We introduce a model describing real-time grating formation in holographic photopolymers, under the assumption that the diffusion of free monomers is much faster than the grating formation. This model, which combines polymerization kinetics with results from coupled-wave theory, indicates that the grating formation time depends sublinearly on the average holographic recording intensity, and the beam intensity ratio controls the grating index modulation at saturation. We validate the model by comparing its predictions with the results of experiments in which DuPont HRF-150X001 photopolymer was used.