticed that at points you create these lines of dashes in the body of the text. How do you use that and why? I am curious because I do that a lot while I am writing. It usually signals I reached a point where the ideas have taken a better direction and what I wrote before goes below the lines so I still have it, sort of like “still good raw material to use, but not quite right as is to be in the main text” and I revisit it to get what’s good out. Then the carcass, what is left, is then deleted :) Do you use that differently?

Scott Berkun - December 21, 2010 at 7:54 pm #
Hi Livia: Good question. In the actual talk I gave at Ignite I think I talk about the line.

Whenever I find a sentence or paragraph I like, but doesn’t fit, I put it below the line. Then I don’t have excuses for leaving things in – I want to encourage myself as much as possible to rip stuff out.

Often by the time I’m finished I have about 20 or 30% of the entire length under the line, and didn’t reuse a single word of it.
Reply

Gwyn Teatro - December 21, 2010 at 11:50 am #

Hi Scott,
Thank you. I have come to appreciate and also forgive myself for a) taking so long to write something and b) getting stuck.
Last week I wrote this post called, Facing the Blank Wall. http://gwynteatro.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/facing-the-blank-wall/
Your post has been so helpful in helping me understand more deeply the writing process and its challenges. Thank again!

José - January 23, 2012 at 8:20 am #
Wow, interesting video! I think it’s usually interesting and useful to watch yourself doing things, so I’m definitely going to try this with my own writing.

Paul - December 5, 2011 at 2:39 pm #
Hi Scott,

cool vid – if you would like to do it again:
use the screen capture as you did already PLUS use a webcam to capture your posture, face impression while thinking, stand up…

compile it into one vid: one side text document – other side your face

:))) just thought this would be very interesting

Paul

Pingback: Writing a Book – Henry K To, CFA, CAIA

Ian Timothy - September 13, 2011 at 4:49 am #
Hi Scott, loved this, I seem to work in a similar way, so its helps me to know that I am on the right track.
Many Many Thanks
Ian

Pingback: Online Business Roundup July 23, 2011 | Solo Biz Coach

Pingback: Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #61 | communicatrix

Dugaldo - July 15, 2011 at 11:51 am #
I have boxes full of years and notebooks. This kinda inspires me to bust them out. Thanks for sharing.

Pingback: Even Jefferson had second drafts | Bookmarks

Pingback: Even Jefferson had second drafts « Scott Berkun

Pingback: Stuck | Redeeming The Time

Victoria - May 23, 2011 at 8:00 am #
That was fabulous. You need to get together with the guys at Khan Academy!

Chiwah Carol Slater - May 22, 2011 at 8:11 am #
I enjoyed what I saw and heard of your video, but it sticks so badly that the second half of it came out in tiny two-syllable bursts. Pretty hard to make sense of, especially since you were trying to show speed of writing. What can you do about that?

Pingback: Live version: How to write 1000 words (time lapsed video) « Scott Berkun

Abella Jucy Arthur - April 25, 2011 at 3:53 pm #
I just met you. I just met you on your blog. :)

Within two articles, I formed these opinions about you:

1. There’s an “honesty” (being direct) that I really like.
2. You like to share your sources and resources of inspiration and they are good ones.
3. Your writing is clear and flows. I don’t have to struggle to figure out what you want to tell me.

Fair assumptions?

Thank you. I’ll be sharing you.
And, I’ll be back! :D

Lankin - March 22, 2011 at 3:45 am #
;),

I started a comment… It is too long I find, so I will go and spam my own blog instead.
Short: A great video; it also reminded me of the Picasso movie ;)
I will rather NOT take screenshot while I try and write something that is not totally no-nonsense science, that’s for sure :D
The most important thing, as you said, is to get your point across. For me, as I’m not a native speaker this is especially hard in English. I think this is what costs me the most work and time. This is not even bound to a certain subject or genre.
Thanks again ;)
Lankin

Pingback: Watching a Writer Write | Pushing People Out the Window

Sue - February 27, 2011 at 9:01 pm #
Thank you for sharing this. I hit the “Like” tag and I’ll tray to share it on my Facebook page. I’ve often wondered how other people write e-mail responses that are about 1/2 page. My e-mails typically involve receiving an inquiry or request from a constituent or supervisor then I contact my staff and ask them to assess something and take appropriate action. I then follow up with them and perform research on the topic too. Then I write the response to the person that inquired or made a request. Perhaps you can write and e-mail and share that too.

