Writing schedules

I'm able to dedicate about 5 hours a week to actual writing. I spend some more time reading forums, blogging, doing critiques, etc. But in terms of putting down fresh, new words, the amount of time I'm able to dedicate is relatively humble.

I try to write 500+ words per day, but so far I've failed miserably. (Partly due to the lack of time, occasional lack of inspiration, etc.) For example, on Wednesday I revised a ~2500 word story and yesterday I wrote a 300 word opening scene on a new story. Today I got zero productive writing done because I had to finish up half a dozen work-related things before leaving for the weekend.

I can't really answer this. It could be anything.

Right now, I'm hoping that I'll get my 2 for this month out, even if they are only flash.

I've done a lot of other writing this month, but it wasn't fiction and it wasn't for me.
I've been hammering the keyboard trying to keep up with dictation. Haven't done too bad at it.
Duh, the things you do for your kids, even when they're grown up. And 90% of what I wrote won't be used in the finished project anyway.
And also I've been trying to do 13 years of cleaning in a month.

I write while I watch TV. That's writing time. (in between going on the internet and playing stupid flash games and stuff).
So, the more I watch TV, the more I write.
Right now, Housewives of Orange County. What? Who the hell are they, and why do they all look the same?

Coffee to the left, ash tray to the right, TV over the top of the lappie...
Must be writing time...
No. Just one more go at Spider Solitaire...

Right now I'm in the outlining phase of my novel. And I would say that I currently spend 2-4 hours a week actually putting pen to paper. I spend much more time thinking about (mentally plotting) before I actually put ideas down, probably 3-10 per week. But then I'm also reading writing reference books right now, which I typically spend 5-10 hours a week doing.

It is a funny one because organising my writing is probably the bit I excel at. It doesn't mean I get more stuff published (3 acceptances in my first year out of 230 odd submission isn't great) but I am pretty consistent in knuckling down and writing 500 words or more 6 days a week. When I wrote my novel I did 1000 words a day for a month and got a whole novel written. Is it any good? Who knows? But it exists.

SK has a great bit in On Writing where he talks about treating writing like a job and I really internalised it. If the muse doesn't show, you still have to write. What you put down might be brilliant, it might be terrible but I think good writing happens when it's part of your muscle memory... or sumifink.

The schedule part I am lucky with because when I was studying for my Masters I got into the habit of living off 30 hours a week wages. When the masters finished I could have gone full time but I opted to spread my 30 hours across 5 days and use the spare time for writing.

The main thing for me is making sure I get those 500 bad boys done whatever happens. And if for some reason I don't get them done, I make myself feel so lousy that I go ahead and write 1000 words the next day. I get really down if I end a day having not produced something. This is good in a way, but my girlfriend would probably tell you she thinks I'm a bit mad...

While I am happy with my productivity, it would probably help my acceptance rate if I actually spent half my "writing" time researching markets and writing stories for particular magazines rather than just writing any old thing that comes into my head and then realising it won't sell...

I probably write about 5-7 hours a week. I try for an hour a day. That rarely happens other than on weekends, but I still probably get 40-45 minutes in.

I also spend maybe another half hour a day critiquing other people's stuff and slush reading.

I'd love to devote more time to it, but I work full time, like to see friends, etc.

10-14 hours, depending on whether I write weekends. I bookend my day with writing/revision at the beginning and at the end of the day.

I usually get 2-3 hours in five or six days a week. I try to write 3000 words per day during the week. I'm fortunate to be able to have the time to write, and also that I'm a pretty fast writer. My average is about 1200 words an hour.

I schedule 12 hours per week to write--four weekdays with two hours, plus four additional hours on Sunday. I also work full-time and have two young children, so rigid scheduling is essential.

I'm an attorney, so I've grown accustomed to ruthlessly long hours and aggressive workload management. On the other hand, being an attorney has also made me bitterly critical of my own work (well...critical of most stuff, actually). That's a huge new flaw in my character that slows my writing and makes me over-edit, or even delete whole stories in disgust. I absolutely blame my career choice for that one, and I'm working on fixing it.

At my scheduled but pathetically slow pace, I've been producing two stories a month (4000ish words each). All production comes to a halt, though, in the face of crisis, and I've been unusually crisis-prone so far this year. I'm hoping for sunny days ahead do I can pick it up and eventually nail a story a week.

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I don't time myself or set a schedule, but I do write one-half to one-full page per day...usually. Usually in the evening or late afternoon. Unless I'm editing, which I count equal to writing new words.

That doesn't count time spent roaming the boards here critting or cheering on my fellow writers, nor does it count time spent researching story details, markets, agents, etc.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Minimally 5-6 hours per week while kids are at dance. I try and squeeze other time in but can't count on it.

I don't schedule an amount of words per day, hours per day, or week. I just prioritise. After unavoidable essential tasks, like feeding my family, grocery shopping, health related things and school pick-ups, writing comes first. A social life is important to me, but I try to make it at times when it won't prevent me writing.

