Asking “how to write a book faster” is the same as asking “how can I climb Mt. Everest?”
We can tell you a dozen different things that may help you write quickly in the short run, like…
“Minimize distractions!”,
“Use an outline!”,
“Start a timer!”,
… and they will all be valid and sane advice.
Do you have an English lit paper due in five hours? No problem. Just fire off your pomodoro timer, open a Google Doc, and start writing like crazy.
Yes, these writing “hacks” can help you beat an upcoming deadline.
But they won’t automatically make you learn how to write a book faster. In the same way that drinking coffee before studying for an exam won’t guarantee that you will graduate from university, or that running for 15 minutes on a treadmill every day will make you finish a marathon.
Their effects will be temporary if not coupled with discipline and a strong commitment to improving one’s writing speed for the long term.
Lots of awesome writing strategies and tips below, but if you want to get to the 14-day writing speed workout challenge ASAP, you can skip ahead.
Table of Contents
Learning how to write a book faster is like climbing Mt. Everest
So, what’s with the Mt. Everest analogy?
Here is Mt. Everest.
Mountaineers spend precious years of their lives in arduous training just to give themselves a fighting chance to reach Everest’s summit.
They don’t go from doing rock climbing on weekends to scaling the world’s highest peak in a couple of months.
The preparation is a long, gradual process.
If starting from a base level of fitness, it can take a year or two of mountaineering training just to reach the required level of conditioning needed to attempt a climb.
Even then, just reaching that “base level of fitness” alone may require a lifetime of dedication to physical activity.
Becoming a faster book writer is like climbing Everest’s summit.
It might seem like a stretch to compare two vastly different activities. One involves lots of danger and performing incredible feats of strength and endurance, while the other involves sitting on your butt in front of a computer screen for hours on end.
But they’re similar in that both are difficult, ambitious goals.
Your goal – how to write a book faster and be a more efficient writer
So, for this article, try to imagine yourself as a mountain climber attempting to scale Everest for the very first time.
You already have most of the required training done.
You know how to write, how to motivate yourself through slumps, and how to deal with writer’s block and writing procrastination.
All you lack is… speed.
Your goal now is to reach the summit of your own personal Everest: to be a better and faster book writer.
So, here’s Everest again, with a rough map on how to reach its summit.
You’re there at the very bottom of the mountain.
Most people think that going to the top of Everest is like going on a very linear trek where you go from point A to point B to point C.
Like so:
But in reality, reaching the top of Everest means climbing up towards the next camp, acclimatizing for a while, then retreating back down, over and over again.
Acclimatization is essential. Your body needs to get used to the higher altitudes gradually. You can’t rush your way to the summit or you’ll die of altitude sickness.
Similarly, you also can’t rush your way to learning how to write quickly.
You can crank out 6,000 words for a few days, but you’ll inevitably burn yourself out if you’re not used to producing that much output consistently.
If you want to learn how to write a book faster or how to write articles faster for the long haul WITHOUT risking burnout, you must TRAIN for it like how a mountaineer trains for Everest.
Speed writing exercises for the mind
The act of writing involves both a mental and physical component. But since writing is mostly done in the mind, we’re going to focus first on exercises that can improve the psychological aspect of writing, like creativity, vocabulary-building, and focus.
Freewriting
What is it: A writing exercise similar to brainstorming. Popularized by English professor and educator Peter Elbow.
For a set period of time, a writer writes down whatever they want as fast as they can without stopping, and without regard for proper grammar, rhetoric, word choice, spelling, and even intelligibility.
Think of it like a stream-of-consciousness form of unstructured writing. When you can’t think of anything else to write, you’re allowed to repeat words or sentences, and even write gibberish.
Why should you do it: Freewriting helps you learn how to write faster by stopping you from becoming your own editor. You’re allowing your thoughts to freely flow from your brain to the page. No changing your mind, no adjustments, no edits.
Because structure can sometimes hinder creativity. When you remove that barrier, it gives you so much space to explore and discover new ideas that you may have subconsciously hidden in your mind.
How do you do it: Get a timer, and set it anywhere from between five to 20 minutes. (We recommend five minutes if you’re a beginner).
Get your preferred writing implement- pen, paper, tablet, or keyboard- and write until the timer runs out. It’s that simple.
Freewriting using The Most Dangerous Writing App
Do you want an extra challenge in your freewriting exercises? Try out The Most Dangerous Writing App by Squibler.io.
Go to the app, set the session length (the default is five minutes, which is fine for now), and then click on the “Start Writing w/o Prompt” button.
