I'm curious how much do you write, generally, and how much you think is "enough". I get tired really, really easily, and therefore am very disappointed that I can usually only produce about a page daily. Sometimes, when I can devote a whole day to writing I might be able to write 3-5 pages, depending on my amounts of energy and how creative I feel. How about you?
It works much better to talk in terms of word count rather than number of pages, because there are so many factors that can influence page count, such as is it hand written or typed? Font size? Double-spaced or single? Etc. 2 to 3 thousand words is an OK to decent day for me, but if I really get into it I can hammer out as much as 5,000 words or so. Of course when you work at that kind of rate chances are much of it will end up getting cut in revisions, but hey, it does feel good to crank it out that fast!
Well, my workflow ebbs and (heh) flows. I'm by no means a particularly swift or efficient writer. I also struggle with my energy levels, and I get fairly easily distracted. I don't even manage to write each and every day, but I do try. Anything above 1k words is good as far as I'm concerned, and I've learned to be content with less. Part of the issue is that I tend to mull over and tinker with what I write, as I write it, which is a habit I'm trying and somewhat managing to break. I'm hoping to become the kind of writer who can bang out rough drafts by the barrowload, and allow my ideas to float freely without getting too hung up on prose, polish, or plot. Lately I've been on a decent run, peaking at about 2500 words/day. My personal best is something like 5k, when I cranked out an entire short story in an evening. I don't often reach that level of frenzied inspiration, and I'm not even sure I've done so more than once. Here's hoping lightning can strike twice.
500-1500 If I do 1500 in a day though, I can be sure of a mental block the day after. And the time spent on revising and editing should be joined on, but can't be. Maybe for me it's better to divide back down - I've done 170k words since March 2020 which is about 300 words/day
I write a lot. I just did a blog entry on my daily workflow which is sure a lot easier than having to type it all out, so here you go: http://cephuscorner.jadedragononline.com/2021/10/28/a-day-in-the-life/ BTW: I just crossed 98k on the book in the post and will be done in 3 more days.
Nice to know that everyone's count is a bit different. In terms of words, I write 800-900 daily, but I don't have time to write every day. And sometimes I have a mental block since I'm not sure how I want the scene to play out exactly. Also, sorry for being so unprofessional, it's my first time writing a novel and I still don't know a lot of stuff - including how should I count how much I wrote.
I wouldn't call that a mental block, more that you need to figure out the scene before you can write it. Writing consists of more than just typing. In fact in some ways the typing comes after the fact. Writing also means thinking, which is frequently done while walking or doing dishes or mowing the lawn. Or while staring at the computer thinking your'e supposed to be typing constantly.
You could say that, but sometimes I get stuck for a few days, thinking what sequence of events would flow better. Like, I have the scene storyboarded, but then mid-sentence I think "well, that's fine, but maybe if that would happen, this moment would be better in the long run?" Then I have like 20 of those ideas, and before I know it I'm stuck trying to choose the best option.
I still wouldn't call that a mental block. A block is when you aren't having any ideas. As long as you're working with ideas, that's thinking. Often if you just pick one answer real quick and go with it it turns out not to be that great, so at times you need to ponder for a good long while, and answers don't always come from the conscious mind. The unconscious requires some pondering time to process things for you. Often in fact you need to sleep on it, maybe a few times.
Ow, ok. I never had a day in my life without coming up with some weird ideas, so maybe that's why I used the wrong definition. Sorry, I'm still learning.
I'm terrible at actually writing, my goal is to write 500 words a day, but I manage to do that only 2-4 days out of the week. I'm coming out of a years long writer's block, though, where I wasn't writing anything and ideas weren't going anywhere. I also get tired really easily which is why my goal word count is so low. Even if I have an idea of what more I want to write, I feel like I need to take a break after 500-700 words. I don't want to give myself ambitious word counts because I think that would just kill my motivation even more. I'm really envious of people who can write more than a thousand words a day! I consider anything above 1000 words to be a great writing day. But again, I struggle with motivation and low energy as well.
The typing is often the smallest, easiest part of writing. It's all of the prep work and polishing that takes the most time, effort and mental energy.
Generally, when I have 2-5 hours at my disposal I can get out one or two poems and shelve them for revision. Stories are more of an issue for me, anything from 500 to 2000 words in one sitting is an accomplishment or completing a scene I've had troubles on for a while.
