![\"quick](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/r9f.352.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/quick-and-dirty.png?resize=400%2C300\" "\\"http:\/\/businessmeetinternet.com\/file\/2014\/01\/screen_shot_2012-09-16_at_1.55.44_am.png\\"")
My apologies if you were hoping for something steamier, but that\u2019s not the kind of quick and dirty I have in mind. I\u2019m talking about the shortcuts, the cheats, the tricks and tips that are good to employ when time is short but obligations long.<\/p>\n
Such as the obligation to post something every day but Sunday during the A-Z Challenge, when you are already wrung out from L-M-N-O-P, but are about to leave for a few days of hiking.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons I took the Challenge was to become better at a daily writing practice. When I am not actively avoiding writing, I dither and agonize. I like to write on topical events, but by the time I get around to it, the events belong to ancient history. I need to stop overthinking everything, write faster, and stop trying to weave together a million disparate threads to create a beautiful word tapestry that nobody understands.<\/p>\n
I need to write quick and dirty.<\/p>\n
Mark Trautwein<\/a>, the editor of KQED\u2019s Perspectives<\/em><\/a>, wrote a wonderful essay<\/a> a few years ago for the New York Times<\/em> on what it is like when your AIDS death sentence is commuted by the advent of protease inhibitors. An editor he knew at the Times<\/em> had called and asked if he\u2019d like to contribute to their special anniversary feature.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course\u2014but when do you need it?\u201d Mark inquired.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday,\u201d came the reply. \u201cBut get it to me within six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Deadlines, as we know, sharpen the mind. Mark told me he wrote faster and better because it had to be quick.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know about better in my case, but the Challenge has definitely helped me write faster, not to mention more often.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve come to view quick and dirty not so much as a guilty cheat, but as an absolute necessity. Apparently I\u2019m not alone: There\u2019s a whole website<\/a> devoted to quick and dirty tips for just about everything. One of my favorites for writing is Grammar Girl<\/a>.<\/p>\n And then, of course, there\u2019s the #1 Quick and Dirty of All Time\u2014Wikipedia<\/a>. Where would we be without it?<\/p>\n \u00a0*<\/em><\/p>\n What are some of your favorite Q&Ds?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My apologies if you were hoping for something steamier, but that\u2019s not the kind of quick and dirty I have in mind. I\u2019m talking about the shortcuts, the cheats, the tricks and tips that are good to employ when time … Continue reading