Why It's Better to Write Slower During a Rewrite

I feel like the writing community is really big on speed. I was browsing Pinterest last night and all of these posts like "how to write faster", "how to write 10,000 words in a day", etc. kept coming up. It's obvious speed is valued when it comes to writing. Especially with the massive popularity of Nanowrimo. For those who don't know, Nanowrimo takes place during November, national writing month. The goal is to write an entire novel (50,000 words) in a month. Which is a great goal. And I think Nano definitely gets people writing. And that's the most important thing isn't it? Putting words down on a page. I myself am an extremely fast writer. I can crank out 1,500 to 2,000 words an hour when I'm hammering out my first draft. And I think that's a good thing.

Getting the words out quickly initially is a good thing.

But what about what comes next? The dreaded revisions. There are some authors who like revising. They are clearly not human because revisions are quite possibly the most painful thing I've ever experienced. It is awful. I just started a complete rewrite of my current WIP after weeks of character profiling, world-building, plotting and creating my magic system. And at first, I thought there was something wrong with me. 

I wasn't cranking out the words as quickly as usual.

Why? Because I was really thinking and contemplating the words I was choosing. I was working on making sure what I was writing conveyed who my characters were. I was focusing more on the tiny little nuances that make a world, that build a character. And that my friends, is where the magic happens. 

First drafts are for word vomiting. Second drafts are for actually writing something good.

My first draft is horrid. A 3rd grader could probably write a better book. Okay, maybe not quite, but it's pretty awful. I just needed to get the words on the page so I had a somewhat loose idea of what the story is actually going to look like by the end. Call it my version of plotting... But now that I have a plot and character sheets sitting in front of my face while I write, I find myself slowing down and taking my time. Choosing my words carefully. You know the famous saying "think before you speak"? 

Think before you rewrite. 

This is my newest slogan. I went back and reread my first chapter of my rewrite and guess what? I wasn't entirely unhappy with it. It still needs work, but I'm actually mildly pleased with how it turned out. And I know that it's because I slowed down and took my time. It will take longer to complete this rewrite. But the quality of the writing is going to be 5,000 times better. This isn't just applicable to writing though. 

Sometimes you have to slow down in life in order to achieve success.

You can't rush a good thing. Do billionaires make their money overnight? Unless they won the lottery, then the answer is no. They woke up early every day and slowly ground away at their goals until they achieved them. And they continue to do that every day to keep their billions. Writing is no different. It doesn't matter if you write 10,000 words a day or 100 words a day. What matters is the quality of those words. Are they words you're happy with or are they words that you're going to have to go back and rewrite again? For the 3rd or 4th time? I urge you to slow down during your rewrites. Take the time to contemplate your words and your goals. Slow and steady wins the race. 

Are you fast writer or slower? Do you vomit out your first drafts like me? What's your revision process? Do you find yourself writing slower during revisions? Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?