How long does it take to write first draft (retrieved)

06-07-2006, 01:17 AM bsolah vbmenu_register("postmenu_631494", true);
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How long does it take you to write a first draft?
My writing has hit a low point in the last couple of days. It's really no big deal, I seem to come out of them ok, but I've been wondering how long it takes people to write a short story, you know an average one of about 2,000-4,000 words, and most importantly, do you think it's better to write the story in one sitting?
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06-07-2006, 02:24 AM Jamesaritchie vbmenu_register("postmenu_631528", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bsolah
My writing has hit a low point in the last couple of days. It's really no big deal, I seem to come out of them ok, but I've been wondering how long it takes people to write a short story, you know an average one of about 2,000-4,000 words, and most importantly, do you think it's better to write the story in one sitting?


That's such a tough question to answer. It all dpends on the particular story. So much so that I have no idea what my average time is.

I've written short stories from first draft to final in four hours that sold first time out for $1,000 or more, and I've taken weeks to write a short story I couldn't sell anywhere.

Looking through my records does give some infication of an average. I find it takes four to five hours to write the first draft of the vast majority of my short stories, and another two to four hours to write the second and final draft. So call eight hours the average. Or better, call it the median. This would be more accurate.

I don't know if it's better to write a short story in one sitting, but I do usually write the first draft in one sitting. I have the time to do so, and I like to finish what I start so I can move on to a new project.

On rare occasions, however, I just can't get a handle on a story, can't get it right, and I can spend several days to a couple of weeks trying to make it work. But this is rare, and I think I've learned how to spot such stories and avoid them.
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06-07-2006, 09:17 AM emeraldcite vbmenu_register("postmenu_631859", true);
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As Mr. Ritchie said, it depends. There are times when I bang out a first draft in a few hours, sometimes it takes a day or two. I don't think the time frame will make too much of a difference in quality, barring you're not talking about years.

If you come back to a story too long after you started it, your style might have changed or your approach to the tone might be different.
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06-07-2006, 09:31 AM bsolah vbmenu_register("postmenu_631889", true);
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My main concern is ruining the flow, when I stop and come back to it later.
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06-07-2006, 10:14 AM crobinator vbmenu_register("postmenu_631971", true);
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I've always had to write my first draft in one sitting. It's the rewrite that makes the difference to me. I then tear it apart with a pen, though lately I'm trying to keep it all in the computer because it saves me some time and it's more covert to do at work.

This sparked a question of mine that I'll post in this board but as it's own so it doesn't get too lost.
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06-07-2006, 12:40 PM pixiejuice vbmenu_register("postmenu_632235", true);
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My stories tend to average 3-5000 words, and I guess they take about 10-12 hours to write in total. But that isn't 10-12 hours in one single day. Most of the time it's not even all in the same week.

Ideally I think I would like to finish a rough draft a week (though, realistically I am way too lazy for that). I think a week is a good amount of time to get a story down without losing your voice or direction.

My most recent rough draft was written in chunks over a period of about three months.
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06-07-2006, 08:42 PM pdr vbmenu_register("postmenu_633201", true);
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Takes time.
Don't fret, bsolah, some stories gallop onto the page, some drip their way out a few words at a time over weeks. Just do your regular two hours or whatever a day and the story will complete itself.

I wish they were all quick but I've found that forcing a story leads to hours of rewrites whereas slow and steady gets a good story with little editing.
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06-08-2006, 10:32 AM Siddow vbmenu_register("postmenu_634306", true);
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My writing time is scattered, so it can take me anywhere from a few hours (in one sitting) to three weeks (in fifteen minute sessions) to get a 4k story down.

I've finally settled into outlining, and I usually get the outline down in one sitting, and then come back to fill in the gaps. My outline for a 4k story runs about 1500 words, so really it's a draft in itself.
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06-08-2006, 03:57 PM razibahmed vbmenu_register("postmenu_635006", true);
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I have written 10-11 short stories totally as an amateur and they were around +-3000 words. In most cases, it took me 2-3 days to write the first draft. Only once, I guess I could complete a story within one night.
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06-08-2006, 04:32 PM smiley10000 vbmenu_register("postmenu_635081", true);
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I usually write each scene in one sitting. This means that a one scene first draft will be done in 2-3 hours. If it has multiple scenes it will usually take a couple days to finish (not always consecutive).

