5 Tips to Edit Your Writing Faster

⏱️ 7 min read

⚡ The Art of the Swift Edit

Writing is an act of creation; editing is an act of destruction. It is the process of carving away the unessential to reveal the masterpiece within. However, for many writers, editing feels like a slog—a never-ending cycle of re-reading and second-guessing. It doesn't have to be this way.

Professional editors and prolific writers have developed systems to edit not just better, but significantly faster. By changing your workflow and leveraging the right tools, you can slash your editing time in half while improving the quality of your output. Here are five professional tips to speed up your editorial process.

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1. Separate Writing from Editing (Completely)

The single biggest killer of writing speed is the "editing while writing" trap. When you stop to fix a typo or rephrase a sentence mid-paragraph, you are switching between two different brain modes: the creative (generative) and the critical (analytical). This constant context switching drains your mental energy and slows you down.

2. Use Data to Guide Your Cuts

Subjective editing ("Does this sound good?") takes time. Objective editing ("Is this sentence too long?") is fast. Use tools to give you objective data about your writing density.

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  Paragraph Length: Huge walls of text scare readers away. Use our Word Counter to check your visual density. If a paragraph is over 5-6 lines, find a natural break point.
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  Sentence Variety: Monitor your sentence lengths. If you have five long sentences in a row, your reader will get exhausted. Mix short, punchy sentences with longer, flowing ones.

3. Listen to Your Text (Literally)

Your eyes can trick you. They are trained to skip over missing words or correct typos automatically. Your ears, however, verify everything. Reading your work aloud—or better yet, having a computer read it to you—is the fastest way to catch awkward phrasing and repetition.

Pro Tip: Use the "Read Aloud" feature in Word or a browser extension. If the robotic voice stumbles or runs out of breath, your sentence is too complex. Cut it.

4. The "Search and Destroy" Method

We all have "crutch words"—words we lean on when we are unsure. Common culprits include "very," "really," "just," "actually," and "that." Instead of reading the whole piece linearly, do a Ctrl + F search for these weak words and delete them.

This method is incredibly fast because you aren't reading for meaning; you are hunting for targets. Eliminating these fluff words tightens your prose instantly.

5. Let It Cool Down

It sounds counterintuitive to "wait" when you want to be faster, but editing immediately after writing is inefficient. You are too close to the work. You remember what you meant to say, not what you actually wrote.

Step away for 10 minutes. Go for a walk. When you return with "fresh eyes," errors will jump off the page, and you won't waste time wrestling with sentences that you should just delete entirely.

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Summary: Efficiency = Quality

Editing faster doesn't mean doing a worse job. It means removing the friction from the process. By separating your workflow, using data tools like our Editor Counter, and relying on your ears as much as your eyes, you can turn the chore of editing into a streamlined, satisfying finish to your writing projects.