Then start writing. Here’s the catch: YOU CAN’T STOP WRITING. If you stop, the app will DELETE all of your progress.
The app doesn’t give you much wriggle room. You can still take pauses to think, but you have to keep typing something, anything, until the timer runs out.
The app will warn you if you’re pausing for too long by turning the text red and blurring it out slowly…
…until it zaps everything out of existence.
Copyworking
What is it: Copyworking means exactly what its name suggests- “copying” the words of other people.
If that idea raises alarm bells in your head, relax… we’re not talking about plagiarism here.
You might not remember it, but this was likely how you were taught to write as a child. Your teacher would write some words and phrases on the board, and you would copy them onto your workbook.
Copyworking is the same thing. But instead of copying a teacher’s grammar lessons, you’re transcribing the work of another author, preferably one whose writing you admire.
Why should you do it: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” as Oscar Wilde once said. It’s also one of the quickest ways to learn how to write quickly.
With copyworking, you’re experiencing what it’s like being in another author’s shoes. You’ll get a fuller sense of their writing style, technique, vocabulary, and their own unique voice.
It’s like an apprenticeship, where you learn from a master by imitating what they do and working closely with them.
It might sound counter intuitive, but copyworking also helps you develop your own writing voice too! You’ll be able to identify the elements of their writing that you like, which you can then build on to create your own distinct voice.
How do you do it: Take a book or an article written by another author.
Choose a section of a chapter or page that you specifically want to focus on.
Using your writing implement of choice, rewrite everything word-for-word.
Controlled (or guided) writing
What is it: A writing exercise that is the complete opposite of freewriting. Commonly used in classrooms, especially for those who are learning English as a second language.
Unlike freewriting, controlled writing provides very specific guidelines that you must adhere to.
These guidelines can be anything- using specific words, formulating a response to a prompt, integrating a particular sentence structure, or following a specific writing style (e.g. business writing, technical writing).
Why should you do it:
We write all sorts of things in our daily lives. Memos, personal notes, invitations, resumes, cover letters, and more.
Additionally, if you write for a living, chances are that you’re not going to have a lot of say in what your writing assignments will be. Some clients might insist that you write in a certain way (e.g., creative writing versus SEO writing), adopt a particular tone (e.g., friendly, authoritative, conversational), or write about subjects that you find uninteresting.
Controlled writing helps us prepare for these situations by teaching us how to be flexible and adapt our writing to whatever requirements a client, or life in general, might throw at us.
How do you do it: We’re assuming that you don’t have anyone to provide writing guidelines that you can follow for your controlled writing exercises.
Thankfully, there are a lot of prompt generators out there that you can use for free. One such free tool is RandomWordGenerator.com.
First, get your writing tools ready.
Then, visit the RandomWordGenerator.com site. Input “1” on the “Number of Prompts” field, and click on the blue “Generate Writing Prompts” button.
Finally, once you have your prompt, set your timer to your desired time (again, five minutes for beginners), and then start writing.
Word Association
What is it: It’s a creative activity that involves associating words with other words that are related to them in some semantic way. This is done in a lot of contexts, such as in school for language learning, brainstorming sessions, market research, and psychotherapy.
Why should you do it: In creative writing, word association is done to help writers find connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. This technique can be especially useful in discovering a fresh new angle on a topic that you may be stuck on.
By using word association, not only can you overcome writer’s block, but you can also expand your vocabulary.
How do you do it: You need a “trigger” word to start off a chain of word associations.
Go to RandomWordGenerator.com to generate a random word. (Keep the default settings on for all input fields and then click on the “Generate Random Words” button).
Write that trigger word at the top of a fresh notebook page or document.
Write the first thing that pops into your mind when you read that trigger word.
Repeat this process with each new word until you can’t think of words anymore.
Remember: don’t think too much about what the next word would be. Literally, write the first thing that you can think of even if you don’t think that it’s closely related to the first word.
Vocabulary Building
What is it: The process of acquiring previously unknown or unfamiliar words to add to your vocabulary. This involves actively learning new words, finding their meaning, and learning how to properly use them in various contexts and sentence structures.
Why should you do it: Words are the building blocks of writing.
The more words a writer has at their disposal, the more vivid the imagery they can produce with their prose.
When we write to inspire or to persuade (such as in a politician’s speech or a marketer’s ad copy), using the precise words can be the key to leaving a lasting impression on a reader.
How do you do it: We mostly expand our vocabulary through osmosis- reading words in books and hearing others use them in various contexts.
