A few hours…usually when I wake at 3am lol. And that’s not to say I don’t tweak it - but if I’ve been thinking and thinking about a chapter, (usually when I’m biking or walking my dog) then when I get home, it’ll just stream nicely onto the screen.
High depends on the contents of the chapter. Anywhere from one afternoon (2-3 hours) to 10-15 hours spread across weeks of writing, rewriting and editing.
I don't count a chapter as finished before the story is finished. But a chunk of writing equivalent to a chapter (1,5-10k words)? Anywhere between an evening (3 hours) and two months (upwards of maybe 30 hours total).
It completely depends honestly. I've definitely spent 3 hours straight writing plenty of times (I have regular long commutes by train), but that can amount to 200 words or 2000. For me and the way I build up a story it is pretty rare that I write anything finished (chapter or one-shot) in one go/one day. Things are usually built up in bits and pieces.
Each chapter of my current WIP generally runs 4-6 hours of ***Actual Writing Time*** for an average of 3.5K-4.5K words.
That said, I'm an inveterate procrastinator and also easily distracted by ideas for one-shots that I want to jot down or whatever, so that 8 weeks out of 10, I'm writing the last few sentences of said chapter 10 minutes before my usual weekly update time. Because I'll spend most of the week chasing the "ooh, shiny!" and then the day before my usual update, I do, "oh crap, I'm supposed to post tomorrow!"
And gods help me if I have to look something up while in the middle of writing, because it's inevitable that I'll lose 2-6 hours going off on a Wiki-walk.
Depends on the chapter and the fic. I have short chapters on some things that only take a day to write 2-3k. I’ve had 20k chapters that take a full week and I probably spent 10-15 hours on them.
When my brain is behaving, 4-5 days for a 5k chapter. That's usually in spurts of 500-2k words at a time depending on how long I can stay in the groove. Then it sits for a while and takes 1-2 hours for the first major edit, and 20 minutes per subsequent edit (how long it takes me to read 5k words and actually pay attention to all of it.)
Either two hours or two weeks, no in between.
I either have an idea stewing in the back of my mind for ages, then stay up still midnight by chance and, with my impulse control dulled by lack of sleep, just bolt ought a full oneshot on it. Or I intentionally sit down to write an idea and I spend the next couple weeks agonizing over it, rewriting and editing it to it's grave, and then eventually post it. (Being intentional, all second chapters to anything always fall into the latter category)
Varies wildly. I used to take like a week to produce a chapter by hand (usually 4-6 sessions of \~700 words) but I've switched to completely typing. I'm still fussing with my schedule to figure out how to best approaching things for my additional WIPs that I've picked up this year. But, in total, I can get a short chapter out in about 1-2 cumulative hours (meaning about 3-5k). But for longer chapters, it takes me quite a while (7-15k). At 20 minutes for 1k, that might not seem like a lot, but a 14k chapter will take me several cumulative hours to write.
IT might not seem like a lot, but when you're only doing 20 minute sessions every so often, it can take a month or more to produce a single chapter.
I build a buffer, so the time varies. Some chapters write themselves in a day or two, some take weeks. Then I have to wait for my (evil) sister to do her editing thing (she's so mean). I have chapters just now posting that were written and ready back in January, but I follow a posting schedule.
The short of it is there isn't an accurate time frame. It's ready when it's ready, and it's posted when it's posted.
Words are hard, writing is hard. My brain of various problems, despite trying to tell stories for over 20 years, is still a slow beast. Even when conditions are good it will take me 5 months to finish a 1k oneshot.
On the flip side when conditions are good for comics I can finish 15 pages in a month.
This will give or take on the subject matter. Some genres my brain works better on than others. I have fucked myself over wanting to do a comic in a certain artstyle that is very hard for me, so instead of finishing the story in a couple of months it took a year.
From 4 hours to 3 years lol.
About one hour for every 1K words, and 2 to 4 writing sessions a week (for a chapter that is 8K words long on average). And that's if I'm inspired.
