Can You Train Yourself to Be a Faster Writer?

When you’re a freelance writer, one of the only limits on how many jobs you can take is how much time you have to do them all. That means, by training yourself to write faster, you can maximize your earning potential and take on even more assignments. Of course, when you start to cut time, you may have difficulties maintaining quality in your writing—and that’s something your clients will notice. With the following tips, you can learn to write faster without compromising the quality of your work. In fact, you may find that as you increase your speed, you become a better writer overall.

Separate tasks for more efficient use of writing time.

Are you the type of writer who simply starts writing without much prior research or outlining? This might be fine as a creative free writing exercise, but you should work to stay more organized with your paid assignments. Allot time for research, outlining your article, and writing the content itself. Then, break up your schedule to dedicate time to each of these tasks. You may need the most time for research, depending on what type of content you’re writing. Trying to complete this research as you write will only slow you down. Having everything organized and sourced will make the writing part a breeze.

Write (and read) as much as possible.

If you want to be a speed reader, the key is to read often. Similarly, the key to writing faster is writing more frequently—that means writing might be something you do as a hobby as well as you do for work. Reading more often also bolsters your writing skills (and speed), because it can help you explore a world of new ideas to write about and complete any research faster.

Work on your typing skills.

Have you ever felt like your fingers can’t seem to type fast enough to keep up with the flow of ideas in your head? Working on your typing skills can help solve this problem. Again, practice is essential. Challenge yourself to write more words per minute and use various typing exercises in your spare time. When it is time to write, don’t worry about typos and spelling errors. You can—and should—proofread your work when you’re finished with the first draft, so don’t get hung up on small typos in the moment.

Create a system to capture your ideas as they happen.

If your writing time seems to be taken up by time staring at a blank screen straining for ideas, you may be picking the wrong times to work. Try to restructure your schedule to write when you’re feeling your most creative. You should also carry a notepad or use your phone to take down ideas as soon as inspiration strikes. This can help make the writing come when it is time to crank out a few hundred or even a few thousand words.

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