Nancy, that is the most brilliant breakdown - genius!

Emma

I really like that list, Nancy. Like you said, having a parallel notebook or Word file that's devoted just to a kind of dialogue between writer and novel is a real lifesaver. I think mine has almost as many words as my actual novel at this point.

I think an hour a day is very doable for a first draft, but what about the revision and editing phases? I don't think I could have done my second and third drafts without big stretches of time to think on bigger problems. What do others think?

Hello, I tend to write once a week when my daughter has a drama class. For editing, I sort out sections and what needs to be done so I say, Kay gets Bee to give her a haircut - write in scene where he has his shirt off. Then I just tick off that section when it's done and go on to the next one. If I have large swathes of time I tend to do the type of tinkering editing which is a bit like taking one step back to move forward so I leave that off till I'm done. S

Sarah, glad the list helps. It certainly helps me!

Carol, I agree about the editing. I tend to set aside whole days for that, even if I have to take a whole day off and work all day on a section, but I can only do it about 3 times a year! I might even send both kids to nursery/holiday scheme for the day. I feel guilty but that forces me to make the most of the day (the guilt goes away if I've managed to edit a massice chunk that day!).

Nancy

Thanks, Carol and Shika. It's great to discover how many "stolen moment" writers there are here. I definitely feel inspired and motivated - spent my precious hour yesterday making chapter planning notes to shore up that dialogue between me and the reader.

Thanks, everyone!

Hi Tiger Bright,

Excuse me crashing this thread, but you sound like me.

I get up most mornings at 6am and write for an hour or so. I sometimes get a bit done late in the evening, but I am usually too wrecked by then. I have 3 kids including an 8 month old and a stressful job. Sometimes I will get a couple of hundred words a day, sometimes I might just fine tune a line of dialogue, or like last night make some structural notes.

It's a bit like walking a tight rope (though I have never done this) - it's fine as long as you keep going and don't stop and look down. If you do you will be overwhelmed and quite possibly break down in tears. So keep going and look at it as a 6 month/9 month project. You will also find you pick up speed as you go.

I managed my 60,000 WIP like this and am now on a re-write. This site is great to keep up morale and so you keep posting material for feedback.

Good luck,
Ben Yezir.

I get up at 6am in order to have an hour's writing time before work. I can't really write in the evenings because of family commitments. During any given day I maybe have an hour or two when I can be usefully thinking about the story, its characters etc. I'm hoping to get it under my skin to the extent where I can be working on it even when I'm not writing.

Tiger, this is EXACTLY the way I do it, too! I have a full-time job and a family, and the day-job and family take up all my evenings and the whole of the day-time at weekends, so I also get up early and write. I usually do 5.30-7 am on weekdays, and maybe 6-9 am on weekends (I'm lucky that all my clan like to lie in - or else are happy to veg in front of the TV at weekends until 9 am, when they start appearing and demanding breakfast). I also try to keep the story ticking over in my brain, and use time like in the bath or driving to work (if I'm not running through my lectures in my head!) to let the next scene form itself.

It is absolutely doable. I can generally write a novel in 8-10 months working this way. I don't put pressure on myself by setting daily or weekly word-count targets - I know that there are some periods (when work is stressful, or family stuff gets on top of me) when I won't write much at all. In busy teaching times, my 5.30-7 slot gets used up with day-job work. But I know there will be other spells when I have more elbow room and it will go much quicker. Or little bonuses, like a train journey, or an evening when my partner is out and the kids go to bed, and I can just write.

Good luck with it!

Rosy x

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I find that my brain does a lot of background processing while I work on other things, so you may actually find this will improve your writing and output.

I also very much agree with Gaius about this. Writing a bit each day, but then letting the story simmer or gestate in your subconscious for the rest of the day while you fly around doing other things is, for me, a really productive way of working. If I ever do have a longer, unbroken period to write, I tend to dry up - I get to the end of the part which has formed in the depths of my brain...

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And I agree very much with Nancy about being protective of my early morning writing time. Disciplined, too, I guess, but I never perceive it that way - it is my wonderful, selfish 'me' time, before I turn back into a mum and a teacher, at the beck and call of others (it sometimes feels like!) for the rest of my day.

And I agree, also, about finishing each session on a middle bit... The other thing I sometimes do is plan a bit (or dream a bit - it is often not as coherent as 'planning' in the bath last thing at night, and then jot down a few snatches of ideas in bed - a line of dialogue, a thought for a new paragraph - so that in the morning I feel I have something to get going on straight away.

Ben, no gate-crashing that I could see, just excellent sage advice and an inspirational story to boot. Thank you!

Rosie, you're a wonder, thank you for this superb example of what's possible. I love the idea of dreaming up lines of dialogue or snippets from a scene as a way of focusing in on what's next. One thing that does seem to be an unexpected upside to this way of working (after years of plenty of time to do it) is that I am THINKING about the story and characters far more, instead of just letting them rush onto the page. I suspect it will prove a wise investment, in the long run.

Thanks, again. EmmaD said you'd know exactly what I was on about - and you proved it.

Tiger x

Rosie and Sarah, it sounds like we have the excat same life. Could we set up a commune and some sort of rota where one takes care of the kids while the other two write?

Nancy

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exact, even

Nice idea, Nancy! Our kids could play together (and my 8 year old is brilliant with little ones) which would free up even more of our time...

Ooo, yes, please. Mine are quite big now (13 and 10) and will also help entertain the small ones.

R x

I only have a maximum of two hours a day to write and I've managed to finish three novels in the space of three years (first one out soon, fingers crossed!)

My job is busy and keeps me out of the house from 8am each day until 6pm to 9pm, five days a week. It is possible and to be honest, my day job (although it involves writing) makes me angry I can't spend more time on novel-writing!

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It's also possible in some...ahem...workplaces where you can do 'flippy screen' - ie - e-mail your novel to yourself, open it up and save it on your desktop. Work on it at lunch or whenever the boss isn't looking

Hi Tiger,

Welcome to my world!

I have found that finding time to write is my biggest frustration. Trying to keep in shape, I use the morning before work to go to the gym. Funnily, I often get a great idea while on the treadmill and have to go and poach one of the facility's 'suggestion' forms to write down my idea before I hit the shower or it's gone.

I get most of my writing done at lunch where I get a little over an hour if I'm lucky.

On vacations and weekends, I get up before the family and write.

One trick I found that helps is when I am about to fall asleep, I picture where I am in the novel and try to put myself in my character's shoes. This often helps direct my subconscious mind to work on the thing while I sleep.

Best,

Brian.

Excellent tips, Dreamer and Gillian, thanks. I'm certainly putting a lot of thought into this novel. And getting down copious notes. Hopefully the time will arrive when I can write it...

Tiger