Yes, there is a faster way to write in UDF filesystem in CD/DVD. It called packet writing, introduced with UDF version 1.50.

In short, packet writing it is a way to write to CD/DVD or other media in a manner similar to reading, writing, deleting from a normal folder. This method supports both CD/DVD write-once media as well as Rewritable media. Obviously, you won't get back the free space if you delete something from write-once media like CD-R, DVD+R, DVD-R etc.

The packet writing with UDF filesystem should be supported in kernel level and the support is default since kernel 2.6.10. For more information about kernel support in debian systems, look at this page.

The detailed procedure was described in this page under the section Formatting and using a UDF DVD-RW or CD-RW for packet writing. Don't be confused with the step 3 (which creates an empty session) with the creation of a large file with UDF filesystem. That process was listed just after this one, which is not packet writing.

Update: For convenience of the viewer, I'm quoting the procedure section here.

Formatting and using a UDF DVD-RW or CD-RW for packet writing

-------------------------------------------------------------



The commands differ depending on whether you are using DVD or CD

media.



1) Edit /etc/default/udftools and add your drive for packet writing.

For example, if your CD/DVD writer is /dev/hdc and you want it

available as the default /dev/pktcdvd/0, then use the setting

"DEVICES=/dev/hdc". Execute "/etc/init.d/udftools start" afterwards to

register the device.



If the device name /dev/hdc differs on your system, adjust the

following commands as appropriate.



2) Prepare the medium in restricted overwrite mode:



DVD-RW: dvd+rw-format -force /dev/hdc

 CD-RW: Do nothing, skip this step!



3) Write an empty session spanning the whole medium. It seems that

without this step, any attempt to create the UDF filesystem will fail.



DVD-RW: growisofs -Z /dev/hdc=/dev/zero

 CD-RW: cdrwtool -d /dev/hdc -q



4) Format the packet device in UDF format.



DVD-RW: mkudffs --udfrev=0x0150 --spartable=2 --media-type=dvdrw /dev/pktcdvd/0

 CD-RW: mkudffs --udfrev=0x0150 --spartable=2 --media-type=cdrw /dev/pktcdvd/0



The parameters require some more explanation: For --udfrev, use either

0x0150 for UDF version 1.50, or 0x0201 for UDF version 2.01. The

version decision has mostly to do with compatibility:

  - Windows 98/ME can read up to v1.02

  - Windows 2000, Mac OS 9, Linux 2.4 can read up to v1.50

  - Windows 2003/XP can read up to v2.01

  - Linux 2.6 can read up to v2.60

For normal data, UDF 1.50 is OK. UDF 2.00 and 2.01 introduce

additional functionality for streaming audio/video.



Possible values for --media-type are: hd dvdram dvdrw worm mo cdrw cdr.

Use the one appropriate for your medium/device.



5) Mount the disc. The "noatime" option is important: It will reduce

the amount of writes to the device and thus increase its lifetime. You

may first have to create the mount directory using "mkdir

/media/dvd0":



  mount -t udf -o rw,noatime /dev/pktcdvd/0 /media/dvd0



The "sync" mount option might also be useful, but will typically cause

an increased number of write accesses to the medium. From now on, the

root user can access the filesystem under /media/dvd0 using read and

write operations.



6) If regular users should also have write access, modify the

permissions as follows _while the filesystem is mounted_:



  chgrp plugdev /media/dvd0       # Set group ownership to "plugdev"

  chmod g+rwx /media/dvd0         # Give full read/write access to group



Now all users who should have access to the disc need to be added to

the "plugdev" group using "adduser <username> plugdev".



To also allow these users to mount and unmount/eject the medium, you

can use either of these two routes:



 - Install the "pmount" package and add the device to the list of

   allowed devices using "echo /dev/pktcdvd/0 >>/etc/pmount.allow".

   All members of the group "plugdev" will then be able to mount the

   disc using "pmount /dev/pktcdvd/0 dvd0" and unmount it using

   "pumount /media/dvd0".



 - Add a line like the following to /etc/fstab:

   /dev/pktcdvd/0 /media/dvd0 udf rw,noatime,users,noauto 0 0

   This will enable _all_ users to mount the disc using

   "mount /media/dvd0" and unmount it with

   "umount /media/dvd0". However, with the permissions from step 5)

   above, only the members of group "plugdev" ought to be able to

   write to it.