Pingback: How to show time during a presetation « Scott Berkun

Pingback: Back to writing.. | Rahul's Space

Jelliana - February 8, 2011 at 8:04 pm #
Thank you for writing your many websites and blogs (was it around 10 with each around 50,000 words or more? ;) I don’t know, just guessing), it has helped me write so much. I’m much younger than all the people who have responded to your website (lets go waaaaay young, no, I am not in elementary school though) and I seem to fall victim to one problem. I keep changing topics.
I want to write a fantasy novel and I’ve probably created thirty different outlines for thirty different stories. Each I have written one to three chapters before giving up and finding a better idea. I know the answer to my question “How can I stop myself from doing this?” is “Keep working and don’t stop, don’t doubt”, but I still keep doing this. My longest story was 12 pages (not double-spaced and 12 size Times New Roman font). But I don’t know what to do? I can’t mash together all my stories, and I can’t seem to get caught up in one either. I know the good parts, but there seems to be a lot of “fat” in between there too. Delete? Re-try? Continue?
I don’t know if you’ll ever get this or reply, but it would be helpful. You can email me at the email address I provided to add this comment. Again, thank you for helping me in writing.

Pingback: How to write a book – the short honest truth « Scott Berkun

Scott Berkun - January 4, 2011 at 9:25 am #
Drew / Kristan: This video was made to be presented at Ignite 12, a live presentation format where you are supposed to use 20 slides, that are on screen for 15 seconds each. The progress bar was used to help indicate where in the 5 minutes you currently were.

When the video was combined with a new audio track for putting it online, I simply didn’t remove that progress bar.

Kristan - January 4, 2011 at 7:58 am #
I had the same question as Drew: What was that bar near the bottom of the screen?

Loved seeing the time-lapse and hearing your process. Thanks for doing this!

(Here via Writer Unboxed, btw.)

Pingback: Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » From the Mailbox

Drew @ How To Cook Like Your Grandmother - December 23, 2010 at 5:44 pm #
There was what looked like a progress bar near the bottom. It didn’t seem to match up with the time of the video. Was that some sort of real-time progress toward a word count?

Whether it was or not, I’m sitting here now thinking over whether that would be a good idea or a bad idea for someone writing to a target length.

Pingback: How to write 1000 words

Pingback: Writing vs. Programming | scribu

Alison - December 22, 2010 at 1:16 pm #
Great video. I’ve often wondered the same thing – what it would look like to watch that process of writing/editing in motion. I’m always editing as a write too, so in 30x speed, your process looked very familiar. I do a similar line trick too. I put a heading at the bottom of the page called EXTRA and put cut info down there. Sometimes I end up pulling bits of it back in for conclusions or transitions, but usually it gets deleted at the end, or I’ll archive a whole EXTRAprojectname document, just in case.

Scott Berkun - December 22, 2010 at 11:53 am #
Hadn’t seen this before a few days ago – writing tool that autorecords all your changes:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/the-simple-software-that-could-but-probably-wont-change-the-face-of-writing/68364/

Livia - December 21, 2010 at 6:57 pm #
Thanks for sharing this Scott. I noticed that at points you create these lines of dashes in the body of the text. How do you use that and why? I am curious because I do that a lot while I am writing. It usually signals I reached a point where the ideas have taken a better direction and what I wrote before goes below the lines so I still have it, sort of like “still good raw material to use, but not quite right as is to be in the main text” and I revisit it to get what’s good out. Then the carcass, what is left, is then deleted :) Do you use that differently?

Gwyn Teatro - December 21, 2010 at 11:50 am #
Hi Scott,
Thank you. I have come to appreciate and also forgive myself for a) taking so long to write something and b) getting stuck.
Last week I wrote this post called, Facing the Blank Wall. http://gwynteatro.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/facing-the-blank-wall/
Your post has been so helpful in helping me understand more deeply the writing process and its challenges. Thank again!