But actively seeking out new and unfamiliar words, and then trying to incorporate them into our writing would help us learn how to write a book faster and more efficiently.
Here are a couple of vocabulary building exercises you can try out:
Word of the Day
Go to a “Word of the Day” webpage like Merriam-Webster’s or Time’s.
Check out what the word of the day is and read and understand its definition.
Write five to ten sentences that include that particular word.
Optionally, use flashcards to save tricky words so that you can review them from time to time. A spaced-repetition flashcard app like Anki works best for this purpose.
Word Games
Playing word games is an effective way to broaden your vocabulary. Scrabble, Boggle, Bananagrams, crossword puzzles- these types of games challenge your existing knowledge of words and their definitions, plus they’re a whole lot of fun too.
Some of our favorite word games include Wordle, Knoword, and Spelling Bee.
Merriam-Webster also has a games page on their site that is full of fun vocabulary building games and quizzes.
Physical aspects of learning how to write a book faster
Now, let’s move on to the physical components of writing.
Though we’ve mentioned that writing is mostly done in the mind, there’s no denying that there are physical aspects to the activity that can affect how efficient you are at doing it.
If you want to learn how to write a book faster, you should pay attention to the physical components of writing, such as:
Typing or Handwriting Speed
What is it: The rate at which a writer can produce written text. This is heavily influenced by a number of factors like the writer’s hand and finger dexterity, eyesight, typing skills, and overall cognitive abilities. Some of these factors can’t be improved overnight, but some like hand and finger dexterity can be worked on through regular and consistent practice.
Why do you need to improve it: In this fast-paced world, having the ability to type quickly can give you a distinct advantage over slower typists. You’ll be able to complete your work quickly and efficiently.
A fast typing speed can enhance your creativity and productivity ten-fold. When you know how to write quickly, you’ll be able to jot down your ideas as they come, without losing your train of thought.
How to improve it: If you write by hand, consider learning shorthand.
If you write on a computer, learn touch typing. There are lots of touch typing resources on the web- two of the best ones include Typing Club and Keybr.
Physical Conditioning
What is it: Simply put, one’s physical condition and level of fitness. How healthy you are, physically-speaking.
Why do you need to improve it: Continuing with our Everest analogy from earlier, though writing a book isn’t as physically-demanding as climbing the world’s tallest mountain, there’s still a certain level of physical endurance required to sit and write for long periods of time without getting exhausted.
Improving your physical conditioning also has benefits that go beyond physical health. It can boost creativity, reduce anxiety, and improve your memory. All of which are desirable side effects if you’re learning how to write your novel faster.
Yes, you can learn how to write a book faster!
Everest hopefuls spend years building up their physical stamina and mental toughness for the daunting climb to the summit.
In the same vein, aspiring writers may feel like they need to spend years and years honing their craft, attending writing workshops, and perfecting their writing skills before they can even think about writing a book.
But a mountaineer’s preparation can be streamlined and optimized. Some Everest climbers have trained for less than a year and still managed to summit successfully.
This 14-day writing speed workout challenge is the same. It’s designed to help you streamline your writing process and optimize your writing habits. By incorporating simple speed writing strategies and exercises, you can build your writing endurance and overcome common writing roadblocks that slow you down.
With these tools at your disposal, you’ll be able to breeze through writing your book or novel in record time.
14-day writing speed workout challenge on how to write a book faster
Before doing a workout, make sure that:
- Your writing setup is comfortable and doesn’t cause discomfort or strain. Your chair, desk, computer, and any other writing instruments should be set up in a way that supports good posture.
- You are in a quiet place, with no significant distractions around you.
- You’re writing during the time of day when you feel most creative and energized. This optimal writing time will vary from person to person since everyone’s energy levels and creativity peak at different times.
