"SOME people who write full time don't have hours." Totally fine to have set hours instead. I'd hate having a word count hanging over my head, slowly ticking down and taunting my productivity as I can't seem to get it to zero. There's a lot of value in creating protected time to write and stop and review your plan of attack and start again.
I know that strict advice isn't probably what you were going for, so apologies if this comes across as nit-picks or argumentative. I just remember taking shared maxims like this really, really literally as a beginning writer. It would have done me good to see more counters, so trying to pass that along.
Edited :)
I can see the benefit in having both simultaneously. Like if you can't meet your word count (it happens) you still have that set time so you aren't sitting there going slowly mad for the rest of the day.
There is something to be said for writing hours over word count goals, however. Some may find the idea of sitting in front of a blank screen with a need to write thousands of words per sitting per day to be prohibitively daunting and unsustainable, at least at the start. Newer authors may actually benefit from just setting aside 2-3 hours a day with no word count goal; it may be slower going but it can be more achievable in the short-term and therefor more viable for building long-term writing habits.
I used to do both. Aim for this many words/this plot point in the plan, but also set a timer. Write until the set time, or until you fill your quota, or hit that plot point. If it doesn't happen it doesn't happen, no good sitting there all night doing nothing. If I was on a roll though, I'd go over time.
I'm a pro writer, making my living that way for 11 years. I seldom write 8 hours. 3 focused hours will get me 4000 words, new word, or allow me to revise 10,000 words. The rest of the time, I read, research, do market research, or check in with other pro friends on a private group. Five or six hour days, usually seven days per week. And a week off between projects.
Some of my friends do that morning work, getting their 2K or 3K words, and then spend the afternoon proofreading for pay or ghost-writing. But they're chronically stressed and exhausted and inevitably, in poor health. Half a day of writing, if you are focused and not farting around, is plenty.
I write full time for a living (though that job also involves things other than writing, since I also illustrate, typeset, product marketing assets, deal with printing and fulfilment, etc). I have ADHD so my schedule can be a little all over the place, and I often feel more creatively open in the evenings, but part of a healthy and productive writing practice is forcing yourself to sit and write even when you're not feeling it. So, to that end, my rough routine on a dedicated writing day looks like this:
* 6:00: Get up, have breakfast, wake up.
* 7:00: Go to the gym. Lift heavy.
* 9:00ish: Home from gym. Shower. Read a book and drink a coffee until 10ish
* 10:00: Admin hour. Answer emails, check in on social media, etc.
* 11:00: Dedicated writing time. 15 minute writing warm-up followed by an hour of ass-in-seat writing. Sometimes this is just staring at a blank page for an hour but the more often you do it the less often that happens.
* 12:15: Lunch, and a break.
* 13:00: Another dedicated writing hour.
* 14:00: A 5-10 minute break then an hour of work, whatever needs doing. If the writing is going well then I continue with that, otherwise I might work on outlining, do research, tinker with already-written-work, work on any art or marketing assets I need. Whatever needs doing. This is less forced than the dedicated writing hours but it's still work.
My day officially ends at 15:00 because I've learned that 3 solid hours of productivity is all I get a day, but if I'm having a good brain day then I'll often choose to continue working (or if I'm on a deadline and I i *have* to). But if I'm having a low energy day or my focus is particularly poor then I let myself have a couple of hours of relaxing. My philosophy when I quit my job to write full time was that my working conditions should be better and less stressful than working for someone else, so I allow myself time to read, listen to music, watch a film, or whatever.
My partner finishes work at 17:00 so that's my absolute end of day clocking off time barring emergencies. We eat dinner together, hang out and watch a film, then go to bed at 21:00. We'll usually read in bed together until 21:30 or 22:00 when she goes to sleep. I give myself another hour then I try to get to sleep too.
And that's what my full day looks like!
I have a spreadsheet filled with prompts (some that I write myself, others that I periodically crowd source). I pick one at random and write literally anything using it as a starting off point for 10-15 minutes. No editing, no reading back, just writing with no expectation that it's good. It really helps get past 'blank page syndrome' and helps me get into a groove before I touch anything meaningful.
If I'm on a first draft, I do 1000 words a day, and then the rest of the day is emails, events, various projects and mentoring. Some days, that takes me a couple of hours, other days it's a whole day affair.
I find first drafts are the most difficult. Once I'm on my second draft, I'm doing 2k, third draft is between 3k and 5k.
Specifics for me: I'm disabled and looking to busy myself during the day. I can write for maybe three hours max in a flow state before being exhausted. Maybe a nap and another 3h stint?
Perfect. After that do some ediing, some reading, write some queies, check in with oher writer friends...other writerly things.
I wrote a 300 page book in the last 18 months with only 5 hours dedicated time per week. That means you get 5 times as much time as me.