This first draft is usually pretty messy though. A lot of telling instead of showing. Tons of passive... Almost like an oversized outline.

Don't worry about how long it takes you. Sometimes the change of voice will help you see it in a different light.

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06-09-2006, 09:40 AM pixiejuice vbmenu_register("postmenu_636267", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smiley10000
This first draft is usually pretty messy though. A lot of telling instead of showing. Tons of passive... Almost like an oversized outline.


I do this too. I find it helps to at least get something down for a first draft. Then it's much less overwhelming (at least in the way I work) to be rewriting instead of first-drafting.
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06-09-2006, 12:34 PM Minister vbmenu_register("postmenu_636669", true);
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Most of my stories start life as Liberty Hall flash challenges. That means that from conception to completion, I have 90 minutes. They probably average 1200 words in that state. When I come back through and work on them, the rewrite time is enormously varied, depending on the story and the alterations needed, and how long the story needs to be (some are fine in the 1K range; others need expansion to the 3K range to work right.) If I don't do those deadline oriented challenges, I don't get much original writing done.
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06-09-2006, 01:33 PM stormie vbmenu_register("postmenu_636780", true);
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For me too, it depends. I can get a first draft out in about an hour for 2,000 words, or it might take a few days at a few hours a day. But with a short story, I like to aim for getting that first draft out in one sitting, even if I have to do several self-imposed revisions later.
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06-09-2006, 01:42 PM rich vbmenu_register("postmenu_636797", true);
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It's all different strokes for different folks. I prefer a one-sit first draft, but it doesnt always work that way. I spend much more time on rewriting. Sometimes the rewrite takes a different direction than my first draft. Most times, though, it's a purging and honing process.
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06-09-2006, 02:19 PM CaroGirl vbmenu_register("postmenu_636871", true);
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I usually think about what I want to write for a few days. My job's boring so...

When I start writing the first time around, I get down everything that was in my head. Usually, at this point, it's still incomplete. Then, with my mind clear, I go off and think about it some more, for another day or two. Now, I sit down and write all the new ideas I had, and I revise and edit to accommodate all that new stuff.

Voila, a first draft, usually within a week. Rewriting and editing for a short piece takes only half a day for me. I get a complete story, on average, in about a week to a week-and-a-half.

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06-25-2006, 02:06 AM AgentJade vbmenu_register("postmenu_667950", true);
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I'm somehow unable to produce an entire first draft in one sitting--I need to let the story coalesce. Even if I have an outline (in my head or on paper), it'll still be incomplete in some way after just one go at it.
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06-25-2006, 11:25 PM kojled vbmenu_register("postmenu_669866", true);
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i dunno
for a short short - one sitting, followed by a polish. i just wrote a 600 word ditty off the top of my head, then did a quick rewrite and was done - all within 90 minutes.

last week i did the first draft of a 2500 word piece in one sitting - maybe two hours. then did a polish/final draft that weekend and was done.

once i break the 3000 word mark everything changes. it can take days or weeks depending on the story. (i know that doesn't help, but...) it took a couple months (an hour every couple days) to finish one piece - 6500 words - but that entailed a lot of mulling things over and i just took my time.

if i'm really working, like 4-8 hours a day, i can get though anything less than 10k words in a week. if i'm not really working, i dunno - takes longer. depends on how not really i'm working.

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06-28-2006, 08:45 AM PeeDee vbmenu_register("postmenu_674655", true);
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For short works (under 5,000 or so, for example) I tend to give myself a week schedule. If I started writing it on Sunday, then by midnight on the next Saturday, I had better be done with all the drafts and be ready to send it out first thing Sunday morning.

That said, I generally write the first draft in about two hours, and then let it sit for several days, before editing my way through it a couple of times. There have been short stories which have taken ages and ages to write, but that's usually because there's a problem I can't nail down. Either I nail it, and I run off the rest of the story in an hour or two, or I don't and I wind up putting it aside and moving on to another project. Then, the story just sort of simmers in the back of my brain, until one day I'll come up with a solution (or I won't, and I'll keep moving).
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