It takes as long as it takes! I’m a fast writer because I spent decades working in newsrooms. I know how to gather information, organize my thoughts and express myself. I know how to look at what I’ve written and evaluate whether it needs revisions (though ideally, someone else would be doing that part). A short humor piece that requires little or no research might be quickly turned out. A longer, more analytical piece could take much longer. But sometimes short pieces take longer! Sometimes long pieces just flow! This is creative work, not assembly line work. If you try to crank out stories fast, they’ll be terrible. Writing quickly is not the goal unless there’s a murder right before the presses are about to start. However, having to write about a murder just before press time is, in fact, a very good way to learn how to focus your entire mind into turning facts into writing. But it will be just a quick recounting of facts and not your best work. The second-day news stories are usually better.

Focusing on how to get through the writing process faster is a bit like trying to make love faster. You have to ask yourself what the point is.