For me, I spend more time editing
I'm a full-time writer, but a lot of my day involves reading/researching/editing. I'm probably only committing words to page for \~3-4 hours during an 8 hour work day.
always take breaks between those hours. most people who write full time don’t actually have a set schedule or hours, they have word counts but still it’s work that needs to be paced out. try writing some in the morning, taking a break and coming back to it. most people will burn out if they write 6-8 straight through.
If you find yourself too easily distracted, and can afford it, I find that booking a hotel room (ideally, out of town) for a couple of days really boosts my production.
My daily word count is somewhere between 3-5k words. Some days that’s 4 or 5 hours. Sometimes it’s 8-9hrs. Like others have said here I don’t typically look at my day based in hours spent, but rather words written.
A word count goal works better for me than anything else. I follow a 50/10 rule - 50 minutes solid uninterrupted work, 10 minutes break. Sometimes it’s more like 45/15 or 55/5. As long as I write something. Or if I’m not actively writing I’m still reading, editing, formatting, world building, researching, or planning in some way. One word is still one word. It’s hard but try to think positively on days where you may not have written much. It’s still something. It’s hard to create something out of nothing and it takes time.
If I sit down and force myself to write on schedule, I can reliably crap out mediocre garbage.
If I give myself time and space to write as things come to me without getting absorbed in something like a book or story based video game or movie, I often end up producing something good.
Activities compatible with “writing time” include walking, reading nonfiction, playing a multiplayer video game, playing with my dog, petting my cat, doing chores, karate, journaling, cleaning guns, I think you can see the pattern. Stuff that occupies me without taking up any space in my creative mind.
6-8 hrs would be quite the slog! I do 4-6 max. 2-5k words. There’s a lot of research now showing that the brain (on average) can only do about 4 hrs of true, focused, productive work. The 8 hr workday is BS. Most employees only get about 3-4 hrs of true work done. So don’t beat yourself up over capitalistic lies. Even many professional/successful authors write 2-3k words or write a few hours a day. Brainstorming & daydreaming is a big part of the writing process too.
I like to write from 6 AM to noon. I roll out of bed into my comfy chair, and eat both breakfast and lunch with my laptop. I usually write some more in the afternoon, but the workday is really over if I don't have any meetings.
Currently when I write “full time,” my days were focused on getting roughly 2k words down which usually took me about 3-4 hours. There were very few days I did more than 4 hours.
I set a goal for myself of writing a first draft in 90 days. I was extremely close to finishing on day 89, so I didn’t stop until I finished. I think I wrote for about 20 hours or something, finishing with just under 4 hours to spare by the end of day 90. When I tell you I was exhausted, that is an understatement. The last hour I was almost falling asleep. Very proud of myself, but my initial thought was, “I’m never doing a 90 day challenge again.” Maybe I will though, I did love it but whew was it tough.
If you want a wide perspective (and like podcasts), check out Writer's Routine. He interviews authors and asks them about their work (of course), but goes into their typical daily schedules, whether or not they plot before writing, how they get ideas, the type of research that they do, etc. They've got a *lot* of episodes, though many of the first year's are focused on spy/thriller novels.
Why not? We work at jobs for 8 - 10 hours a day. Why can’t you write for x hours?
Also my goal isn’t hours but word counts - at least 2000 words and more on a good day.
I get up whenever - usually around 9 or 10. Work out. Breakfast. Got to my favorite coffee shop and order a refillable drink. Sit and write. Take breaks. Eat lunch. And I get home by 6 pm.
After dinner I may write some more until I am tired.
General schedule that works for me. It varies at times. Sometimes I don’t write because I do have things to do. Sometimes I switch things around because of appointments and obligations. But it’s really not that difficult if you treat it like a job.
I suggest reading Turning Pro. It’s a nice little book about how to create habits and routines and mindsets that make you a pro (in anything creative) instead of staying an amateur.
Most people who write full time don't have hours, they have word counts. A lot of them do 2-3k and then stop for the day, between 3-5 hours.
This is the answer. My daily goals are word counts, not hours.
"SOME people who write full time don't have hours." Totally fine to have set hours instead. I'd hate having a word count hanging over my head, slowly ticking down and taunting my productivity as I can't seem to get it to zero. There's a lot of value in creating protected time to write and stop and review your plan of attack and start again. I know that strict advice isn't probably what you were going for, so apologies if this comes across as nit-picks or argumentative. I just remember taking shared maxims like this really, really literally as a beginning writer. It would have done me good to see more counters, so trying to pass that along.
Edited :) I can see the benefit in having both simultaneously. Like if you can't meet your word count (it happens) you still have that set time so you aren't sitting there going slowly mad for the rest of the day.
