: Re: How can I cut my prep work to get to writing more quickly? When it comes to fiction writing, I love creating characters and watching them run with the story under my pen. I spend a lot

@Pope4766717

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This is a common problem. I myself conquered this only last year. There is no one reason and no two writers suffer from the same set of reasons in the same proportion. But here are some things to try out:

Freewriting exercises - Whenever you feel like it, open up your note book or your word processor and just start writing. Start with any old nonsensical sentence or scene that comes to your mind and build it up. I once started an exercise with "Mr. Frost popped another banana into his mouth..." It became a short story of intergalactic intrigue and comedy (I never finished it though, but that's okay). Keep doing this until sentence formation comes to you naturally. This may take months!
Prep work is definitely a plus. But avoid analysis paralysis. Go for more depth and less scope, initially. For example, paint your scenes and events in your head in detail. What are the characters wearing? What color are the walls? What are their facial expressions? What are the trees like? What are the sounds you hear? Build it up from there. Character motivations, back stories can be built in after you gather some writing momentum.
When you master the above two abilities, going from a scene in your head to a paragraph is easy. It just takes practice. It's kind of like learning the guitar -- first you think it's anatomically impossible to hold those chords but you keep trying because you see people with much smaller hands do it. Similarly, know that it can be done and just keep practicing and trying different things till you get it.
Check your writing tool. It may be putting you off. If you use a word processor, try switching to pen and paper for a while. Or, try a less cluttered word processor. After many years, I found that applications like Microsoft Word do not work for me. I hate worrying about saving and backup. A cloud based editor solved the problem.
This answer has some additional points that may be relevant.
Keep going until you develop the habit. If you can, find a trusted friend with a good understanding and taste for your particular genre. Share chapters with him/her as you progress. You might find that this helps you not to abandon projects mid-way.

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