Writing speed

On some days I write really fast, on other days I write really slow. I just make sure I reach my goal each day.

Cuprum said:

Hi, I'm new here. English is not my native language (I write in Russian), but I think basic principles of writing fiction are the same in all languages.
So there is my question:
What is your writing speed? Mine is way too slow - 1, maximum 1,5 pages of text (12 points Times New Roman) per hour. Typing speed is OK, but the most of my time I think about words, which one to choose, or about small details. I can 4 or 5 times competely rewrite whole paragraph! Is it standard beginner's syndrome or what? Maybe i'm not alone with this, and someone knows ways to improve writing speed?

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I try to aim for 500 words per hour. If I'm procrastinating a lot, I can easily fall below that. Or if I'm getting stuck with plot details, I can sometimes lose the will to write for an hour or two, and instead I'll just do some outlining. Or if I'm having a good day, I can bump it up to 1000 an hour, but that's generally when I have most things figured out before hand. Ideally, I'll do 2,500 words per day (I'm a student, on school holidays, so I have plenty of time )

I'm pretty slow though. I'm hoping I'll speed up once I get a bit further into the novel - the first chapters seem to be the hardest for me. And being on these forums doesn't help - sometimes I can be writing away, and then I'll get pulled from my work by a particularly interesting thread, and totally lose the muse.
Damn AbsoluteWrite, have mercy on me!

Joyce took 12 years to write Ulysses. Mickey Spillane wrote novels in a couple of weeks.

You're asking a very foolish question, Cuprum.

Cuprum said:

Hi, I'm new here. English is not my native language (I write in Russian), but I think basic principles of writing fiction are the same in all languages.
So there is my question:
What is your writing speed? Mine is way too slow - 1, maximum 1,5 pages of text (12 points Times New Roman) per hour. Typing speed is OK, but the most of my time I think about words, which one to choose, or about small details. I can 4 or 5 times competely rewrite whole paragraph! Is it standard beginner's syndrome or what? Maybe i'm not alone with this, and someone knows ways to improve writing speed?

Click to expand...

Hi Cuprum,

I was the same for a long time; in fact, 1.5 pages (around 400 words, I think) in one hour would be a lot more than I could typically come up with!

I don't know about it being standard beginner's syndrome, as generally everyone has their own way of writing and has followed a different learning curve, but what changed things for me was to make the decision to forget about small details and individual words during the first draft. I would set a time limit of 30 minutes, for example, and just write down events, character actions, rough dialogue, setting details, anything that occurred to me. I had to be careful that this didn't produce just stream-of-consciousness writing, and I did that by having some early event in the story to aim for. I would then try to work out how to get to that event from my start. My goal in doing this was to work out the 'shape' of the whole story, with the intention to go back on subsequent drafts and refine it. The selection of the perfect words would come during one of the late drafts, when I knew what I wanted that section of the story to accomplish and was sure of what effect I wanted, and what the words needed to convey.

This works for me because I am the sort of writer who needs an outline, and this method helps me work one out and to build on ideas as I refine what I have. The 30-minute writing sessions can be done with writing buddies - I find that to be a good encouragement. You can also try working in 'jumps', aiming to write 100 words before pausing. 100 words is an easily achievable goal, but is large enough for your overall word count to rack up in a satisfying way.

I hope this helps.

RLSMiller said:

I try to aim for 500 words per hour. If I'm procrastinating a lot, I can easily fall below that. Or if I'm getting stuck with plot details, I can sometimes loose the will to write for an hour or two, and instead I'll just do some outlining. Or if I'm having a good day, I can bump it up to 1000 an hour, but that's generally when I have most things figured out before hand.

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I'm roughly the same - I just checked my NaNoWriMo 2006 spreadsheet, and my "top speed" was a shade over 1000 words per hour, with the average being about 750 per hour. Of course that was with an outline and not going back to fiddle with what I had already written - though I did fix stupid typos as I went, rather than end up with an unreadable draft! Revisions are much slower, as I have to read each sentence and decide what to do with it...

