Writing faster is rarely about typing faster. The writers who produce the most words per hour aren't speed-typists — they have simply removed the things that slow everyone else down. Here are the seven techniques that make the biggest difference.
1. Stop editing while you draft
This is the single biggest speed killer. Every time you stop to reword a sentence, you force your brain to switch from creating to judging — two different modes that don't mix well. Draft the whole thing forward, badly if necessary, then edit. Doing both at once is how a 30-minute draft becomes a 2-hour one. This is the core idea behind writing first and editing later.
2. Outline before you write
A blank page is slow because you're inventing the structure and the sentences at the same time. A rough outline — even five bullet points — means you always know what comes next, so you never stall mid-paragraph wondering where the piece is going. Try the Blog Outline Generator or Essay Outline Generator to get a skeleton fast.
3. Write in timed sprints
A 25-minute sprint with a clear goal beats an open-ended "I'll write for a while" session every time. The deadline creates urgency, and the finish line keeps you from drifting. Pair it with the Distraction-Free Writing Timer and read more on the writing sprint technique.
4. Remove every distraction
Each notification, tab, and "quick check" costs far more than the seconds it takes — refocusing after an interruption can take minutes. Close everything. Go full screen. The fewer escape hatches your environment offers, the faster you write, which is the whole premise behind distraction-free writing apps.
5. Lower your standards for the first draft
Perfectionism is slow. Give yourself explicit permission to write a bad first draft — placeholder phrasing, "[fix this later]" notes, awkward transitions and all. You can't edit a blank page, and a messy draft is infinitely faster to improve than a perfect sentence is to produce.
6. Write when your energy is highest
Most people have a window where words come easily — often the morning. Protect it. Doing your hardest writing in your peak hours can double your output compared to grinding through the same task when you're depleted. Build it into a morning writing routine.
7. Measure progress, not perfection
Tracking words written gives you momentum and a finish line. Set a clear target, draft toward it, and check it with the Word Counter when you're done — not every paragraph. A word-count sprint template makes this concrete.
The Tool That Enforces All Seven
Most of these techniques boil down to one thing: keep moving forward and don't let anything pull you out. JustWrite is a distraction-free, forward-only writing app for Mac built for exactly that — no editing back over your draft, no notifications, no formatting rabbit holes, just words moving forward until the draft is done. Then take it to the Sentence Rewriter and Readability Checker for the editing pass.
FAQ
How can I write faster?
Separate drafting from editing, write in timed sprints, outline before you start, and remove distractions. Most slow writing is caused by editing mid-draft, not by slow typing.
Why do I write so slowly?
Usually because you are editing while drafting. Stopping to fix every sentence breaks your flow and forces your brain to switch between creating and judging, which is far slower than doing each separately.
How many words per hour is fast?
A focused writer drafting forward without editing can produce 800 to 1,500 words per hour. With heavy editing mixed in, the same hour might yield only 200 to 400 words.
Does typing speed matter for writing faster?
Less than you think. Beyond about 50 words per minute, your bottleneck is thinking and decision-making, not typing. Removing friction and editing-while-writing helps far more than raw typing speed.