How long does it take you to write a 500 word article?

It takes me about the same length of time, especially if the article is an opinion. I too, am a writer.

If it's a subject I'm passionate about, it doesn't take me long at all. Have you ever read The 30-Minute Writer? It's about freelancing and using 30 minute chunks to work on several projects at once.

It really depends what it's on. If it's an article about something that I already know all about and don't have to do any research, maybe 30 minutes or so. It's hard to say though, as I almost never do word counts.

30 minutes is normal for me if I'm writing an opinion work or a story with a few facts that I can just get off a search engine. 500 words is two typed pages (according to publication rules about one page being 250 words or ten words per line...I'm sure we ALL know that rule if we've tried publishing books).

If I'm familar with the topic a 500 word article can take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour! I'd say you are normal! :)

I'm curious: Who do you write for that doesn't want research??

I don't think that's strange. If I'm not distracted, I usually can write one in about 30 minutes or maybe quicker if I really know my topic and know where I want to go with it. Sometimes it takes me longer though, but usually I get distracted or have to do so many other things at the same time.