Fast or Slow Writing – Which is Better?
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash
A big debate recently broke out on Threads around this topic. Writers were, unsurprisingly, passionately defensive about their preferred style. The majority seemed to be in the “faster is better” camp, with a good number of other writers wishing they could write faster. Quite a few though, were fans of slow writing, allowing their projects to develop at their own pace.
Which kind of writer are you? Does it matter?
Many writing teachers will tell you one or the other is a better way to write. And if you’re not happy with your current writing speed you may think the grass is greener on the faster or slower side of the fence. What are the pros and cons? When does it make sense to go fast, and when might make sense to go slow?
Fast writing can be good for many reasons:
It helps you get your ideas down quicker, before the inner critic can kill your draft with crippling perfectionism. Embrace your crappy draft!
It can break you out if the rut of procrastination. If you set a timer, and/or have a word goal, you don’t have time for distractions like email or social media.
It allows you to get something on the page, so you can take your time and edit it later.
It can be fun and let you feel you’re really making progress!
Slow writing also has its place:
Sometimes you want to be immersed in your story, not rushing through every writing session.
Sometimes you need time to step back and see what you’ve got. To daydream. To explore. To play.
Sometimes you need to slow down and get a tricky plot point right, or figure out a character’s true motivation. You need to take time to work things out on the page, and rewrite if necessary.
Sometimes you do need to let the story rest and percolate for a while. Then you can see it with fresh eyes and know what you need to do next.
Of course, both have their dark sides as well. Fast writing can lead you to send out or publish something before it’s ready. You want to get it done and go on to the next thing, but it’s half-baked. The first draft may just be you working out the story in your head, and then you need to take the time to revise it into something readers want to read.
Slow writing too, can be an excuse for procrastination. You can spend forever researching and planning, and never get around to writing. You can hit a wall at any stage, and spend days (weeks, months...) telling yourself you’ll get back to it tomorrow. You can blast through a draft, and then drag your feet on revision, because you don’t know where to start or how to make what you write better.
Fast or slow can depend on the stage of writing you’re in. You may spend a lot of time on “slow writing” activities in the beginning, doing research, creating characters, or going for long walks to iron out the story in your head. Then you may want to get through your first draft as soon as possible, knowing the real writing happens in the editing stage, when you will want to slow down again and take your time to hone in on all the details.
Your process may even change from book to book!
In other words, there is no one right way – fast or slow, either works, as long as it’s working for you.
If you’re not happy with your current writing speed, embrace tricks that will help you either speed up, or slow down and take the time to get it right.
Timed writing sprints will make the pages pile up fast.
Don’t stop to rewrite as you go – just aim to get through the draft. Tell yourself, “Done is better than perfect.”
If you’re getting anxious and tied up in knots, go in the other direction. Take long walks to sort out story problems. Use your writing time for dreaming time. Journal all your questions and problems and see what comes up. Learn how to do deep revision, so you’re not doing line editing when you need to make bigger changes in order to make the story work.
Hopefully, all this will convince you to above all be mindful of your writing speed. There are times when it’s advantageous to write fast, and times when it’s better to write slow. Choose wisely.
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