No, I don't write every day. I try to do something writing related, but actual new words added to a project doesn't happen every day.
I consider my writing a job (one that very well may never earn me a penny but a job that I love) and as such I don't feel required to work on the weekends. I often will write on Saturday if there's nothing planned but I absolutely don't work on Sunday. I try really hard to not even think about my story world on Sunday. Removing myself completely at least one day a week helps keep me grounded and movativated to keep going. It's difficult to remove myself from my writing and often Sunday is a battle to not write so when Monday rolls around I'm very excited to get at it again.
I agree, Mango C. But I always wonder if the difference between a wannabe and a professional is that the professional can sit down and write even when they don't feel like it. Like, even if they don't feel creative, they are still able to sit down and turn it on at will. I suppose that's what I'm striving for anyway. Got it! Good luck with that. Can you link to any of your short stories; I'd love to read some. Yeah, I checked out your website. You have some very interesting stories. I'm not much into fantasy, but I got the short story collection "Dark Places." I'm looking forward to reading it. That's an interesting point, for sure. I don't write a whole lot on the weekends because I work on the weekends, but I do write something. For me, it's just that I'm afraid of losing the momentum. You probably don't have that issue with your writing, but I have had a problem with that for 29 years. I often wonder, if I had just devoted myself to it, like I'm doing now, back then, would I be a famous writer now? I guess it depends on whether one believes in fate or not. Good luck with, "Embrace." The chapter samples you have read quite well and I'd be interested to read the novel if it ever gets published. I like supernatural fiction.
I definitely think writing every day will help you improve faster. Someone once gave me the advice to type (or write) 250 words a day, no matter what you're actually typing about. I've noticed that, for me at least, writing every day gives me more inspiration and it helps when I'm stuck at a difficult part of the novel. You can't quit if you haven't typed anything yet, so you're basically pushing yourself through the boring/hard parts. But I must admit, it's not always possible to do so. Sometimes other important things can get in the way (the main ones I can think of are education and work). That's all understandable. You can always pick up writing again later, perhaps even with refreshed creativity from not writing for so long!
I believe that writing every day (but not everyday) is a Good Thing. It develops a habit, it increases productivity, and at the very least it keeps you familiar with your project so that on those days when you can write whole chapters, you don't have to go back and read everything, and you're less likely to forget what you planned, get sick of the project and throw it in the trash. I should be writing right now.
I do. I keep daily goals (between 250 and 1,000 words depending on how busy the day is) and I try to keep to them. I do know a published author who also writes daily and has done so since his first book. He keeps stricter goals. He writes 250 words first thing in the morning, then 500 words throughout the day. He also takes one day every week in which his primary task is writing. He sets weekly and monthly goals and has little 'celebrations' when they are met.
Well, I suppose that’s a way to keep your skills up in grammar, punctuation, that sort of thing. It’s good editing practice, I would imagine. I want to get to that kind of discipline, but I don’t have it yet, and I’m afraid if I try too soon, I’ll sabotage myself. Right now, all I say is that I have to write. I don’t care if it’s only one sentence. It never has been only one sentence, but it could be, and if I do at least that, then I have not sinned. As you can tell, I’ve become very superstitious about this whole thing. I really should do my astrological chart for this current novel! I’m with you on that 100%. Thanks for the input. Your last paragraph scares me. It may work for you, but for me it’s a slimy slide to five more years of producing nothing. Just you saying it makes me want to put on a tin foil hat to stop your advice from sinking in. Just kidding. I hear you, but I personally will sit down and write one sentence rather than let anything at all stop me. It’s just something I have to do, I suppose.
I've started doing something very similar to this. Even if it's just a hundred word blurb about where I want to go with the plot, I still count it. I've found that the whole "morning pages" routine kind of helps. If I'm not in the mood to write then I open up my journal and write about writing. Oddly enough, it helps me get past that "But I just don't want to!" mentality. Sometimes working on your "serious" writing is what puts you off from writing altogether. So doing some writing that's not related to your current novel or project helps you get over the "I don't want to write" hump.
