My goal was to write a first draft of my fifth book during my winter break or make a significant dent in the plan. What I was able to accomplish will forever change my writing process.
I wrote 30,000 words in five days! Here is what my new writing process looks like.
First Some Background
One of the things I have been experimenting with is how to be a more productive writer. My experiments have covered research, writing, editing, publishing, marketing, everything.
Last summer, I read the book How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers by Sönke Ahrens. In this book, I learned about Niklas Luhmann, who used Zettelkasten to write 50 books and 550 articles.
I dug deeper into his writing method and research strategy because I wanted to focus more on writing. I am still testing the 20 books to $50k hypothesis.
The Zettelkasten system is simply note cards that use an indexing system to connect them. Luhmann had 90,000 note cards in his system. He could quickly grab a set of notes and start writing.
I started to build my Zettelkasten in the summer of 2023. By the time I reached December, I had amassed approximately 2,500 note cards.
Zettelkasten
Zettelkasten is a relatively simple system that yields impressive results.
Note Cards
At its basic level, one writes a note on one side of a note card. I use 3×5 index cards. Ideally, you are trying to write a single thought you can understand months and years later.
The upper right corner is for the index number. Each card gets a unique number based on its location in your organization system. You get to decide your organization system. You get to decide your organization system. I am basing mine on the Outline of academic disciplines.
The lower left corner cites the note’s origin. It is a short code that identifies the full citation card.
Example of a Zettelkasten note card
Bibliography Cards
Another set of resources is the bibliography cards. These are index cards with the reference information of the resource where you extracted your notes. They also include a short code you place on the note cards.
These bibliography cards also have added value when reading books. You can index the book’s key points with page numbers and short, couple-word notes. I may use two to three cards to capture these notes while reading a book. The note cards serve as bookmarks until you have finished the book.
Example of a Zettelkasten bibliography card
Index Cards
The index cards help to identify the location of a topic. You would prepare the index by creating 26 cards, one for each alphabet letter.
You would then list a topic on the card and provide the unique number you used on the note card. You will continue to add topics until you fill out the card. Once the face of the card is full, you will start a new card.
Example of a Zettelkasten index card
My Process
I decided to put Zettelkasten into practice over my winter break. It turned out to be a significant productivity boost. I have bought into Zettelkasten and upgraded my setup. I purchased some new cases to organize my notes.
Here is my process in a nutshell.
Researching With Zettelkasten
I research before I can do any writing. My research combines reading books, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, reading blogs, and reading journal articles.
I create an entry in Zotero, my citation management tool, for any research item. I use Zotero primarily to collect the citation information for easy cutting and pasting later in the writing process. I also curate the research references in a new collection in Zotero. I can curate many resources at one time using Google Scholar.
The next step is reviewing each resource and crafting note cards for my Zettelkasten collection. I indicate in Zotero in the “Extra” field when I have reviewed a resource.
Finally, I will organize the note cards in Zettelkasten and expand upon a topic.
“Writing” With Audacity
When it was time to write, I pulled a stack of cards on a topic from my Zettelkasten. Instead of going to my writing program, I narrate the cards into an audio recorder. I use Audacity when working at my computer or the audio recorder on my phone, an audio recording program.
I do more than just read what is on the card. I would spend time discussing the concept to clarify it.
Name the file with the unique indexing number for the Zettelkasten section you are using. It will make it easy to identify the content you are working with later.
Transcribing With Otter.AI
The next step is straightforward. I upload the audio recording into Otter.AI to create a transcription. The name of the transcription will be the same as the audio recording.
Otter.AI does a great job transcribing audio and video recordings. There are some small things to fix, but that is primarily due to my initial recording.
Once Otter.AI has converted the recording, I pull up the export function and copy and paste the text for the next step.
Clean Up With ChatGPT
I copy and paste the transcription into chatGPT with the following instructions: “Please clean up this transcript and fix any errors. Convert to the format for a subsection in a book. Write at an 8th-grade reading level.”
ChatGPT will produce fantastic copy that I can use for my writing projects. Others have asked me why I strive to write at the eighth-grade reading level. I learned that this suits most readers, including non-native language speakers. Most of the popular business books are written at this level.
I feel good about using this content from chatGPT because it uses my research and input. I did the work; chatgpt just sped up the process.
Organizing With Scrivener
The next step is actually a two step process. First, I copy the content from chatGPT and paste it into Notepad++. Notepad++ is a text editing program. I use it to clean up the markdown language that chatGPT includes in the text. The markdown language typically includes ** for bolding and ### and #### for headings.
Once I clean up the text, I copy the content and paste it into a text block in Scrivener, and enter the unique Zettelkasten indexing number into the notes section. I discovered that when you later split up the text in Scrivener, the notes will also copy to the new text block. The index number makes verifying your content easier later in the editing process.
Example of adding Zettelkasten index number to Scrivener note
Before moving to the citation phase, I spend a few minutes fixing formating issues for lists, titles, etc.
Citing With Zotero
Using the note cards, I read through the text on Scrivener to identify where I need to add a citation. I copy a full Chicago citation from Zotero and add the citation to the appropriate place in Scrivener. TThe note cards help me identify the proper citation to use.
Final Clean Up
Finally, I break the text into small sections in Scrivener. Breaking the text into small sections means I am separating the major text blocks into unique subsections. This division allows me to move content around later during the editing process for a more logical organization.
Summary
I worked through my main section of note cards (approximately 1,000 of the 2,500) in five days, resulting in 120 double-spaced pages. On the first day, I had drafted 8,800 words. I knew I had found a winning formula at that time. I still have much more work to do, but I am happy with the progress.
Additional Reading
- My Book Writing Process From Research to Marketing
- How to Use Zotero With Scrivener
- Understanding Google Scholar to Get the Information You Want
- Some New Things I Have Learned About Google Scholar
Photo by Mikhail Nilov
Photo by Thang Cao
