I have a confession: I’m a tortoise. No, not a literal tortoise, a writer tortoise. My writing speed is…well…it’s slow.
When I see advertisements about helping writers “write fast,” I often pause. Me? Write fast? Well, I have nothing against writing at hare speed so long as the writing is well done. However, I prefer to write slowly. For me, writing is akin to eating a half-gallon of ice cream during a four-hour Oscar-winning movie. Both take time to enjoy.
I love playing around with words and phrases, taking things out and putting things in till I’m comfortable with how my writing sounds. Sometimes I do catch myself envying those who can write both fast and well, but if I write too fast, I feel that it’s sloppy. This is just me, though.
I’ve come to realize that every writer is different. Tolkien spent twelve years writing his trilogy, The Lord of the Rings (1937-1949). Other writers, such as Joyce Carol Oates, are super-prolific.
No, it’s not wrong to write hare-fast as a hare, nor is it wrong to write tortoise-slow. Each writer must write at the pace that he or she is most comfortable with. And even though I’m a literary tortoise…Hey! I’m enjoying the process!
The Author's Cove: John "Jack" Cunningham on Writing & History 
Good thoughts on tortoises vs. hares. For my first draft, I like to use Mac Dictation. Later I slowly go through what I’ve written like carving a hunk of meat as Jerry Jenkins said.
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I like the image of writing being like a chunk of meat. That’s a fresh way to look at it.
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Yes Yes Yes. I’ve been in situation where I was on a tight deadline and was forced to quicken the pace. It’s called deadlines. It was fun and exhilarating. Other times it’s taken years to finish one novel. Mainly because life continued to interfere. But I so agree that each and ever author is different. We must find what works best for our temperament.
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I don’t like it when life interferes with my writing, but as the old saying goes — “That’s life!” We all have to deal with it.
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Please don’t edit that post. LOL
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