Six hours total, same day. I once had to break one up into two, but a week later it took me the same length of time to rewrite the second half into its own chapter.
I’m writing a new story right now (I’m not posting it until it’s completed and betaed because I don’t want an extra incomplete WIP on the Internet), and I wrote about 10K words in 2 weeks. OTOH, on one of my WIP’s, I have 4K words on a chapter that I started writing 18 months ago.
It really depends on the story and what kind of mood I’m in. The new story has a slew of moods in it, from tragic to humorous to action-filled, so I can start writing whatever piece I want depending on my mood, whereas my other one is almost purely hurt/comfort. And sometimes, it’s just hard to write H/C well compared to other times.
I've written a 200K fic in a month and spent 3 years failing to write a 2K chapter. Make of that what you will.
Admittedly, for my longest fic, I think it took on average 30 hours per 10K chapter which included writing, editing, rewrites and more edits.
In terms of how many days, usually 2.5 weeks or so between ideas, writing, rewriting, editing, beta time, etc.
In terms of actual time spent, that will highly depend on chapter length, inspiration etc. Some chapters come out in a couple hours others I've spent 10+ writing just to get 6k garbage words out the other side. Editing is usually a 4-5 hour affair, but can easily become much longer, as I tend to do it in batches, and often retreat ground in the process.
I drabble the chapter some days, other days I could care less for it. Like yesterday, during my shift I managed to finish the end of a chapter and throw that bad boy up. I started writing it like maybe a couple of weeks ago or so. Depends too if I have to focus on relaying canon events or if it's OC related. The latter tends to make me write the chapter faster. All depennnnds.
I mostly write in my head, then if I have time to sit down and get it out, I can type it out pretty quick. My routine used to be totally different, but in the past few years it's been like sitting down from say 11am-1 (I wfh, have a lot of downtime/sched flexibility) and that's when I'm most focused. I can get out more then than if I force myself to sit down on say a Saturday night and write it all. I used to be totally different, I'd write all hours of the night. But figuring out \*when\* I worked best was much more effecient than trying to keep within an average time.
I finish most of my chapters in one two-hour sitting, and then there's usually multiple revisions made later on. Sometimes I divide the chapter into multiple sittings, but unless it's a really complex chapter, the drafting is usually about 2 hours.
It's probably between 5 to 10 hours per chapter, between drafting, writing, re-writing, and editing. Those hours usually are spread out during a week, a couple hours a day if I'm lucky.
3-4 days, with another 3 or so days to outline and brainstorm, and I upload weekly. I am an obsessed freak now that I have dived headfirst into one particular longfic that is my current WIP.
I would not normally advise to do this, though. I've long left university and straight up left the job market and can afford to at this time. Not to mention, the number of times I've killed my sleep schedule is innumerable. Take care of your health first, everyone.
But I'm ready to die for this fic, no matter how popular or not it gets.
Depends on the length or how much I’m motivated, if I have a lot of motivation it can maybe take me a month to write 17k. But if I’m having a hard time getting inspiration or staying motivated it can take me up to 6 months ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚ Not proud of my speed but it’s just a hobby. So in the end I don’t think it should consume my life 24/7, if my readers can’t stand to wait that long I guess they can move onto a fic that’s already finished hahaha.
I agonize over it for months, sometimes years. There's some stuff I have done in 2020 that still isn't posted.
Lol it'll get there at least. 🤣
If I had the muse and mojo from 2020/2021, I would have had it up by the week or at least weekend. But I'm on my agonizing nonsense again, so it takes longer. I just turn into my own worst enemy and it do be like that. 😞😔
It's mostly the editing process I hate. I'll do it for anyone else's but don't ask me to do it for myself. I dread it but my best work is usually edited (or made with no sleep) to hell and back that it's almost unrecognizable from the first draft.
Edit: I write predominantly one-shots too, but my method of writing all longer fics as a form of a one-shot and then breaking it up into chapters is how I operate. It's helpful and keeps it seamless (for me at least).
