I wrote my first book in 3 days. How I did it was pretty simple and there were only 3 major steps (the third is the most important). I’m adding a 4th for how to use AI to go even faster.
The first thing that I do when I’m working on a big project or idea is to give myself some time. The amount of time is going to vary on you, what you’re good at, and what you want to do with the project itself. For my book, I took a really long time. We’re talking six months plus. Put a little thought in here, a little thought in there and then dramatically large amounts of thought for a couple of days. And then I just said, that’s it. It’s time and I started writing. Be gentle with this and take as long as you need. The longer the project (article, report, or book) the longer you should give yourself.
The next part is either you need a large amount of research or already be an expert on the topic. This was something that I already knew inside and out upside down. I did use research and some information as inspiration. Most of the book was in my head, so that made it so I could literally just spit it out. If you already know the subject, it makes the last part really easy.
I call this a “Staggered Outline”. First, write down blurbs. You want either words or phrases that are enough for you to know and understand what they mean:
Why this works
How this works
Etc…
Then, transform each blurb into a full sentence:
My way of doing this works so much better than others because it allows you to take what you know and use it to get an unfair advantage.
By breaking down big ideas into smaller ones, you save a massive amount of time having to figure out what to say next.
Etc…
Finally, turn each sentence into a paragraph, chapter, or complete idea:
My way of doing this works so much better than others because it allows you to take what you know and use it to get an unfair advantage. Now that we have access to ChatGPT and other large language model AI systems, we can go even faster. Here’s how you can write your next article, report, or book at record speed.
So here’s how to add in AI in a smart way to go even faster. Take your entire outline at each step and tell the AI model what you’re doing. For step 1: The following outline is for a _______ (insert type of content) I’m writing. What would you add if you wanted to help people ________ (purpose of content)? Here is the outline: “paste in outline here”.
All you do now is add in the parts you like.
If there is a lot you dislike, correct the AI model with something like this: “I apologize for not being specific enough. Please re-run this by focusing on _________ (whatever it left out or ignored).
All that’s left is for you to test this out for yourself and modify it to better suit you and the way you work.
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