…or how I accidentally rediscovered
my pre-cancer writing pace
while juggling a day job
A couple of weeks ago, I was writing about having to cut back on my fiction time to spend more hours on marketing—and then my part-time magazine gig blew up and demanded even more time. I was resigning myself to what a lot of indies are dealing with right now: compromise. Tough markets, flagging sales, and the endless black hole that is “platform building” mean many of us are trading writing hours for business hours.
I was going to write a thoughtful, slightly melancholy post about that tradeoff. And I still might.
But then something happened.
I got faster.
It started when I gave dictation another try—and realized, to my surprise, that I could type faster than I could clean up dictated text. And then…I didn’t stop.
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve:
- Finished one book,
- Plotted and written another in nine days,
- Started plotting the third.
This isn’t just a return to form. It’s a resurrection.
These are my pre-cancer writing speeds. And I’m hitting 1,600 to 2,000 words per hour—while also working a contract gig that eats hours every day. I thought I was stuck at 1,200 to 1,300 wph because I had been for years. But I’m not. I was just telling myself I was.
And that’s really the point of this post:
If you’ve ever read about my writing speed and thought, “Well, that’s fine for her—she writes full-time,” then let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m not writing full-time. I’m writing alongside a part-time (but very not-part-time) job.
The big difference isn’t time. It’s mindset.
What I’ve (Re)Learned
Finishing books makes you want to finish more books.
Momentum is real. And powerful. So is belief.
If you think you can write faster—or you think you can’t—you’re right. This is as much a mental game as it is a craft.
So here’s what I want to leave you with:
- Stop telling yourself you’re a slow writer. Most of us are only “slow” because we’re pausing, second-guessing, clicking away, and editing before the draft is cold. Stop that.
- Really, REALLY stop telling yourself that writing fast equals writing crap. I’ve covered this in detail in this series of posts. Go read them if that belief is still lurking.
- Learn your best, in-flow speed—and stop treating it like going to war. You can be fast without being frantic. (More on that in this post.)
- Write just a little bit faster than you used to. Make your fingers move.
- Don’t click away from the manuscript. Use markers. Add placeholders. Keep your butt in the manuscript and your hands moving forward.
Writing at your best speed—your real speed—is not just about productivity. It opens up creative doors. Connections fire. Ideas fuse. Scenes write themselves. And that’s the magic we’re all here for, right?
So if the market’s tough, your time is fractured, and the “day job” is creeping in, don’t count yourself out. Try pushing just a little harder, and trust that the writer in you might be faster (and hungrier) than you think.
You’ve got this.
Tracy Cooper-Posey
SRP Author and owner of The Productive Indie Fiction Writer
