How do you know when you’ve written enough for one day? In terms of productivity, that is. This was a topic in one of the panels I did at RadCon last February. It was very interesting how many different techniques people have to stay on task and meet their goals.
One of the authors worked in Hollywood and almost everything was written toward deadlines. He basically worked in a series of sprints. Setting a timer, writing as hard and fast as he could without doing revision. Then at the bell taking breaks, having drinks or snacks, answering e-mails and secondary writing tasks. After a while, he set the timer and did it again.
One of them went by word count. She set out to write a certain number of words before her session could be over. I know another who only has weekends for writing, and he crams in as much as he can until he’s exhausted. At a convention, I once heard an author say he began writing at midnight and went until six o’clock in the morning. That would never work for me!
For myself, I go by pages. I have to finish two pages before I can be done. But if I’m near the end of a chapter, then I have to finish the chapter. That may not sound like much, but I have a day job and a house to maintain. I have basically an hour after dinner for writing. One night of the week is reserved for gaming, and two nights my siblings will call to talk. If only they all got along and would call me together on Discord! I could have another uninterrupted work night.
Anyway, I’m curious how you get your writing done. In sprints, by the clock, or by the word? Something else? Let me know in the comments!
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For me it’s just butt in chair when I have the hours available. Some days are more productive than others. My brain tells me when I’ve had enough.
I typically write my novel outlines as a series of plot points. So, for me a good day of writing is a complete plot point. The word length varies, but it does tend to hover around 1500 words. For short stories, I usually do the same kind of thing, but the word count can be much more variable. If a plot point is only 500 words, say, there’s a good chance I”‘ll move on to the next one.
As most of my writing has been as a journalist, my magic word is “deadline.” If the editor’s deadline is 5 p.m., I may have a goal to have it done by 3:30 p.m. Or if it’s a short story due in three days, my goal may be to have it done in two. Or if it’s a long-term project due in three months, my goal may be to have it done a week or so early.
Do I meet my earlier goal? Almost never. Do I meet my deadline? Always. (At least I haven’t missed a writing deadline in over 20 years.)
My problem is writing fiction where there is no deadline. That I haven’t really worked out.