How fast do you write?

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There was a discussion on this board devoted to the subject of reading speed. Apparently there are fast readers and slow readers. What about writing? Just casual writing, such as posting on this board. How long does it take you to write a post of a moderate size, let's say 10 lines?

I admit that I am a slow writer. I type fast, but I make a lot of mistakes which require going back. I often stop to think of what I have already written, and to ascertain that the text is not too personal or offensive. Quite often I check words in the dictionary to make sure that I use them correctly. I also use thesaurus in Word to eliminate repeated use of the same word (usually verbs). When I am finished with writing I review the text at least twice (often many more times), improving style and catching spelling and grammar errors. With longer posts, I usually do deeper edits, deleting whole sentences and paragraphs (I usually write 25-50% more than I post). After submission I read the post again, and often find more spelling, grammar or stylistical errors. If I find more than one, I edit the post and then review it again. This I can repeat up to 5 times. I also make a copy of the post on my computer. The result is that 10-line post usually takes me half an hour to write.

[This posting is approximately 10 lines long and took me 24 minutes to write.]

I am a very fast reader, I'm also a fast writer, but is horribly messy!
Even if I write slowly its still messy though, so I write quickly anyway.

I read rather slowly, and also have a problem staying awake while I'm doing so (if it's a book, usually the computer is ok), especially at night. I often have to reread things, because my mind tends to drift away while my eyes continue moving along the page. I write rather quickly, however. If I'm making an important post, or a lengthy one, I will check over it several times, even after I've posted sometimes, and edit it as I feel is necessary. I'm currently working on a fanfiction based on Harry Potter and an anime series called "Neon Genesis Evangelion" with a group of people on another forum. We each have taken on certain roles, so it's like roleplaying, or free form acting, only with text. I edit my posts in that several times over after I've posted them, and will find myself returning to it throughout the day, fixing things that I've realized I've done wrong, or am not satisfied with.

My handwriting can be OK if I take my sweet time at it. However, for the pace needed for a college class, only I can decipher what I wrote when it comes to taking notes.

With typing, I've perfected the blind hunt and peck method and can type pretty fast using it. However my mind will often skip a beat when I type, and as a result, I'll skip typing words I thought were already in there.

Magic describes almost perfectly what I do when I make a post. I like to make sure that everything I say is written correctly and that there is no redundancy, spelling errors, or grammatical errors. Because I like my handwriting to look as best as possible, my speed is rather low. In fact, I have been diagnosed with dysgraphia, even though my handwriting looks almost perfect. I am fairly good at typing, which I have been doing since the ninth grade, so I take most of my notes on my laptop.

I am a very fast reader. I am a very slow writer. I seem to feel the need to "compose" my writing, almost like a grand musical score. It has to be just right. It might take me three or more revisions before I feel confident enough in what I have written to actually post my words to the board, or put down my pen and commit a letter to the mail, or ...or ...oh I don't even want to think about all those "no time for revision" essay tests in college!

Excellent question, I went to secretarial college so I am slightly different I think. On a manual typewriter my speed is 60 wpm, not checked on a keyboard lately. I also do shorthand so write fast and type it up after but then that's cheating

My actual handwriting is very precise and if it has to look presentable takes a long time, but if it can have the appearance of a spider jumping out of the inkwell and running round the page I can be very fast.

Debs

I have almost completely lost the ability to handwrite. I can write down an address or a shopping list. But taking notes by hand is out of the question - after two lines I get a sharp pain in my hand, letters get crooked and I have to stop. I developed this problem during last couple of years. Before that my handwriting was acceptable and legible, but by no means beautiful.

Ugh... my handwriting is awful. I've held my pencil incorrectly since I learned to write, and have not been able to correct it, so I get hand cramps very easily, especially when taking notes in class. I'm a compulsive note-taker, too, so that doesn't really help things much.

I tend to write quickly and illegibly, I can usually make out my own handwriting, but if anyone else were to look at it, it would take them awhile to decode it. I've been told that my handwriting looks "cool," but that doesn't change the fact that it doesn't serve its purpose very successfully.

On the other hand, though, if I write something private down, it's unlikely that anyone else would be able to read it.

I have absolutely horrid handwriting - but I type 71 wpm so usually I type instead of hand write . . .

I read pretty quickly, but I don't read like normal people do - I read through something and only pick out certian words and then if they are interesting I read back through it to get the gyst of the message

So, if I read that paragraph I just wrote I'd see 'read' 'quickly' 'normal people' 'words' 'interesting' and 'gyst' (becasue it is a strange looking word) and then think 'Yeah, that looks like it would be worth reading' and then read it all the way through . . .

This tends to frustrate people when I'm teaching them to use a computer program becasue I can see an error message, pick out the key words, think 'Yeah, I've seen that one before - it is dumb . . .' and then click it off all while the person I'm teaching has just realized that there is an error message . . .

It is funny . . . I'd never really thought about that before, but I guess that isn't the way that most people read . . .

im a slow reader of books, a slow writer of words, a fast reader of websites, and a fast typer of typing lol

I'm a reasonably quick reader. My writing used to be quite fast as well, but I slowed down to help tidy up my work, because it was very messy. On the computer I can type very quickly.

When I type down things on the computer, I can write rather fast, and it is easier, which is why I prefer it. I often make typing errors, but it does not take me a lot of time to correct them because I notice them right away.
But I am a slow writer when I have to handwrite. Taking notes during the lectures in college, for instance, took me a lot of time. Fortunately, I only did it once during the first lecture ; at the end of this first lecture, the teacher told me I did not have to take notes if I did not want too, because they would add the texts of the lectures on their internet sites.

Loy

I can write very quickly on the computer. My handwriting isn't that great, however. I am learning to type using the dvorak keyboard which is supposedly supposed to foster even faster typing.

Let me know how you continue with this, I'm interested because I've been wondering about learning Dvorak for awhile. But there are articles like those at the bottom of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

So it does make me question might be going on. Of course, in the end you do what's best for you.

And that being said, I consider myself to be a fast reader and writer. I don't handwrite -- it's more like a hybrid between printing and cursive where I link "e"'s to other letters. If possible, I prefer to type -- but sometimes that seems too generic and clinical too if I don't have a choice of fonts.

I'd like to read faster and increase reading comprehension at the same time. I can tell I have problems with 1000-page Stephen King novels. (For that matter, I wonder how fast HE reads?) I type with two fingers, but it's more like hunt-and-seek than any mere hunt-and-peck if you know what I mean

I am a fast reader but a slow writer. Everybody at school and at home says that my handwriting is horrible. But when I write slowly, it's OK.
I don't like typing down things on the computer because it enables me to go back and correct, add, delete things, and I spend hours on it!