How can I become a faster writer?

Question

I tend to write and type very slow when I need to write something long. It's not that it takes me a long time to write in general and I don't have a slow typing speed. When I write longer things, like essays or articles, I tend to try to think of the best way to word sentences. Often I go back and insert words and sentences. Something that may take an hour for the average person to complete would probably take me four hours.

Has anyone experienced this? What is the best way to improve this?

Answer 1

Ah. Welcome to why I stopped being a writer.
The best thing that you can do is just write it all out without self-editing, then go back and edit the heck out of it. Just get your argument out without worrying about the details yet.
I spent four years trying to write a novel, but every time I sat down to work on it, I'd edit instead of write. The new story looked nothing like the original, and I ended up scrapping the whole thing. My advice? Write as much as you can and don't look back until it's all out there.

Answer 2

PRACTICE, friend.
There's nothing to beat that.

BTW - You are not a slow writer, you are a prefectionist. I can bet that if you are given a deadline, you complete the work much before that and revise. Hence the need to make corrections etc. If you can afford 4 hours to do something, why not spend a little more time and make it a little more perfect.

I am like that and have no problem with that at all.

Answer 3

I'd suggest that you try writing your essay without editing it as you go. Get it down in a basic form. THEN go back and put it in better shape. Good luck.