Over the last few months I have returned to writing (the concentrated act of sitting down and working on fiction). I started out with 15 minutes. I didn't want to overdo it. After a couple weeks I pushed it up to 30 minutes. From here 45 minutes and then about two weeks ago I went to an hour. When I went to an hour it was difficult to keep writing for the whole hour. I couldn't keep with the whole hour. I would miss a day or two. Now I'm trying to re-boot myself back into a schedule. I think a word limit each day might be better. This way if I feel stuck or can't write I can come back in the evening. I am thinking of 1,000 to 1,500 words to do this. I'm just wondering what other peoples experience is in trying to schedule writing time. Do you have a set time each day? Do you write for a certain time each day? Or do you do a word count? Or neither of those?
I don't go by time. I get about 500 wpd, and sometimes that takes fifteen or twenty minutes, sometimes forty-five. I'm just getting back in the swing after a long layoff, so I'm working my way back up to 1000 wpd.
I try to do a little every day, even if Its just a paragraph to keep myself focused, some times its hours, it all depends. Its hard for most people since I can safely the majority of us probally maintain full time jobs, so I do it when I can. There is a web site and if no one minds I'll attach the link, its called 750 words and it challenges you to write at least 750 words a day. It keeps track of your writing during a monthly basis and even rewards "points" when you reach a certain number of words. Its strictly motivational, but it works. It also saves your work so you can transfer it over if you want. Give it a shot, see how you like it. http://750words.com/
I'm a bit new to it at this point, but what I've been doing is going by plot points. So when I sit down to write my intention is to pretty much write an entire event in the story in that sitting. When I get to the end, I stop. I might try changing it over though where I start halfway through one event and end halfway through the next, that way it creates a little better continuity in the writing.
My schedule is not number of words. It's a particular part of the plot. So if i'm writing a murder mystery, i'll get the murder done. Next day, the cops arrive at the scene. The lead cop's miserable life the next day. And so on.
I don't have a set schedule. For me the bigger problem is stopping myself from writing, especially if I'm really into a scene. I've got 3 roughly 100K word stories in my computer right now, so I'm not really writing anything new, but trying to get those into shape -- or really just the first one. I'm in revision mode right now and getting feedback from a few sources, so I'm also constrained by the schedules of other people. I also have to review suggested edits and I need to read some other pieces of writing for me to give feedback on in order to get the feedback on my writing. But I try to do *something* related to writing every day.
My roommate is an invalid, so a large chunk of my daily schedule revolves around his. It's hard for me to plan when and how much I'm going to write. But I try to get at least an hour, or maybe two, of writing time in. It's generally non-contiguous, and so I spend a fair percentage of it trying to catch up mentally to where I was when I stopped. Very inefficient.
I try to write at least an hour every morning, afternoon, evening and night. That way it is not too structured, but I do write. I cannot set a schedule because I like to go out for walks, read or knit. If I did not have to worry about work, I would replace that with writing. Most of my best writing is done late at night and early in the morning, so I try to write the majority of the time during then.
I just recently decided on a set schedule of between the hours of 11-6. I shut off the wireless, keep the television off and just write. Amazing what a bit of discipline can do.
This has bothered me since my first high school term paper. I cannot write until late and simply go to bed. My mind explodes with ideas, conflicts, and characters. I have to spend at least an hour with something vanilla, like Leno or the weather on TV. I can't even read because it takes mental focus, and that will get me recharged. No sleep after that. Toss and turn. Do you have to wind down and get away from your project to have a peaceful sleep?
Nope. All it takes for me to find sleep is for the sun to rise. As soon as I see daylight, I get extremely tired.
I always have to wind down to sleep no matter what I've been doing, whether it's writing or watching tv. I have a few apps that play wave sounds, cricket sounds etc so I listen to those to help calm my thoughts.
Hello dear friends. The same thing used to happen with me, but overcame it afterwards, thanks God. The reason for that feeling, as i believe, is the feeling of agitation and satisfaction that comes after making a great and right thing. In my opinion, a person in such case should divide his time according to the work he is doing between days, hours, minutes, etc... of course after doing HIS/HER best, and to leave the rest to God. And I wish you all the best.
