90 minute limit

ccarver30 · Aug 31, 2007

I have found that I can only write for an hour and a half then I am out of gas. It kind of sucks because I have to write in a certain setting (Starbucks). I wish I could spend 4 hours there!

Do you have a "breaking point"?

aadams73 · Aug 31, 2007

I don't have a time limit per se, but I do have a time of day limit. I find it hard to write new material after 2p.m.

DocBrown · Aug 31, 2007

I typically write 2-4 hours, with 4 hours not being uncommon, but I am usually quite done for the day by then. I hate it when I write first thing of the day and then I don't know what to do with myself after that.

Siddow · Aug 31, 2007

Yeah, I'm with aadams, but my time is 4pm. And I hope this changes once all my kids start school, but I find that I'm good for about 20 minutes, then I have to do something else for 15 minutes or so. I think I've been trained into that by the demands of the children. I hope that changes. I really want to be able to work for a good four-hour period once the house is quiet. 2009! It's closer than I think! (right? please?)

JamieFord · Aug 31, 2007

I write until I start to get lazy, usually stopping at around 2,500 words (2-3 hours). If I keep pushing it I just end up rewriting it the next day.

wyntermoon · Aug 31, 2007

I sandwich my time between the baby's naps now that the bigger girls are in school, otherwise she's all over me like nucular power pants on Bush. If nothing gets done during the day, however, I'll grab an hour or two after they go to bed.

sunna · Aug 31, 2007

My limit is generally dictated by my eyesight. I don't wear my contacts at home, so 4-5 hours (on the weekends) is the most I can manage before things start to get a bit blurry.

Man, I feel old saying that. *sigh*

ccarver30 · Aug 31, 2007

Hmm, I can't write in the morning. It has to be after 7pm.

Calla Lily · Aug 31, 2007

I can't write before 10 am, usually. Which is good M-F, because I get real, paying work done.

I can write at night till my hand trails off the page because I've fallen asleep. Except when I have to get up at 6:30 am to go to work. Pesky requirements: food, mortgage, insurance...

maestrowork · Aug 31, 2007

Not really a break point, but there are certain times in the day I can't write: between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. and after 5 p.m. until 2 a.m.

So I tend to write between 12-5 p.m. and 2-5 a.m. (if I'm awake).

Harper K · Aug 31, 2007

My brain and my laptop battery tend to run in synch. I think my battery tends to conk out after about 3.5 - 4 hours. And so do I. Trying to cram 6 hours of writing into one day can work every so often, but I run the risk of not getting much done the next day.

Otherwise, I can write during pretty much any time of the day, though early mornings and late nights tend to be my favorites. I enjoy that "I'm being productive while everyone else is sleeping!" feeling.

allenparker · Aug 31, 2007

I have an Oreo Cookie timer

When the Oreaos or the milk runs out, I'm done. Of course, a quite drive to the store for more usually recharges the batteries.

Azraelsbane · Aug 31, 2007

I can go until my husband comes and drags me to bed, often by grabbing my laptop away from me and leading me towards the bedroom... Yeah, laptop is to Azzy, as juicy steak is to dog.

Anyway, I get up early and stare at the computer for a few hours before I can write anything...which basically means I can't be productive until after 11 or noon. LoL. Maybe I should try sleeping in.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 31, 2007

Time limit

My time limit, short term, is whatever time it takes to finish whatever I need to finish. Long term, however, it's five to six hours per day, six days per week.

The trouble with writing late in the evening is that the writer has usually already put in a full day doing other things, so running out of gas is natural.

It does help, I think, to take a bit of a break every hour or so. Just ten minutes can refuel the tank.

rugcat · Aug 31, 2007

There are times I prefer to write, but other responsibilities often interfere. So I've learned to wrtite any time I can.

If I do have a block of time, I've noticed that after four hours I start to get tired and the quality suffers.

The Scip · Aug 31, 2007

I like to start writing at the same time everyday. But sometimes I'll write for 2 hours, other times it will be 4 hours. As long as i get my 1500 words for the day.

Scothoser · Aug 31, 2007

I usually can write for about a chapter or two (about 4,000 to 8,000 words), depending on whether or not I can get the story for me. Of course, I take regular typing breaks to keep my wrists from burning. ^_^

I can't write until I have an idea of how the story is going to progress, and that usually takes an hour or so with me going over my plot notes, looking at the story board, etc. Once I get the framework in mind, than I can go for a good couple of hours. Then I have to stop, go over the notes again, see what changed while writing, and see what needs to be taken into account.

OF course, this is all in the first draft. I'm still working through editing on the second. ^_^

NicoleMD · Aug 31, 2007

Lately, I've been setting my microwave timer to 99:99 and typing away until the little buzzer rings. And after a short break, if I'm up to it I'll set it again. It helps me concentrate better, and use my writing time more economically, I think.

Nicole

reigningcatsndogs · Aug 31, 2007

I'd be happy with nine minutes of productive writing time - haven't put a word to paper for days. Just can't get my head into it right now. Maybe washing windows will help.

Claudia Gray · Aug 31, 2007

3-4 hours is about as long as I'm going to be able to go without taking a short break. But if I have a solid writing day, I can do three "writing blocks" with only an hour or so between for food, watching TV, housework, etc. (That's only on quiet weekends, of course, but it's absolutely when I get the most done -- I find the longer I write, the faster I go.)

Ravenlocks · Aug 31, 2007

I can do about 90 minutes to 2 hours before I need at least a short break to wander around the apartment, get a snack, wonder what I'm going to have for lunch/dinner, etc. Sometimes my short breaks turn into longer breaks to watch a DVD or something.

On good days I can get in two to three of these writing sessions (usually two). But when I was finishing up the first draft of my WIP I put in 7 hours of close to nonstop writing, I was so eager to get that puppy finished. Plus I'd given myself a deadline of the end of the month, and it was the last day of the month.

JoniBGoode · Aug 31, 2007

Yup, I have the same problem.

For fiction, I've found that when I set the timer for 2 hours, I waste some time. But if I set it for 60 minutes, I'm still going strong when it goes off. So I finish the scene, or chapter, or whatever.

For non-fiction, I can write longer, but after about 5.5 or 6 hours, that's it.

I used to be addicted to cafe writing, but I've trained myself to write fiction at about the same time every day, regardless
of where I am. It's much better, for those snow days in winter.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 31, 2007

Limit

One thing I have learned to do is to not only take mini breaks, but to have two writing sessions per day, with anywhere from ninety minutes to two hours between. I grab lunch, and weather at all permitting, I take a long walk, When I come back to writing I'm as fresh as when I first started.

amber_grosjean · Aug 31, 2007

I can write at any time but I prefer writing at night because there aren't any destractions that way. Depending on the story and my attachment to it, I could write all day long and not be tired of it.

I'm trying to get myself on a schedule when I do write though. I can write about 5 pages in two hours if I don't get stuck on something. Sometimes I try to write a little more than two hours but if I'm tired, I may not get passed that two hour limit. I always write before going to bed so how tired I am by then determines how much I will write.

I'm just weird I guess lol.

Amber

mkcbunny · Aug 31, 2007

I usually putter and do inane crap before noon [unless it's a weekday when, um, there's that nagging *job*.] Preferred start time is 2 p.m.

My standard schedule is Saturday noon 'til whenever, Sunday 12-5, and weekdays when the job-seas part in my favor. I've tried the 2-hrs-a-day thing, but it averages to the same number of hours, and I prefer to be totally absorbed for 8 hours one day vs. 2 hours for four days. I guess I have tunnel vision that way. I write better when I can think for very long periods uninterrupted.

90 minute limit

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