Your writing sessions - where you finish

[mum23]

I try to finish at the end of a sentance. Somewhere I am happy to leave it. I don't try and get to the end of a chapter. the words are in my head so when there is nothing left for the day, that's where I stop.

 

[seun]

I can be. But stopping in the middle of a word is not a bad thing at all, in my opinion. At least you don't have to sit and wonder what to write when you come to the next session.

I've never stopped in the middle of a word or a sentence but I think there's something quite cool with that.

 

[JLCwrites]

I am with Reenkam on this one. I don't have to finish the chapter, but I do need to finish the scene.

I just can't leave anything hanging, and I don't have a problem starting up the next scene.

Usually, when I come back to my story, I will read the last full page (no editing), and continue from there.

 

[jdparadise]

When the train pulls in.

 

[Esopha]

I stop when I get headaches. It doesn't matter where I am, because once that headache starts, I can't write for beans.

When I have a choice, I try to stop in the middle of a scene, or when I know the next line, so I can start writing right away when I get back.

 

[amber_grosjean]

I make sure I end with a period, some way of ending a sentence. It doesn't matter if it is in the middle of the scene or not just as long as it's at the end of the sentence. I usually read the last paragraph or so and then go from there when I return the next day. I don't let myself think, I just dive in where ever I'm at.

Of course, sometimes I stop because I don't know what to add next. Then I might take a couple days off to think it over and see if my characters give me a hint. Then I can go back, read some and then dive in. Sometimes taking a break (short one, one or two days at the most) can really help.

Amber

 

[scarletpeaches]

I stop when I start thinking of other things I need to do. A good writing session for me would come in at around 2,000 words. I've done over 6,000 in one day before and it was good stuff, so I just went with it. But usually when I stop for the day it's in the middle of a scene so I don't have to think of what to write when I start the next time. This works especially well when I'm in the middle of writing an argument, a scene where a major plot point is revealed or a scene I know is going to be a long one - when I don't have to fret about where the next 5,000 words are coming from!

 

[Danger Jane]

Sometimes I leave it in the middle of a sentence. control + s, slam the laptop shut, go to bed.

 

[TheKnightWhoSaidNi]

I write with a pretty random schedule. Time of day is in the evening mostly, because that's usually the only time school affords me. In the summer I would write in the afternoon. Sometimes it's only 500 words which are written in a half hour on a good day, where I don't have time, or an hour and a half on a really bad day, when I have all the time in the world. Other times it's almost 6,000, and it takes me around five hours.
It depends on the scene I'm writing - if it's a climactic or otherwise earth-shattering scene, and I have the time, that's when 6,000 words in five hours happens. My third novel, being the conclusion, is filled to the brim with earth shattering scenes. That's how I was able to write it in six months even though it's the longest, when the first took me a year and the second nine months.

 

[Chasing the Horizon]

I do my best never to leave off in the middle of a scene, because when I do I often have trouble picking back up. That's probably because I write out of order, so it may be weeks or months before I come back to that unfinished scene. I could care less about completing a chapter, since a normal writing session for me would mean writing two scenes from chapter 7 of book #2, plus 1 scene each from chapters 5, 9, and 14 of book #3. I think of each scene as kind of a mini-story with its own unique point, and I sometimes forget that point (or even that mini-story) if I don't finish it right away. The jumpy way I write has probably made me more dependent on the cohesive unit of a scene than a lot of people who write from beginning to end.

 

[OverTheHills&FarAway]

I stop when outside forces force me to stop. Like, say, power outages, or work.

Or when I get to the end. Except, THAT never happens!

 

[lfraser]

I like to stop when I'm still enjoying the writing and when I know what happens next. That way, I don't get stuck.

 

[glassquill]

I usually stop at the end of a scene. Sometimes the scene happens to be the end of a chapter, but that's mostly coincidence rather than planned.

 

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I stop when life interrupts.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I stop in the middle of a

 

[ChimeraCreative]

I typically stop in mid scene with my short stories but I never stop mid sentence. I'm in awe of folks who can do that, I hate leaving an open sentence in my notebook.

If I'm scripting a comic book I will push myself to get to the end of a page or a scene before I put it down. I like to use one long continuous thought on the full scenes. But I usually have point form notes about dialogue or jokes pre-made so I don't have to think too hard. ^_^

-An

 

[Wolvel]

I usually stop when I set my ink pen and notebook down.

I usually try to finish my current scene and write a line or two of the next scene so when I come back to it I can pick up right away.

As for how long I write, it can be two hours or more or just thirty minutes. Before anyone says thirty minutes it is a soilid thirty writing, and when I put my mind to it i get a lot done in a short time.

 

[Enzo]

I end when the flow of words trickle to a stop. Usually at the end of a major scene. But sometimes, ideas for another scene shoot into my mind, and then I get fired up all over again.
I also like to end on a cliffhanger (even if it's not the end of a chapter), which excites me when I have to continue the next day.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

scene. That way I can pick up where I left off. I still have some scene left to write and while I've been away, new ideas and directions have presented themselves.

See? It works, because yesterday morning I was simply going to say, "sentence."

 

[Prawn]

I usually stop in the middle of a scene, often in the middle of a line. Having 24 hours to think about it often makes the scene better than if I had written it in one go. I have one big file for each novel, so I also have to write one more important thing: START HERE. Since I don't write from beginning to end, I might be in the middle of a scene in the middle of a two or three hundred page document.