I am a slow writer.
I’m also a slow reader, so I suppose it makes sense. Not slow as in I have trouble with comprehension, but I’ve always taken my time reading. If there’s a passage I really like, I’ll re-read it before going on. When I read, I imagine everything unfolding like a movie in my mind, and I pay attention to details to create that world in my head.
I remember when the last Harry Potter book came out, some friends read it in several hours. That was just unimaginable to me. Not just because I got the book at midnight and had to be up at 5 a.m. for a flight to California, but because I can’t imagine speeding through the book that quickly. It’s not a judgement — I know many people who can read and enjoy books much faster than I can and I don’t think they’re doing it wrong. It’s just not how I operate.
On Saturday I spent the afternoon and evening dedicated to writing the first chapter of a new book. I turned off my web browser and the siren song of Gmail — since I can’t see that (1) and not click on it. I was engrossed in writing, and I’m really pleased with the outcome.
Which was 2,521 words.
Nothing to sneeze at, but I know many writers who would have triple that after working the same amount of time. I know when I’ve worked hard and when I’ve slacked off, and I didn’t slack off. So perhaps it’s time to accept that in this race, I’m a tortoise, despite my aspirations for speed. Especially since I really only get quality writing time on the weekends because I write 9 to 5 during the week at my day job. After all the day at the computer more writing at home is not very appealing.
Ah, well. I won’t ever write a novel in a month, but slow and steady wins the race. Are you a tortoise or a hare when it comes to reading and writing?
I am exactly like you. I savor a book when I read it. There have been a few rare cases in which I couldn’t put a book down and zoomed through it, but that’s rare for me. I’m the same with writing. Even if the fic I’m writing ends up being only 2,000 words, if I’m not pushing against a deadline, I’ll still write it in pieces instead of all in one sitting.
So, yay for being a tortoise ;D
Tortoises unite! Sometimes if I really love a book or story, I’ll even drag it out longer to make it last.
I am one of those who devour a book in a day if I can. I finished all 3 books in the Hunger Games Trilogy in 4 days. I would have been done in 3 but on Saturday I had two different showers to go to so those interrupted my reading.
If I’m reading a book that I’m really into I have to know what else happens and don’t want to wait. If there are passages that I really like, I will bookmark them so I can come back to them later.
Sometimes I like delayed gratification, but I understand needing to know what happens. There’s the odd time I’ll read faster because of it.
I’m a tortoise when it comes to reading for the much the same reason you are, but a hare when it comes to writing. A hare with lots of rests along the way. Which explains why slow and steady wins the race, my friend. Slow and steady wins the race.
Heh. A hare with a lot on her plate is how I’d classify you!
I’m a hare if I have no distractions. Unfortunately, I always have distractions. Even if it’s as simple as a cat sitting on my lap.
If I go away somewhere with no internet, I can read three books and write about 20,000 words in a week. I guess I’m just too easily distracted.
I think if I had a whole week with no distractions and no word, it might be different. But that just never happens, unfortunately!
As far as reading is concerned, I have no idea. This is because I suffer from pretty extreme ADHD and can not focus on a single thing to save my life. Usually I am in the middle of reading any where from 3 to half a dozen books at a time, switching between them depending on which story I am more keen on at that point in time. This doesn’t give me any sort of accurate gauge by which to determine how quickly I actually read…It is extremely rare for me to ever be working through a single book at a time, and given that in any given reading session I might put down one and pick up another any number of times…well…I have no idea.
But when it comes to writing I am a machine. I have often been told I astound people by the sheer speed with which I can write. I say can because the reality is that I don’t always apply myself with the intensity I am capable of (we’re back to the ADHD thing and during writing I’ll have a movie playing on netflix, something on the tele, music going in one ear and often several conversations I’m half-assedly participating in online.) But when I sit down and shut down the major distractions (Music is never turned off, ever, for any reason – silence leaves me alone with the chaos in my head and that is never a good thing), I can rip through thousands of words in record breaking time. My first manuscript tipped the scales at over 63,000 words and was completed in less than 3 months (while attending college full time). I once wrote a complete 12 page short story in 2 hours (with distracting phone calls and chats coming in). I write, fully aware this will sound like ego and bravado, as if I am some sort of android. When I write, I write full speed ahead. But this also means when I am not writing…I am really not writing.
Thanks for your comment, JD! That’s really interesting. The ability to do something full speed ahead without distractions is something I need to work on. I get easily distracted by the internet. To wit, I am here answering comments instead of writing!