Days 0 – 1
| Day 0: Diagnostic • Write a 1000-word essay, fiction piece, or poem on a topic of your choice. Try to complete it as quickly as possible without compromising on the quality • Time yourself while writing. Once finished, make note of how much time you took. • Head on over to TypingTest.com and take a one-minute typing test. If handwriting, copy the same excerpt provided by the site by hand. |
| Day #1 • Five-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play a Knoword round (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Days 2 – 3
| Day #2 • Six-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play two Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random writing subject on WritingExercises.co.uk, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 10 minutes. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
| Day #3 • Seven-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Guided writing exercise: Utilize the saved words from the “Word of the Day” exercises in Days 1, 2, and 3 to write a paragraph that incorporates all three words. • Play three Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 9 minutes. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Days 4 – 5
| Day #4 REST DAY |
| Day#5 • Eight-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play four Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 8 minutes. • Play today’s Wordle. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Days 6 – 7
| Day #6 • Nine-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play five Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 7 minutes. • Play today’s Wordle. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
| Day #7 • Ten-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Guided writing exercise: Utilize the saved words from the “Word of the Day” exercises in Days 5, 6, and 7 to write a paragraph that incorporates all three words. • Play six Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 6 minutes. • Play today’s Wordle. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Days 8 – 9
| Day #8 REST DAY |
| Day #9 • Eleven-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Copyworking exercise: Choose a piece of writing (novel, magazine article, essay, etc.) that you admire. Type out a paragraph from it word-for-word while paying close attention to the author’s writing style, tone, and voice. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play six Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty and a round on Medium difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 5 minutes. • Play today’s Wordle. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random prompt on The Most Dangerous Random Prompt Generator. Build on the prompt for 5 minutes. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Days 10 – 11
| Day #10 • Twelve-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Copyworking exercise: Choose a piece of writing (novel, magazine article, essay, etc.) that you admire. Type out two paragraphs from it word-for-word while paying close attention to the author’s writing style, tone, and voice. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play six Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty and two rounds on Medium difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 5 minutes. • Play today’s Wordle. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random prompt on The Most Dangerous Random Prompt Generator. Build on the prompt for 5 minutes. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
| Day #11 • Thirteen-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Copyworking exercise: Choose a piece of writing (novel, magazine article, essay, etc.) that you admire. Type out three paragraphs from it word-for-word while paying close attention to the author’s writing style, tone, and voice. • Visit The New York Times’ Word of the Day page and create three sentences using today’s featured word. Save the word by writing it in a journal or flashcard. • Play six Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty and three rounds on Medium difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Utilize the saved words from the “Word of the Day” exercises in Days 9, 10, and 11 to write a paragraph that incorporates all three words. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random word on RandomWordGenerator.com, and then attempt to write at least 100 words about it within 5 minutes. • Play today’s Wordle. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random prompt on The Most Dangerous Random Prompt Generator. Build on the prompt for 3 minutes. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Days 12 – 13
| Day #12 REST DAY |
| Day #13 • Fourteen-minute freewriting exercise on The Most Dangerous Writing App. • Copyworking exercise: Choose a piece of writing (novel, magazine article, essay, etc.) that you admire. Type out a page from it word-for-word while paying close attention to the author’s writing style, tone, and voice. • Play six Knoword rounds (1.5 minutes) on Easy difficulty, three rounds on Medium difficulty, and a round on Hard difficulty. • Guided writing exercise: Utilize the saved words from the “Word of the Day” exercises from Day 1 to 11 and write a whole page worth of content that incorporates all of those words. • Play today’s Wordle. • Guided writing exercise: Generate a random prompt on The Most Dangerous Random Prompt Generator. Build on the prompt for 3 minutes. • For typists: spend five minutes on the Keybr app. |
Day 14 – the finish line
| Day #14: Measuring Your Progress • A repeat of the activity from Day 0: Again, write a 1000-word essay, fiction piece, or poem on a topic of your choice. Complete it as quickly as possible. • Time yourself while writing. Once finished, take note of how much faster you were able to write 1000 words compared to when you first started. • Head on over to TypingTest.com and take a one-minute typing test. If handwriting, copy the same excerpt provided by the site by hand. Take note of how much faster you can write or type in one minute compared to when you first started on Day 0. |
What if I don’t have time to learn how to write a book faster?
If you really need to have your book written fast but don’t have time to write it yourself or to learn how to improve your writing speed, there are other book-writing options that are available to you.
One option is to use dictation software like Google Docs Voice Typing, Apple Dictation, Dragon, and others. Novelist Chris Fox consistently manages to produce 5,000 words in an hour through voice dictation alone.
Alternatively, you can outsource your book by hiring a ghostwriter. Leaders Press specializes in providing ghostwriting services and making bestselling authors on Amazon.
If you book a consultation with Leaders Press, you can get information about the timeline for completing your book, as well as details about niche topics and goals that will help your book succeed.
Final words
There you have it! Congratulations on making it to the end of the 14-day writing speed workout challenge.
The journey to the summit of writing efficiency doesn’t have to end here.
Though the challenge is only 14 days, we encourage you to continue your training beyond that. You can further improve your writing speed by repeating some of the exercises we have prescribed, or modifying them to better suit your needs.
Never stop striving to reach new heights in your writing. Keep pushing and good luck!