I'm still learning to incorporate writing into my life style. I work 8 to 10 hours and I don't really feel like writing after that. But on my days off, I've managed 2k to 4k a day consistently. But trying to incorporate a real habit on my work days has been hard.
I dont keep track of how much i write, but i do try to work on/edit my WIPs everyday. At work, I write. when I get home from work, I write. Over the weekend, I've stayed up until 1am writing. Sometimes its smooth sailing, other times im struggling so bad i feel like throwing my computer across the room. in those times, I talk about it with other writer friends and something will click while talking to them and i'll write again. Its harder to incorporate it into my daily life now rather than before because of a change in work schedule. I'm not home alone as much anymore and while i'm super happy to finally get to spend the evening with my husband and actually eating dinner with a human being, so much time goes into cooking lol!! And I want to spend the time we do get together with him and not down in my hidey space writing. but then i feel guilty for NOT writing and then guilty FOR writing. Beverly Jenkins said once that she used to spend time with her family during the day and write at night. I think thats perfect.... except for the whole must-sleep-for-day-job thing.
Starting out [writing], I could manage 500 to 750. Introduced reading in my daily routine, that this helped in expanding my thought process. Within a year, expanded to 1000 to 2000 and stuck there. As time goes on [now 5 years] writing has improved (3000+), style and grammar. Have yet a long way to go and working through it slowly
The more you push yourself, the better you get. Never be satisfied, always be pushing for the next rung.
The legalization of Mary Jane in my state has affected my work flow. I was an enthusiastic user in my youth during prohibition, and have recently rediscovered it. I get high in the morning and go for long walks where I let the environment inspire introspection. I carry writing materials to catch those thoughts which I take home. Then I sit at the computer a little after noon and spew out 500 to 2000 words, sometimes more. This often involves reviewing photos I took that morning to serve as writing prompts. Just today I had an epiphany with how to get my novel, started three years ago, unstuck. Spit out about 1k words in an hour, then went out to the workshop to work on my craft projects.
While I wish it was legalised recreationally where I live, I'd be kidding if it improves any aspect of productivity for me. Most of my experiences with the green is lying flat on my couch monging out to the TV screen. I don't get you guys who actually do stuff on it.
My response is definitely atypical. It helps me lose weight by making me forget to eat. That may sound like a joke, but it's for real. It also makes many people drowsy, but not me. That may be related to a lifelong struggle with ADHD. My train of thought becomes like Casey Jones is at the throttle. On today's walk I remembered to take a notepad and pen with me. I have tried using my phone for voice transcriptions, but writing by hand is more conducive to the process, and practising the dying arts of cursive and block printing has its own rewards. Short term memory loss creates the difficulty of having to catch those thoughts quickly before they evaporate. I am a "wake and bake" pothead and try to regulate my intake so that I'm fried on my walks, and am clear headed by early afternoon when I go to work on my creative projects. Those include writing and hand crafts. I first used that stuff at seventeen around 1972. Used it infrequently ever since, sometimes with several years gap. This makes me firmly beleive it isn't physically addictive. If I do it too much, the couch monging starts to creep in, so I go off it when that starts to happen.
How much I write depends on when in the week it is, literally. I work seven days on and seven days off (pretty much) so little gets done, obviously. I take my tablet with me, which has Scrivener on it, in casae I get a break long enough to actually write. I use the notepad on my phone, too. Someone mentioned taking pictures, that is actually a good idea, and as I am also an amateur photographer, it is easy for me to incorporate. I have one section in Scrivener where I just write. No plot, no going in sequence, I write paragraphs of stuff. I let that stew for a day, then I'll go in and chip it up and drop it into the "designated" chapter or theme (I.e. Saturday night at work, Hiking in Nisqually or some general theme like that) It seems a little clunky but it works for me. i'm not going to worry about voice or continuity right away anyway so it's a way for me to get chunks in the right place.
Most days I don't write at all. Occasionally, on a weekend, I will write 24 hours straight and churn out between 14,000 - 17,000 words.
I think a lot about something through the day, and then when I have some time through the week I'll jot it down as almost a stream of consciousness over a couple hour period. That can be anywhere from a haiku to an eight to ten thousand word story. I run with things as they are. Very much a in the moment sort of person. I wait for that perfect moment when I have silence and a bit of time, then I produce a work in one sitting. Edits happen over some more thinking and little rereadings here and there as they rest on the shelf.
Well I'm of the firm belief nothing is addictive if you have discipline. But I wouldn't want to test that theory against heroin regardless though.