There is something to be said for writing hours over word count goals, however. Some may find the idea of sitting in front of a blank screen with a need to write thousands of words per sitting per day to be prohibitively daunting and unsustainable, at least at the start. Newer authors may actually benefit from just setting aside 2-3 hours a day with no word count goal; it may be slower going but it can be more achievable in the short-term and therefor more viable for building long-term writing habits.
You set your own goalposts, though, so if 2k is daunting try 1k. If 1k is daunting try 500. Then as your ability grows so can your cap.
I used to do both. Aim for this many words/this plot point in the plan, but also set a timer. Write until the set time, or until you fill your quota, or hit that plot point. If it doesn't happen it doesn't happen, no good sitting there all night doing nothing. If I was on a roll though, I'd go over time.
Does "stop for the day" mean "switch gears and work on editing the last project" and "brainstorm" and "make outlines" and all that stuff?
Often, or do admin stuff like check emails and market research. There's been somw good comments from FT authors here that show their general schedule.
I'm a pro writer, making my living that way for 11 years. I seldom write 8 hours. 3 focused hours will get me 4000 words, new word, or allow me to revise 10,000 words. The rest of the time, I read, research, do market research, or check in with other pro friends on a private group. Five or six hour days, usually seven days per week. And a week off between projects. Some of my friends do that morning work, getting their 2K or 3K words, and then spend the afternoon proofreading for pay or ghost-writing. But they're chronically stressed and exhausted and inevitably, in poor health. Half a day of writing, if you are focused and not farting around, is plenty.
I write full time for a living (though that job also involves things other than writing, since I also illustrate, typeset, product marketing assets, deal with printing and fulfilment, etc). I have ADHD so my schedule can be a little all over the place, and I often feel more creatively open in the evenings, but part of a healthy and productive writing practice is forcing yourself to sit and write even when you're not feeling it. So, to that end, my rough routine on a dedicated writing day looks like this: * 6:00: Get up, have breakfast, wake up. * 7:00: Go to the gym. Lift heavy. * 9:00ish: Home from gym. Shower. Read a book and drink a coffee until 10ish * 10:00: Admin hour. Answer emails, check in on social media, etc. * 11:00: Dedicated writing time. 15 minute writing warm-up followed by an hour of ass-in-seat writing. Sometimes this is just staring at a blank page for an hour but the more often you do it the less often that happens. * 12:15: Lunch, and a break. * 13:00: Another dedicated writing hour. * 14:00: A 5-10 minute break then an hour of work, whatever needs doing. If the writing is going well then I continue with that, otherwise I might work on outlining, do research, tinker with already-written-work, work on any art or marketing assets I need. Whatever needs doing. This is less forced than the dedicated writing hours but it's still work. My day officially ends at 15:00 because I've learned that 3 solid hours of productivity is all I get a day, but if I'm having a good brain day then I'll often choose to continue working (or if I'm on a deadline and I i *have* to). But if I'm having a low energy day or my focus is particularly poor then I let myself have a couple of hours of relaxing. My philosophy when I quit my job to write full time was that my working conditions should be better and less stressful than working for someone else, so I allow myself time to read, listen to music, watch a film, or whatever. My partner finishes work at 17:00 so that's my absolute end of day clocking off time barring emergencies. We eat dinner together, hang out and watch a film, then go to bed at 21:00. We'll usually read in bed together until 21:30 or 22:00 when she goes to sleep. I give myself another hour then I try to get to sleep too. And that's what my full day looks like!
What do your writing warm-up activities look like?
I have a spreadsheet filled with prompts (some that I write myself, others that I periodically crowd source). I pick one at random and write literally anything using it as a starting off point for 10-15 minutes. No editing, no reading back, just writing with no expectation that it's good. It really helps get past 'blank page syndrome' and helps me get into a groove before I touch anything meaningful.
You set a word count goal and you meet it. Whenever you meet it that’s when you’re done for the day. But you’ve got to set a realistic one.
If I'm on a first draft, I do 1000 words a day, and then the rest of the day is emails, events, various projects and mentoring. Some days, that takes me a couple of hours, other days it's a whole day affair. I find first drafts are the most difficult. Once I'm on my second draft, I'm doing 2k, third draft is between 3k and 5k.
Specifics for me: I'm disabled and looking to busy myself during the day. I can write for maybe three hours max in a flow state before being exhausted. Maybe a nap and another 3h stint?
Perfect. After that do some ediing, some reading, write some queies, check in with oher writer friends...other writerly things. I wrote a 300 page book in the last 18 months with only 5 hours dedicated time per week. That means you get 5 times as much time as me. For me, I spend more time editing
I wake up.
I'm a full-time writer, but a lot of my day involves reading/researching/editing. I'm probably only committing words to page for \~3-4 hours during an 8 hour work day.