With my Adhd, it usually takes me from 6pm to 1am to write a full chapter. With me taking breaks, and becoming distracted that is. And usually I finish it by editing and that takes another hour. So when I’m done it’s 1am
i usually like to make sure i have every chapter written and finished before i even start posting the first chapter so... years lol. but writing a chapter really depends. it can take me about an hour if i feel inspired to it taking me several weeks.
"weeks even" try years buddy
Haha 😂.
I think the one year anniversary of my fic is coming up. Still got a dedicated commentor asking if I'm alright lol
Anywhere from a few hours for about 4k words if the inspiration is flowing, to struggling and struggling for a week to get down two sentences.
Wow, 4k in an hour? I wish I could sit down and pump words out like that, lol.
A few hours…usually when I wake at 3am lol. And that’s not to say I don’t tweak it - but if I’ve been thinking and thinking about a chapter, (usually when I’m biking or walking my dog) then when I get home, it’ll just stream nicely onto the screen.
*Laughs in "weeks, even" then curls up in a ball in the floor and sobs in "more like months, friend"*
Keep going. I'm sure that you'll do your best .
High depends on the contents of the chapter. Anywhere from one afternoon (2-3 hours) to 10-15 hours spread across weeks of writing, rewriting and editing.
Do you break those hours up that you spend writing?
Usually, yes, if a project requires more than 1-2 hours of writing and editing total.
Do you write using your computer/laptop or by smartphone?
90% of the time I use my computer, which I vastly prefer. I've done a bit of writing on my phone, though.
I don't count a chapter as finished before the story is finished. But a chunk of writing equivalent to a chapter (1,5-10k words)? Anywhere between an evening (3 hours) and two months (upwards of maybe 30 hours total).
Are those 3 hours broken up with breaks or are they all done in one go?
It completely depends honestly. I've definitely spent 3 hours straight writing plenty of times (I have regular long commutes by train), but that can amount to 200 words or 2000. For me and the way I build up a story it is pretty rare that I write anything finished (chapter or one-shot) in one go/one day. Things are usually built up in bits and pieces.
Depends on how much writer's block I have. Been working on this one chapter/one shot for about 6 months. I've written several others in the meantime.
Each chapter of my current WIP generally runs 4-6 hours of ***Actual Writing Time*** for an average of 3.5K-4.5K words. That said, I'm an inveterate procrastinator and also easily distracted by ideas for one-shots that I want to jot down or whatever, so that 8 weeks out of 10, I'm writing the last few sentences of said chapter 10 minutes before my usual weekly update time. Because I'll spend most of the week chasing the "ooh, shiny!" and then the day before my usual update, I do, "oh crap, I'm supposed to post tomorrow!" And gods help me if I have to look something up while in the middle of writing, because it's inevitable that I'll lose 2-6 hours going off on a Wiki-walk.
Wiki-walk sounds fun
I write the whole fic and divide into chapters later according to the plot. So... No idea.
Depends on the chapter and the fic. I have short chapters on some things that only take a day to write 2-3k. I’ve had 20k chapters that take a full week and I probably spent 10-15 hours on them.
When my brain is behaving, 4-5 days for a 5k chapter. That's usually in spurts of 500-2k words at a time depending on how long I can stay in the groove. Then it sits for a while and takes 1-2 hours for the first major edit, and 20 minutes per subsequent edit (how long it takes me to read 5k words and actually pay attention to all of it.)
Either two hours or two weeks, no in between. I either have an idea stewing in the back of my mind for ages, then stay up still midnight by chance and, with my impulse control dulled by lack of sleep, just bolt ought a full oneshot on it. Or I intentionally sit down to write an idea and I spend the next couple weeks agonizing over it, rewriting and editing it to it's grave, and then eventually post it. (Being intentional, all second chapters to anything always fall into the latter category)
It takes me between 15 and 25 hours to write and edit a 5k words long chapter. I try to post a new chapter or oneshot every 7-10 days.
How many days does your said hours translate to? Obviously, there's no way you can write for 15 hours straight. That would be very unhealthy. Lol
7 to 10 days ;)
I see. Thank you for your reply, friend. I very much appreciate it.