I find as many ways as I can to fit writing in. Any time I have alone in the house, I'll drop everything and write. Most days, I squeeze in two hour slot. I am an adequate but not immaculate housekeeper. I save tasks that don't require aloneness for when people are around. I schedule appointments etc so that I can keep a two hour block free every week day if possible, and won't schedule two things on one day, because I need to write at least some time that day. I schedule fitness stuff too, because I've discovered writing is bad for my health if I don't impose some regular physical activity. I've also discovered that the way I eat affects my creativity and clear thinking, so I try to eat in a healthy way.

I wear earplugs if things are noisy, and have a laptop that I can move around the house if I want to write and need to escape the kids for a bit. I've learned to write despite people interrupting. (Although after ten consecutive interruptions, I might give up.)

If I simply can't write because of other essentials intruding, I don't give myself a hard time. Fact is, I want to write badly enough that I know I'll make the time, regardless of my mood, whenever I can. So no guilt trips.

Holidays mean less writing, more people around, and sometimes travelling. I take a notebook. Usually do some free writing. It can be a great source of inspiration for new stories. And I try to do as much reading as I can as well.

I also regularly crit stuff, which has helped me learn heaps. I classify editing time as writing time too, since often it is rewriting. But I can't go too long without churning out first draft stuff, since I find that a good break from the more analytical stuff. Over time, I'm sensing how I need to balance different kinds of writing work. Sometimes I will write a fresh short as a break from a longer piece I'm editing. But I'm always writing.

I don't expect non-writing friends to understand.

Really just starting to write this summer. My plan is to spend at least an hour a day and a total of 10-12 hours a week, but since I'm pushing to try and make my college baseball team and I am spending 2-3 hours a weekday at the gym, working 2-4 hours a day doing yard work for my neighbor, and will be working at McDonald's and another resturaunt, I don't know how realistic that will be

O'Dandelo said:

Well then, with that sort of schedule, Alex, I stand up and salute you for having 700,000 stories out at markets!!

It's easy to assume some of you must have personal assistants shadowing you all day, dictating your every word in the subway and on coffee breaks.

Bravo! *applause*

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Thank you, thank you

I've been incredibly fortunate to sell a really big chunk of what little I did manage to write. Mostly this is due to submitting very aggressively and not giving up. I have yet to trunk a story.

Also, however little writing time I do put in all goes into short stories. I haven't attempted a novel yet (and feel rather intimidated by the prospect, even though intellectually I know this to be the next step).

And finally, a huge chunk of the stories I've written to date are flash, so my output isn't so tremendous in terms of word count.

I go kind of week by week. Sometime on the weekend I look at what I've got on the go and then ask myself "Okay, what do you want to do this week?" It might be writing a new story and sending it out, or revising a draft, or finishing a story I had started before. Once I decide what my goal for the week will be I carve out the blocks of time I'll have to work on it and then follow that schedule. I find this helps me focus more when I know exactly what I need to do and when I have time to do it. Sometimes this means I don't write everyday, but I try not to let two non-writing days go by in a row.

I've really been trying to amp up my writing output lately. I try to get at least 2 hours in the morning, but since I work from home, it's so easy to 'waste time' doing laundry, dishes, exercising , etc. On a good day, I can manage at least 1000 words/hr., more if I am using my voice recognition software instead of typing.

I would love to get my output up to 5K every day (which is a great accomplishment but kind of draining), but so far I've only been able to manage that on weekends during NaNoWriMo.

I've mentioned this blog post on my own blog but this might be of interest to some people who want to up their own daily word counts.

mrajotte said:

I've mentioned this blog post on my own blog but this might be of interest to some people who want to up their own daily word counts.

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I LOVE that post--so much that I printed it out and added it to a binder of indispensable information I keep stashed in a corner of my home office. I'm not sure I'll ever be quite as productive as Ms. Aaron, but it did start me on outlining scenes ahead of time, which has been a major sanity-saver with my limited writing time. I agree--highly recommended reading.

I try to write 500 words a day every day, but I define 'write' loosely. I do a 10 minute free write, based on a picture, every morning. Usually about 250 words. I count editing, estimating words. And I count blogging. (I don't, yet, count Twitter ).

For me, I pretty much do zip on the 4 days a week that I work my day job, but my 3 days off are always writing days, pretty much all day. Butt in chair. Whether I produce any words or revise or plan subs to markets or critique work for others - whatever, those are my writing days. If I take vacation days, my laptop goes with me, even camping (not a concept my husband really gets behind for some reason). If I'm actively working on a first draft of a novel or story, I try for about 2000 words a day or so on those three days.

Not enough. Never enough.

I tend to write in fits and starts. I'll be knocking out a few thousand a day for awhile, and then I'll go a few days without. I really do want to get on a more regular schedule.

It is very interesting to hear how everyone else does it.

sarahthegrey said:

I LOVE that post--so much that I printed it out

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I know, right? It's such good advice and not hard to implement (though like you, I don't know if I'll ever get to 10K days).