Words a day vs. Hours a day

popmuze · Aug 3, 2006

If it came down to a choice between the two, I think I prefer hours a day. Setting an arbitrary word count seems artificial, while getting yourself in front of a blank page for x amount of hours a day feels like a worthy goal.

That being said, since 2003 I have completely fallen off the writing wagon, except for a few brief bursts where I'm revising my current work in progress. On the other hand, even with a full time job, I completed the first draft of that manuscript in ten months (@ 128,000 words).

Looking back, I wonder how I did it. These days I'm lucky if I get in an hour a week, which, like lifting weights, is practically useless.

Among the greatest highs you can have is to write four or five or eight hours a day, weeks on end (I produced my first published novel in four months that way).

bubblegirl · Aug 3, 2006

I think hours are more important. A book isn't just about writing, but researching also. My goal is 1,000 words per day, despite other tasks I have, as I consider myself with more than enough time in my lifestyle. Unfortunately, sometimes the small tasks can take a lot longer than expected and you find yourself at 1am, wishing there were more hours in the day.

ChaosTitan · Aug 3, 2006

Hours versus words can also come down to lifestyle. I work retail and have no set schedule day to day, or week to week. So I have to sneak in an hour or two whenever I can (mornings when I work evenings, evenings when I work early). I feel like I'm making more headway with an hours count, than trying to squeeze a certain number of words into limited amounts of writing time.

It's those wonderful days off when I can sit down and bang out bigger word counts. At one point, during the writing of my last completed novel, I think my one-day record was around 15,000 words. But those are a rarity.

Just managing a solid hour of productive time makes me happy.

scribbler1382 · Aug 3, 2006

While you definitely need to schedule time to write, I don't think in the bigger scheme of things time really matters as much as production. I know for me, if all I did was focus on the time I was sitting there and not what I was producing, I would produce next to nothing. I mean, try to sell time you've put in to a publisher, as opposed to a completed work. I'm guessing you'll need a second or third career just to eat.

Soccer Mom · Aug 3, 2006

For me it's all about the words. 1,250 words a day. 7 days a week. My schedule with kids and work and the farm is just too crazy. I can't depend on my time not being interrupted. I have to be efficient. Sometimes I only get to work in thirty minute jags.

It's all BIC method though, whether your limit is words or time. There is no substitute for a firm goal of some type.

FloVoyager · Aug 3, 2006

I try to put down 1000 words a day. Don't always manage it. But I try. And some days it goes fast and some days it takes forever. But I don't start with the idea that I'm going to write for x hours. Tried that once and it didn't work for me.

Actually, now that I think of it, the best method I've ever found is a blend of the two. Writing for a while in the morning, and again in the afternoon and evening, and trying to end up with 1000 words by bedtime.

bubblegirl · Aug 3, 2006

Soccer Mom,

I bow to you. Getting work done and having kids? Wow! My dog and cat keep me busy enough between writing, music and my craft hobbies. You, my dear, are a true multi-tasker!

S.

triceretops · Aug 3, 2006

In the past year and a half I've maintained a steady 2,000 to 2,500 words a day every day, without fail. In the past four months, I've been luck to hit 400 words a day. I don't know what happened. I fell off my marathon--hard. I don't believe in my current WIP at the moment, and suspect that is the problem. It's a shame--it's 276 pages at the present, and I'm considering ditching it.

Tri

cree · Aug 3, 2006

I'm always curious about writers who steal 20 minutes or 30 minutes here and there.... For me, it's somewhere around Hour Two of full immersion that everything comes together, and I can fly

It takes that long to get fully out of my own head and remove the layers of "Other Things Going On In My Life", and that's when the good stuff happens. Then, I can write for hours -- it's like runner's high, but I need to start the marathon by stretching the muscles through some mediocre writing before the high hits.
I have children, a full time day job, and I start writing at like 10 at night and go until 3. Midnight is usually when i can expect some magic, but it only works when I've written through the pain.
So, how do creative people grab short spurts here and there, and still get good (or great) output?

UrsusMinor · Aug 3, 2006

I think words is the more common way of doing it than hours, but Lawrence Block notes that a reasonable pace may vary with the book.