When I'm flying, I can write 1500-2000 words an hour.

When I'm feeling funky, it can take me all day to type, "Sarah opened the door."

Here's some beginner's advice for you: quit dicking around and finish the story before you start editing. Turn off the monitor so you can't see the screen, or change your font color to white. Make it a goal that you need to write x amount of words per day, and spend only 15 minutes of your writing session tweaking the words you wrote yesterday. Get an egg timer and use it. 15 minutes of tweaking, followed by a solid hour of writing. Then shut off the computer and do something else. You can tweak again tomorrow, but only for fifteen minutes.

Speed

At 1.5 pages of Times per hour, you'll finish the first draft of a 100,000 word novel in roughly 250 hours. If you write two hours per day, five days per week, the novel will be done in twenty-five weeks, or less than six months. What's slow about that?

Procrastination is why writing novels take so long, not writing speed.

I like to say I spend 90% of my time thinking and 10% actually writing. I'm a speed-typer and it takes me zero effort to get the words in, no hunting and pecking for me. Actually it's easier for me to type than it is to talk. BUT, I spend a lot, lot, lot of time sitting here staring at the screen, running through scenarios in my head, imagining lines, compiling a paragraph structure... and how fast I write depends on this process alone. I don't know any way to speed up my thoughts, so I gotta live with it. Oh well!

Cuprum said:

Siddow: what sense is in turning monitor off? Do you mean without seeing words on screen there is no will to edit something (sorry, i feel my English sucked in this sentence)?

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Yes, that's what I mean. If seeing the words makes you want to edit them, them make it where you can't see them until the scene/chapter/book is done. Just a silly trick.

(and hey, don't worry about your English. We know it's not native to you.)

Am I the only one here who doesn't set daily goals or track my writing speed? And dangit, I edit as I go. I just went two weeks without writing a word (because I just didn't feel like writing) then sat down and wrote three short stories this weekend. And I felt pretty happy with them when they were finished.

But, alas, this morning I logged onto a website and read a short story that made me want to wad mine up and throw them in the garbage. I read on, however, and struggled through a few more (all contest winners) that made me reconsider and think mine weren't so bad.

Rules are restrictive. There are way too many rules for us writers to follow already. I'm not about to tack on more for myself.

Rules are restrictive. There are way too many rules for us writers to follow already. I'm not about to tack on more for myself.

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I set myself 2k a day. I don't really count this as a rule, more of a guideline. If I don't reach it, I don't get bent out of shape. I don't track my writing speed either, if I get more, I get more. If not, eh...s--t happens.

Jamesaritchie said:

Procrastination is why writing novels take so long, not writing speed.

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Well said.

I try to finish a novel, comic book or screenplay ever three months.

Redfox said:

I'm roughly the same - I just checked my NaNoWriMo 2006 spreadsheet, and my "top speed" was a shade over 1000 words per hour, with the average being about 750 per hour. Of course that was with an outline and not going back to fiddle with what I had already written - though I did fix stupid typos as I went, rather than end up with an unreadable draft! Revisions are much slower, as I have to read each sentence and decide what to do with it...

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That's obviously what is slowing you down. Don't go editing paragraphs until you have the entire thing down.

Cuprum said:

So to sum it up, main piece of advice is: do not edit while writing 1st draft?

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Everyone is different. I edit during writing much more now than I did when I first started writing.

I think the main thing is to finish something. If you find you never finish the novel because you're in constant edit mode, then yes, I would suggest that you not edit until you've hit The End. However, if you know you can finish and tweak all the while, then there's no harm done.

Some people can't move forward until what they've already written is as near perfect as possible. To tell them not to edit would mean they wouldn't finish the book.

And still others could edit forever and never write the final chapter. Those people need to put the red pen down and finish the book.

Just figure out who you are, and do what works for you. Trial and error are allowed!

This is not one of those things I ever thought about so I have no idea. When I'm having a good day, I write fast. When I'm having a poopy day, I write slow.

Rich said:

You're asking a very foolish question, Cuprum.

