You can benefit from easier and quicker writing by adapting appropriate habits of composition. Here are four habits for writing your first draft quickly. You would do well to put them into practice. They are easy to implement and the rewards are significant.

1. Start writing your story from anywhere.

The beginning of your story—what appears on the first pages—is generally not the same piece as the one you wrote when you started to write your memoir. That first piece you composed may end up on page 75 or 112. The order in which it was written is not crucial—and is completely imperceptible to the reader. (Think of the last memoir you read: could you tell what vignette the author wrote first and what the author wrote last?)

If the order of composition is completely irrelevant to the finished memoir, it is, however, important to start writing from where you most want to start writing because a story written that way will have the most energy for you. You will find yourself with quicker writing.

2. When you want quicker writing, think in terms of vignettes, scenes, or story segments not in terms of entire stories.

Writing complete stories can slow you down. Don’t think of doing a “stand-alone” piece that has a title, that portrays a complete world unto itself, that feels like a short story. Suppose that the eventual reader will already be familiar with the characters from previous chapters (even if they are not written yet as you write a particular vignette, but that’s about you not about the reader). In time, your stories will add up to chapters of your memoir, but that is for “in time”, not for now.

When you do the rewriting that will be necessary to tie your vignettes, scenes, and stories together, you will compose the “missing links.” For now, do not worry about this level of polish. Go for quicker writing.

3. Write as much as you want on any piece, and when you feel like moving on, do so.

This one is a variation of the previous suggestion and may be even harder for you to put into practice, but if you do, it will assure that you are writing from some spirit of excitement (of what I have called elsewhere “passion in your writing“) and your prose will be the better for it. It will likely have excitement for the reader because you are writing from your excitement for the material. (Remember: “No passion of the writer, no passion for the reader.”)

Give yourself permission to move on before you are all done with a section. It is fine to write while the writing flows and then move on to something else when the flow comes to a stop. (This is not the same as lack of discipline.)

When you need to, you can come back to a vignette or a story and complete it. (See #4 below.) Meanwhile, you will have written much.

4. Collect your writing in a three-ring binder.

Print the stories, fragments or finished stories on white paper. Where you estimate there ought to be links, transitions or additional stories, insert a colored paper. On the colored paper, write the topic(s) that have not developed. that are missing at that juncture in the story.

Eventually, when you have written your most compelling stories and are asking yourself what to write next, your notes on the colored paper will cue you to move on to the next stage of writing your memoir—your list of writing assignments will be waiting for you in your three-ring binder. The result? Little wasted time wondering what you should write next and so faster composition., quicker writing, of your memoir.

These four suggestions will help you to acquire the habit of quicker writing and so produce a quality memoir in a shorter time.

Good luck with your memoir—and remember to go for quicker writing.

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Do you have a binder set up for your lifestories? Are you creative with organizing it with colored paper, markers or special holders for photos to draw inspiration from? Or do you prefer writing your stories without the distraction of these extras? Do you use scrapbooking materials? Share your creative organizing skills in the comments below.

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A memoir coach can help you to cut through the problems that get in the way of attaining quicker writing. A coach asks you questions that “cut to the chase” and save you time and energy.  Call today for a free session.

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The Write Your First Memoir Draft Program  provides you with many resources to help you grow and persevere as a writer. Every module (and there are 10), receive links to new interviews with memoir writers working at the national level, e-lessons to help you with specific aspects of memoir writing, e-books that you will want to refer to again and again, MP3s. Join Write Your First Memoir Draft Program, our premier membership  for writers who seriously want to jumpstart their memoir this year.