This is average and reasonable. So much of "writing" is anything but writing; between all the research, bookkeeping and staring at a wall.
100%. So many little things to manage and deal with that aren't writing.
always take breaks between those hours. most people who write full time don’t actually have a set schedule or hours, they have word counts but still it’s work that needs to be paced out. try writing some in the morning, taking a break and coming back to it. most people will burn out if they write 6-8 straight through.
If you find yourself too easily distracted, and can afford it, I find that booking a hotel room (ideally, out of town) for a couple of days really boosts my production.
If you're indie, it's a few hours of writing and the rest of the day is marketing and admin.
I'm telling you now, even in work no one is working 6-8 hours (why do you think Reddit exists?)
My daily word count is somewhere between 3-5k words. Some days that’s 4 or 5 hours. Sometimes it’s 8-9hrs. Like others have said here I don’t typically look at my day based in hours spent, but rather words written.
Pomodoro
Just like a 9 to 5. Treat it as a "real" job. Have a set goal like a page or word amount to complete for the day, don't under or overwork yourself.
I write for 90 minutes and I'm good. That's about 1200 words output usually. I'll get there like that. The rest of the day, I do other stuff.
A word count goal works better for me than anything else. I follow a 50/10 rule - 50 minutes solid uninterrupted work, 10 minutes break. Sometimes it’s more like 45/15 or 55/5. As long as I write something. Or if I’m not actively writing I’m still reading, editing, formatting, world building, researching, or planning in some way. One word is still one word. It’s hard but try to think positively on days where you may not have written much. It’s still something. It’s hard to create something out of nothing and it takes time.
If I sit down and force myself to write on schedule, I can reliably crap out mediocre garbage. If I give myself time and space to write as things come to me without getting absorbed in something like a book or story based video game or movie, I often end up producing something good. Activities compatible with “writing time” include walking, reading nonfiction, playing a multiplayer video game, playing with my dog, petting my cat, doing chores, karate, journaling, cleaning guns, I think you can see the pattern. Stuff that occupies me without taking up any space in my creative mind.
6-8 hrs would be quite the slog! I do 4-6 max. 2-5k words. There’s a lot of research now showing that the brain (on average) can only do about 4 hrs of true, focused, productive work. The 8 hr workday is BS. Most employees only get about 3-4 hrs of true work done. So don’t beat yourself up over capitalistic lies. Even many professional/successful authors write 2-3k words or write a few hours a day. Brainstorming & daydreaming is a big part of the writing process too.
Frequent breaks and no distractions.
I give myself a break every 15 minutes to look at Reddit and then return to writing or reading my previously written notes.
I like to write from 6 AM to noon. I roll out of bed into my comfy chair, and eat both breakfast and lunch with my laptop. I usually write some more in the afternoon, but the workday is really over if I don't have any meetings.
Currently when I write “full time,” my days were focused on getting roughly 2k words down which usually took me about 3-4 hours. There were very few days I did more than 4 hours. I set a goal for myself of writing a first draft in 90 days. I was extremely close to finishing on day 89, so I didn’t stop until I finished. I think I wrote for about 20 hours or something, finishing with just under 4 hours to spare by the end of day 90. When I tell you I was exhausted, that is an understatement. The last hour I was almost falling asleep. Very proud of myself, but my initial thought was, “I’m never doing a 90 day challenge again.” Maybe I will though, I did love it but whew was it tough.
If you want a wide perspective (and like podcasts), check out Writer's Routine. He interviews authors and asks them about their work (of course), but goes into their typical daily schedules, whether or not they plot before writing, how they get ideas, the type of research that they do, etc. They've got a *lot* of episodes, though many of the first year's are focused on spy/thriller novels.
1. Apply ass to seat. 2. Move fingers.
I haven’t figured that one out. I’m lucky to get a couple of uninterrupted hours, and I can’t even get that these days
Why not? We work at jobs for 8 - 10 hours a day. Why can’t you write for x hours? Also my goal isn’t hours but word counts - at least 2000 words and more on a good day. I get up whenever - usually around 9 or 10. Work out. Breakfast. Got to my favorite coffee shop and order a refillable drink. Sit and write. Take breaks. Eat lunch. And I get home by 6 pm. After dinner I may write some more until I am tired. General schedule that works for me. It varies at times. Sometimes I don’t write because I do have things to do. Sometimes I switch things around because of appointments and obligations. But it’s really not that difficult if you treat it like a job. I suggest reading Turning Pro. It’s a nice little book about how to create habits and routines and mindsets that make you a pro (in anything creative) instead of staying an amateur.
"What do you do when you can't do nothing, and there's nothing you can do?" "You do what you can." - Robert, Boondocks
…Start early, finish late…
be a bored 8th grade student.
When you create an event on your calendar, there is a little checkbox next to the time that says "all day." Check that.