So, how long does it take to write 1,000 words online?

Let’s make this spicy, shall we? I’ll time myself writing this very article. I’m aiming for 1,000 words and hope to get it done within the next hour. 

But first, let me answer the question..

How long does it take to write 1,000 words online, for me?

It takes me about an hour. I swear to everything holy. How? I’ve written some 1,000 blog posts online since 2016 — so I’ve had a lot of practice. I also don’t inhibit my hands from typing what my mind tells them to type.

I just go. Off to the races. For you, it’s likely a different story, and for everyone else it’s likely different, too. To answer this question, we need to clarify WHY we’re writing 1,000 words.

We’re not talking about mindlessly writing 1,000 words for some transcription service. We’re talking about this: How long does it take to write 1,000 words for a future blog post?

Or maybe even a research paper for school. Anything that’s about 1,000 words, and isn’t mindlessly written for some transcription service is fair game here.

Let’s answer the question once and for all.

How long does it take to write 1,000 words?

It should take you anywhere from 1–3 hours. 

Of course there’s outliers here. There’s people who can blast through 1,000 words like they’re Lois Lane or something. There’s also folks who couldn’t write 1,000 words in under three hours if they drank 13 cups of coffee.

I understand that and I get that. 

Generally, though, you should be able to get 1,000 words down in under three hours. If you can’t, you’re probably checking Facebook way too often or something. 

Why does it take that long to write 1,000 words, Tom?

Great question, reader. 

It’s not just writing, but thinking.

I spend about 5–15 minutes in front of my computer screen before I type a single word just wondering what the heck I’m going to write about that day. 

I mull the idea. I wonder whether it has legs. I try to think about my major points. If it seems I have an abundance of points to make, then I quickly snort a little white powder, then I start writi— wait, no, that’s not what happens.

I just go.

When I finally start writing, I just listen to my brain. What is my brain telling me to write? 

It takes me about ten minutes to write a good introduction, which is actually the longest part of this whole process. Once my brain gets warmed up to the act of writing, it’s a snowball effect for me. 

I write the rest of the 1,000 word article twice as fast as I wrote the introduction.

Factor research into the equation, too.

It takes me 1 hour to write a 1,000 word blog post because I almost never do any research. My blog is my diary — that’s why.

For other folks who want to do some research, this will most definitely add a lot of time to the writing process. Even with research, though, you should be able to finish in under 3 hours.

How can I start writing 1,000 word blog posts faster?

So we know the answer to the “how long does it take to write 1,000 words?” question.

It’s 1–3 hours.

If we’re below average, or if it takes us 5 hours to write 1,000 words without research, for instance, then how can we write faster?

The answer is really simple.

1. Practice a lot.

You practice a ton. How does a runner become a faster runner? They run.

It’s the same for writing. 

2. Write about something you love

Here’s another tip for you: Make sure you’re writing about something you WANT to write about. Morgan Housel, author of “The Psychology Of Money” once said that he knows an idea is a bad one if it takes him forever to get it out onto paper.

His best ideas are ones that come out like lightning from his fingers.

It’s probably taking you forever to get something down because you’re not really that “into” the idea. That’s why some of my favorite writing advice is to write about stuff that makes you angry or upset. 

I promise the words will flow like lightning.

3. Stop being a perfectionist

Somehow I’ve managed to banish perfectionism from my vocabulary. Writing, for me, is not about perfection. And what even is perfection, anyway? The perfect blog post is different for everyone. 

If you work really hard on a blog post with an Editor, you could pass that same post off to another Editor and they’ll make changes of their own.

Nothing is perfect. Writing, especially online, isn’t supposed to be all that perfect. It’s like a digital diary. Do you labor over every sentence in your personal diary at home?

The answer is likely a big fat no. 

Nobody will remember your blog post five minutes after they read it. They’ll likely be on to watching a cat video or something. None of this is that important. People aren’t judging you as much as you think they are. Take a chill pill and just get words down. Then press publish. Then do it again tomorrow.

How Long Does It Take To Write Other Blog Posts, According To Their Length?

I didn’t just want to answer the question of how long does it take to write 1,000 words. I also wanted to answer this same question for other lengths of blog posts.

Let’s try to do that right now.

How long does it take to write 300 words?

I’d say about 30 minutes.

How long does it take to write 500 words?

40–60 minutes.

How long does it take to write 750 words?

50–90 minutes.

How long does it take to write 1,000 words?

1–3 hours. ;)

How long does it take to write 1,500 words?

1.5–3.5 hours.

How long does it take to write 2,000 words?

2–6 hours.

How long does it take to write 5,000 words?

4–8 hours.

In Summary

Let’s summarize the major points.

• It takes 1–3 hours to write 1,000 words.
• Thinking and researching take up a lot of time.
• To write faster, practice, stop being a perfectionist, and write about stuff you enjoy writing about.

That’s the answer to the “how long does it take to write 1,000 words?” question.