From Code to Prose: Use Agile Principles to Write Faster

Let’s say you own a coffee shop and you want to create an online pre-ordering service for your customers (and no, you’re not on the wrong blog—it’s related to writing, just bear with me). And so you decide to create an app.

You haven’t pinned all the details down yet at this point. What you have is an idea, and two options.

The first option is to figure out every single detail in advance—features, menu items, payment options, design, everything. After those decisions have been made, the process to actually develop the application would begin. It takes a while, but eventually, your app is fully built with every feature you could think of.

The second option is to decide only on basics—a simple design, a short menu, and one payment method. You then hand these decisions to a software developer and pay them (handsomely) to create this basic version quickly. Your customers start using it while you continue adding features over time, like favorite drink options or ratings.

The first approach might appear more thorough, but there are multiple issues with it—you won’t see a version of your app until it’s completely built. It’s harder to change later, and actual development takes longer to even start.

Whereas with the second approach, you get results faster, gather user feedback, and adjust. 

This method is adopted by software companies worldwide and is called the iterative approach.

The iterative approach means you start with something basic, review it, adjust, and keep improving. It stands in contrast to planning everything in advance.

If you survived this far (potentially wondering WFT), congratulations. This is where we get to the important part.

The first approach is similar to plotting—when you figure out all the details of the book you’re writing in advance. You don’t actually sit down to write until you have a solid plan at hand.

The second approach resembles the ‘writing by the thread of your pants’ method, but not exactly. It suggests experimentation, and doesn’t require deciding on all the details in advance (like what obstacle the hero will face before they can get to the emerald-cave and get the magical amulet, or what sage advice the elder-goblin would offer them there).

This iterative approach—though it sounds unrelated to creative work—can work wonders for writers.

An antidote to procrastination

Writers love to procrastinate. And you can’t blame them—there’s nothing like sitting in front of that terrifying blank page to make you want to do anything else, from taking out the trash to researching medieval plumbing (because that’s integral to your story).

There are many reasons to procrastinate, but often, behind it lurks this thought: “I don’t know what to write.” What we usually mean is we don’t have all the details yet.

But telling yourself you need to know every detail in advance is a great way to never start writing.

But what if instead of knowing each character’s background, plot twist, and ending, you just started with the opening scene?

You’d still need to figure the rest out later—but the important thing is you’d start writing.

My grandpa used to say that appetite comes when you start eating (a philosophy that can really mess up the art of listening to your hunger and satiety cues, but that’s irrelevant here) and the same holds true to writing—ideas flow when you start creating.

Pivot and adjust

You have an idea for a scene, a complex character backstory, and an exciting plot twist. It all sounds awesome in your mind, dramatic and full of tension. But reading what you just wrote, it’s… not great. Maybe you even felt it as you were writing.

The character feels flat, the actions inauthentic, and the dramatic descriptions lack punch.

Maybe you decide to rewrite it, change the character, or cut the scene entirely.

If you planned everything in advance, you’d only realize this deep into writing, when changing it would require rethinking everything. That idea alone can derail you, not to mention the time it takes to replan.

But if you followed the iterative approach, you’d reach this scene sooner, and since you haven't planned all the details yet, there’s less to rethink. You can adjust quickly, remain flexible, and save yourself frustration.

Starting somewhere and reviewing as you go reduces rework and keeps you moving forward.

Conclusion

To summarize, adopting an iterative approach to writing can help you:

1. Fight procrastination

2. Identify what works (and what doesn’t) faster

3. Pivot and adjust flexibly

4. Avoid significant rework

If you ask me, those are some good reasons. But here’s the most important one—it gets you writing. And that’s the whole point, right?

So next time you’re hit with an idea, worry less, plan only a little, and just start. You don’t have to get it right on the first try.