
Write Better And Faster Using The Index
Card Method
In this article I’m going to discuss the “index
card method” of writing. If you haven’t ever tried it, you should know that using index
cards to write is a very good and useful way to get the job done. It’s easy once you get the basic idea, and if you practice it regularly you’ll be able to produce better results and faster results on a consistent basis.
For the purpose of this article, an “index
card” is the little 3×5 or 4×6 lined paper
card that you can purchase at your local office supply store. They provide just enough room to write some notes but not so much to let you go off on a tangent!
Now for the methodology…
You’ll need quite a few index
cards on hand. You’ll need anywhere from 50 to 500 depending on the size of your book.
Step 1 is to get your notes onto the
cards. Go through your sources, your thoughts, your notes, and write a little bit of text for each topic on each index
card. The more detailed you are, the better… but you don’t want to over-do it. If you find yourself needing to turn the
card over and write on the back you’re probably getting carried away.