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Rich, what is with this? Normally you seem pretty good with responding to questions in a helpful and informative manner. Are these latest responses some sort of humor that I'm just not getting across the internet?

Rich said:

Don't write so much, little girl. When you write that much, a good deal of it is irreparable trash.

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Rich said:

Folks here are more ignorant.

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Anyway, to the original questioner: I am unpublished, but have done more than a bit of writing. My experience is similar to what others have suggested. I write quickly, but procrastination and all the time I'm NOT writing is what makes everything take so darn long.

KingRat said:

Am I the only one here who doesn't set daily goals or track my writing speed? And dangit, I edit as I go. I just went two weeks without writing a word (because I just didn't feel like writing) then sat down and wrote three short stories this weekend. And I felt pretty happy with them when they were finished.

But, alas, this morning I logged onto a website and read a short story that made me want to wad mine up and throw them in the garbage. I read on, however, and struggled through a few more (all contest winners) that made me reconsider and think mine weren't so bad.

Rules are restrictive. There are way too many rules for us writers to follow already. I'm not about to tack on more for myself.

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I think the question is, are you getting enough writing done to satisfy you?
If you are, you don't need daily goals. If you aren't, then daily goals might help.

I don't think I've voluntarily gone two weeks without writing in many years, but if that's your thing, it's fine. It's a tough way to get published, though, and an even tougher way of meeting, or even acquiring, deadlines.

Jamesaritchie said:

I think the question is, are you getting enough writing done to satisfy you?
If you are, you don't need daily goals. If you aren't, then daily goals might help.

I don't think I've voluntarily gone two weeks without writing in many years, but if that's your thing, it's fine. It's a tough way to get published, though, and an even tougher way of meeting, or even acquiring, deadlines.

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Oh, no, I'm never satisfied. I lie awake some nights trying to hammer a story idea into something I can write down. Mainly I write because I feel a strong need to write. Always have. I just don't always act on that need. And sometimes I feel guilty about it. I spend my days writing computer programs so when I get home at the end of the day I'm usually pretty much spent mentally. My wife doesn't buy that idea, though (that mental work is also exhausting).

For me, trying to write when I am not in the mood, or when I'm tired, makes me not want to write. I work in spurts.

Jamesaritchie said:

I think the question is, are you getting enough writing done to satisfy you?
If you are, you don't need daily goals. If you aren't, then daily goals might help.

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I would tend to agree with that. When I find myself slacking on stuff, I go back to to do lists and goals. When I'm back on track, I don't bother with them. I use whatever works at the time.

Azura Skye said:

This is not one of those things I ever thought about so I have no idea. When I'm having a good day, I write fast. When I'm having a poopy day, I write slow.

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Ditto. I wrote my first novel in 4 months. I don't have a clue how many words per minute I averaged. And there were days that I just sat and fleshed out characters or daydreamed about where they were going, and there were two days where I cranked out over 10,000 words a day. It was all progress to me, so I didn't feel pressured to meet an arbitrary number.

The only time speed matters is when you are on a tight deadline.


There is no right or wrong speed to writing.

Just write.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
You're asking a very foolish question, Cuprum.

Rich, what is with this? Normally you seem pretty good with responding to questions in a helpful and informative manner. Are these latest responses some sort of humor that I'm just not getting across the internet?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
Don't write so much, little girl. When you write that much, a good deal of it is irreparable trash.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
Folks here are more ignorant.




Anyway, to the original questioner: I am unpublished, but have done more than a bit of writing. My experience is similar to what others have suggested. I write quickly, but procrastination and all the time I'm NOT writing is what makes everything take so darn long.


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Seems you're working on some kind of dossier on me.




Good luck.


Just don't reach a point where you get me pissed.

When I was finishing my last novel and I had a bead on the way it was all going to pan out, I nailed 20,000 one weekend, working about 8 hrs each day.

That said, when I started the same piece I was laboring for hours over just a few pages.

Depends on my point in the story and the amount of time I have, uninterrupted.