When you are writing do you set yourself a strict time frame or approach it more organically? I can't decide if I need to be more regimented in my writing or not?!
Thanks
Replies
A regular writing routine is fine, but I believe It's best to write in ever spare moment you have. You should set yourself deadlines, otherwise, there's the danger it will take years to complete the first draft of your manuscript.
I'll tell you what I do, but that doesn't mean it will be what works best for you. Hopefully, you'll get a range of answers, then you can test out for yourself which works best for you.
For first draft writing, I have followed the advice of setting myself a daily word target (2000) and I did get a feeling of satisfaction from watching my word count go up. For editing, I am trying to set myself similar targets of how much to edit in one day but I'm finding this much harder to stick to, and I'm not sure what is realistic either.
Giving myself a certain amount of time when I have to stay in front of the computer doesn't make sense to me, as I think that would just encourage me to spend half of it staring out the window.
Setting myself a certain time of day when I have to write isn't practical for me either most days, as I am juggling a job and looking after a family. I have to fit in writing when I can.
I wondered what you were hoping to gain by changing your time frames? Are you hoping to be more productive (i.e. write more per day) or are you trying not to get so many days where you're not sure what to write?
I believe it depends if you want to write for pleasure or for profit. If it's the former, then stay organic and write when the mood takes you. If the latter, then you will need to set aside regular writing time - almost as if you were going off to work every day.
I prefer word count over time as it gives you a better idea on how you are doing on a project.
A regular writing routine is fine, but I believe It's best to write in ever spare moment you have. You should set yourself deadlines, otherwise, there's the danger it will take years to complete the first draft of your manuscript.
Success is dependent on effort - Sophocles
I'll tell you what I do, but that doesn't mean it will be what works best for you. Hopefully, you'll get a range of answers, then you can test out for yourself which works best for you.
For first draft writing, I have followed the advice of setting myself a daily word target (2000) and I did get a feeling of satisfaction from watching my word count go up. For editing, I am trying to set myself similar targets of how much to edit in one day but I'm finding this much harder to stick to, and I'm not sure what is realistic either.
Giving myself a certain amount of time when I have to stay in front of the computer doesn't make sense to me, as I think that would just encourage me to spend half of it staring out the window.
Setting myself a certain time of day when I have to write isn't practical for me either most days, as I am juggling a job and looking after a family. I have to fit in writing when I can.
I wondered what you were hoping to gain by changing your time frames? Are you hoping to be more productive (i.e. write more per day) or are you trying not to get so many days where you're not sure what to write?
I believe it depends if you want to write for pleasure or for profit. If it's the former, then stay organic and write when the mood takes you. If the latter, then you will need to set aside regular writing time - almost as if you were going off to work every day.
I prefer word count over time as it gives you a better idea on how you are doing on a project.