Like a lot of writers, I actually don't count words but rather pages, and I typically aim for three a day. I seldom end up with less, but I often end up with more, especially toward the end of a book. Block himself runs at three pages or more, I believe Steve King is on record as aiming for ten. Hemingway averaged one.

But on a recent book, I probably only managed about a half of a page per day. A tough book to write (omniscient narrator and a very strange voice), and one where I had to stop and think, and and go for long walks muttering to myself, and write whole paragraphs only to delete them after typing the last period. I found I simply had to stop beating myself up about it, and accept that this was just going to be a slow process.

Triceratops, you may indeed be writing the wrong book (I often felt like that in this last one, though I'm now quite proud of it). But you also may simply be writing a slow book.

I wish I could identify how one can tell the difference!

Jamesaritchie · Aug 3, 2006

words/hours

In a way, I think words versus hours is sort of a straw man argument. What matters is that you're getting words written and projects finished. Publishable projects.

There is no way to get words written without also putting in time, and if you put in time but get no words written, you also have a problem.

From my experience, most writers do better in the long run if they have a fairly regular writing scehdule and stick to it no matter what. I've found bursts of writing here and there seldom lead to published novels, though there are exceptions to everything.

I also think saying you're going to write a given numbers of words per day, rather than putting in a given amount of time, can lead to rushing thorugh the writing, and/or stopping when you don't have to.

As I said, there are always exceptions, but finding successful writers who do not put in time almost everyday is like double yolked eggs. They are out there, but they sure aren't common.

From all my experience, from all my reading on the subject, writers who don't put in a minimum of two hours per day, five days per week have a very tough time succeeding, and putting in ten hours on Saturday or Sunday doesn't seem to make much difference. Maybe because not many really want to put in ten wholehearted hours on a Saturday or a Sunday

At the same time, if you really enjoy writing, you don't have to be told to put in a word count or an hourly count. You can't wait to get to the keyboard, and you make opportunities to write as often and as long as possible.

Thomma Lyn · Aug 3, 2006

I write pretty much every day - some days for twelve hours, many days for five to six hours, some days for two hours - but I write every chance I get.

AceTachyon · Aug 3, 2006

I tend to go with page count, probably from reading Lawrence Block's Fiction column in WD back in the day. I shoot for 3 to 5 pages when I'm working on a project and that seems to work well for me. Sometimes I crank out more than 5 pages. When I do, awesome! But the next day, 3 to 5 pages.

I'm also one of those who try to get in writing time throughout the day. 15 minutes here. 20 there. I try to see it as akin to the Golden Age of radio dramas when scripts were something written (or re-written) on the spot with 10 minutes before going on the air.

Granted, the output from those stolen moments may end up being crap. But if I can at least pull a diamond out from the crap during revisions, all's well in the world.

popmuze · Aug 3, 2006

cree said:
I'm always curious about writers who steal 20 minutes or 30 minutes here and there.... For me, it's somewhere around Hour Two of full immersion that everything comes together, and I can fly It takes that long to get fully out of my own head and remove the layers of "Other Things Going On In My Life", and that's when the good stuff happens. Then, I can write for hours -- it's like runner's high, but I need to start the marathon by stretching the muscles through some mediocre writing before the high hits.
I have children, a full time day job, and I start writing at like 10 at night and go until 3. Midnight is usually when i can expect some magic, but it only works when I've written through the pain.
So, how do creative people grab short spurts here and there, and still get good (or great) output?

Definitely for first draft material, it takes me a while to get into it. I sometimes have to rewrite the previous day's work in order to recover the flow. (And I agree that after midnight contains magic).
But rewriting and revising is something else. Once I've got the initial draft done, I can snap into the mood for rewriting in a second.
My problem may be that I'd much rather rewrite than write.

Simon Woodhouse · Aug 3, 2006

I'm a number of words person, and I also like the little and often approach. I find that if I'm sat in front of the keyboard for more than about an hour continuously, the quality of my writing dips. If I go away for twenty minutes and then come back again, I'm full of enthusiasm once more. But during the twenty minutes I'm thinking about what I've just written, and what I'm going to write in the next session.

aadams73 · Aug 3, 2006

My goal is 2000 words each day. Some days I go over(today I've done 3000) and other days I fall slightly short. I have a tendency to beat myself up if I don't make my goal. If the work is flowing I keep pushing through.

