Ernest Hemingway answered this question during an interview with a Writers Digest correspondent.
"What about hours? How long can you actually be productive on a daily basis? How do you know when to stop?"
"That's something you have to learn about yourself. The important thing is to work every day..... No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail."
"And watch people, observe, try to put yourself in somebody else's head. If two men argue, don't just think who is right and who is wrong. Think what both their sides are. As a man, you know who is right and who is wrong; you have to judge. As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand."
So what about your hours? How long can you actually be productive on a daily basis? How do you know when to stop?"
I stop when someone needs me or I have to stop for coffee. I sometimes work on writing for several hours at a time and sometimes I run out of steam within the hour. Actually, when I get to a "hard place" I have to stop and I may not tackle the story again for days. Lately I've been better at pacing though. I went to a mall for several hours the other day to observe. I didn't see anyone interesting enough to pattern a character after but while sitting with a sandwich at the Food Court I got an idea for an escape scene. I have no idea why I thought of ir unless it was because I was relaxed and was on anouting for the first time since we moved to our current house. Things had been so hectic it was hard to concentrate, I do try to put myself into a character's head. It's a little difficult to do with my Russian characters but two of my main characters are patterned a little bit after myself. One os the real me and the other is my alter ego which I let out in real life sometimes. If I don't get a few lines into the computer each day I at least add to my notes.
Right now I usually write when I am at home and not at work. I plan on working on my stories, once the store is closed in May, at least two to three hours a day. Will stop if I get tired or stumpped. I don't think you should try to keep going if you are struggling. If you stop and let your mind rest you think better.
This is something I really have trouble with. Not stopping, but starting. I haven't written for a year. I need to follow the advice that I was given by Orson Scott Card when I met him - " Write one page a day, and in a year you will have a Novel." I haven't even doen that.
I'm forcing myself to type a chapter a day, even if I have to erase it the next day. So far, I have failed to do this about one day in four and I have not had to erase anything. I write working titles and brief notes for the upcoming chapters and have got them written to the conclusion, which is four chapters away.
I work best if I can jump onto the keyboard before anyone talks to me in the morning or before I see any news online or on tv.
If I keep going to Chapter 28, this will be the first time I finish anything longer than an essay or journal entry.
I write until I hit a spot that requires thought...or until the bathroom calls. A lot of my "writing" is done at work...I work nights stocking shelves. Not the most thrilling of jobs, so I spend the time thinking of my writing and what I'm going to say...usually, when I get home, I have little trouble getting it down on paper (or monitor). The downside, of course, is that I seem to be spending my nights talking to myself about it...which tends to get me some rather strange looks...
That question about "when to stop" tripped me up before because as I would get deeper into a story, I would feel like it could go in many directions and I could not end it.... (like my run-on sentences *LOL*) and so I would just abandon it. This time I short-circuited it by setting out with the last chapter and an opening scene directly connected, so that no matter where I wandered off, I would have to come back to that sequence and no other. Now I see all the other tangents as stories waiting to be written when this one is done.
As I'm sure many of you know, Peter Elbow turned writing practice on its head. Peter says that in school we are taught to write by first figuring out what we want to say, then translating that into words on the page (editing for style on the fly). But, he argues, that this is the exact opposite way to write. We don't figure out what we want to say, then write it. We write in order to figure out what we want to say. Elbow teaches a cluster of methods that help you to mind dump loads of material, which you then mine for content. So, for those who are struggling to discipline themselves with a daily quota of writing, Peter Elbow's methods can unblock the flow. Two of his books are: "Writing Without Teachers," and "Writing With Power."
That's good advice. Thank you. Very often I start to write without a plan and end up creating an entire short story. Then I begin to work on it. I will check for the books you recommend.
I frankly don't know what I'm going to say until I put it down on paper (or PC for that matter) it just seems that I get a sentense in my head and then expand from that. Or I see something that attracts my attention and I will jot it down on a piece of paper and then when I get home I sit down and start writing.the problem there is that in the most interesting part ( I think) that I'm writing my dog distracts me because she needs to go out and do her duty and then that's where I lose tract of what I wanted to say!! Darn that dog!!.
Is tht what Elbow's talking about?? since I'm relatively new at this even if I'm old--I don't know if I'm doing the right thing or not??? Anyway, I'm enjoying myself LOL.
I've been very unproductive lately as I research self publishing options. But, my usual method with historical fiction is putting tons of time into research and making scene notes along with facts cards as ideas for a story come up.
When I'm ready to write, I re-read the notes and picture the story chapter in my mind. As I sit at the computer the scene just seems to pour out. I prefer to write the entire chapter at one sitting (they are not long) then let it cool for awhile before editing.
I really enjoy seeing everyone's methods of productivity.