Kristal · Aug 3, 2006

kpmcneil22 said:
I think that is a rare gift. I wish I liked to rewrite even half as much as I like to write

Kevin

I prefer the rewrite too.

cree · Aug 3, 2006

Kristal said:
I prefer the rewrite too.

Eeek! To me the writing is glorious and the rewrite is punishment. :0 My editor thinks I'm nuts. It's not that I'm stupid enough to argue that the rewrite isn't necessary, I fully agree with multiple revisions....it's just that at that point for me, the magic is more elusive and I'm ready to create something new.

The only benefit I can think of for the rewrite is the RELIEF that comes with knowing your story already exists, and isn't waiting to implode or turn itself into boring drivel or whatever other pitfalls may await a WIP.

byElizabeth · Aug 3, 2006

For me it's a combo effort. When I'm not working and I have a full day to write (away from home so the dishes and laundry stop their siren call) I expect around 2500. But if I have a few hours to get some things done, I don't worry too much about word count but am impressed if I do anything substantial in just 2 or 3 hours.

popmuze · Aug 3, 2006

The only benefit I can think of for the rewrite is the RELIEF that comes with knowing your story already exists, and isn't waiting to implode or turn itself into boring drivel or whatever other pitfalls may await a WIP.

To me, first draft writing is like dating. It's exciting and new, but you never know how it's going to work out.
Rewriting is like a good marriage. Because the basic thing is settled, you have a chance to dig deep into all of your problems, with the opportunity to come up with some pretty amazing solutions.

Viola · Aug 3, 2006

I do 2k a session and write at the most 5 days a week. Sometimes I do 4k a session, but 2k seems to be consistently 'doable' while 4k is an upper limit.

Viola

bubblegirl · Aug 3, 2006

popmuze said:
To me, first draft writing is like dating. It's exciting and new, but you never know how it's going to work out.
Rewriting is like a good marriage. Because the basic thing is settled, you have a chance to dig deep into all of your problems, with the opportunity to come up with some pretty amazing solutions.

I like that analogy! Although, my dating life is a disaster lol I've seen people on here have rejection pledges. If I had one for dating, I'd beat you all

NightWynde · Aug 3, 2006

I'm a word count gal. It's more of a mind game thing with me. I tried saying "I'll write X number of minutes/hours everyday" which means I'd set the timer and one of two things would happen. Either I'd end the day with nothing written or the danged timer would go off and I'd be out of the zone.

I also had the problem with "Did I do my hours today?" as opposed to "Did I write today?" The former was usually a maybe/maybe not, whereas with word count it's always a definite answer since I had to see my progress.

During research though, I'll do an hour count. Not because of a minimum, but because I can get so caught up in research that I won't end up writing. Same goes for editing. I can get lost in that as well. By keeping my writing seperate from my "writing related" stuff, I'm always moving forward on one project or another.

Lyra Jean · Aug 4, 2006

I'm a hours a day person. Only so I can fit all my other hobbies in as well. Of course when I'm in "the zone" I'm not going to say oh well my time is up I'm going to put it away now.

cree · Aug 4, 2006

rosemerry said:
I'm a hours a day person. Only so I can fit all my other hobbies in as well. Of course when I'm in "the zone" I'm not going to say oh well my time is up I'm going to put it away now.

I agree with everything you said, except I'm curious about one item, and how everyone else perceives this about themselves:

Do you consider writing a hobby? A career, a calling, an art form? Therapy? A method to gain fame and fortune? Something else?

P.S. I sincerely don't mean to indicate there's anything wrong with it being a hobby. It's just interesting to see the perceptions of different writers. My only thought when I see "hobby" is that it means a different level of commitment, but not a downgrade in quality of work. so don't hate me!

I'm in the self-righteous "I'm an artist" camp. LOL.

Words a day vs. Hours a day

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