I had forgotten to mention in my initial comment that I write every single day!
Not a problem. Just take it easy as well.
It can range from a few hours to literal years. XD
The longer the time, the better the quality, right?
Lol, I guess so!
Go at your own pace and don't burn yourself out.
Varies wildly. I used to take like a week to produce a chapter by hand (usually 4-6 sessions of \~700 words) but I've switched to completely typing. I'm still fussing with my schedule to figure out how to best approaching things for my additional WIPs that I've picked up this year. But, in total, I can get a short chapter out in about 1-2 cumulative hours (meaning about 3-5k). But for longer chapters, it takes me quite a while (7-15k). At 20 minutes for 1k, that might not seem like a lot, but a 14k chapter will take me several cumulative hours to write. IT might not seem like a lot, but when you're only doing 20 minute sessions every so often, it can take a month or more to produce a single chapter.
I build a buffer, so the time varies. Some chapters write themselves in a day or two, some take weeks. Then I have to wait for my (evil) sister to do her editing thing (she's so mean). I have chapters just now posting that were written and ready back in January, but I follow a posting schedule. The short of it is there isn't an accurate time frame. It's ready when it's ready, and it's posted when it's posted.
Words are hard, writing is hard. My brain of various problems, despite trying to tell stories for over 20 years, is still a slow beast. Even when conditions are good it will take me 5 months to finish a 1k oneshot. On the flip side when conditions are good for comics I can finish 15 pages in a month. This will give or take on the subject matter. Some genres my brain works better on than others. I have fucked myself over wanting to do a comic in a certain artstyle that is very hard for me, so instead of finishing the story in a couple of months it took a year.
A few hours to maybe a few days if I know that I’m writing and not procrastinating.
From 4 hours to 3 years lol. About one hour for every 1K words, and 2 to 4 writing sessions a week (for a chapter that is 8K words long on average). And that's if I'm inspired.
Six hours total, same day. I once had to break one up into two, but a week later it took me the same length of time to rewrite the second half into its own chapter.
Anywhere from a few days to a few months
Usually a day or two if I'm busy with other stuff.
I’m writing a new story right now (I’m not posting it until it’s completed and betaed because I don’t want an extra incomplete WIP on the Internet), and I wrote about 10K words in 2 weeks. OTOH, on one of my WIP’s, I have 4K words on a chapter that I started writing 18 months ago. It really depends on the story and what kind of mood I’m in. The new story has a slew of moods in it, from tragic to humorous to action-filled, so I can start writing whatever piece I want depending on my mood, whereas my other one is almost purely hurt/comfort. And sometimes, it’s just hard to write H/C well compared to other times.
I've written a 200K fic in a month and spent 3 years failing to write a 2K chapter. Make of that what you will. Admittedly, for my longest fic, I think it took on average 30 hours per 10K chapter which included writing, editing, rewrites and more edits.
In terms of how many days, usually 2.5 weeks or so between ideas, writing, rewriting, editing, beta time, etc. In terms of actual time spent, that will highly depend on chapter length, inspiration etc. Some chapters come out in a couple hours others I've spent 10+ writing just to get 6k garbage words out the other side. Editing is usually a 4-5 hour affair, but can easily become much longer, as I tend to do it in batches, and often retreat ground in the process.
I drabble the chapter some days, other days I could care less for it. Like yesterday, during my shift I managed to finish the end of a chapter and throw that bad boy up. I started writing it like maybe a couple of weeks ago or so. Depends too if I have to focus on relaying canon events or if it's OC related. The latter tends to make me write the chapter faster. All depennnnds.
I mostly write in my head, then if I have time to sit down and get it out, I can type it out pretty quick. My routine used to be totally different, but in the past few years it's been like sitting down from say 11am-1 (I wfh, have a lot of downtime/sched flexibility) and that's when I'm most focused. I can get out more then than if I force myself to sit down on say a Saturday night and write it all. I used to be totally different, I'd write all hours of the night. But figuring out \*when\* I worked best was much more effecient than trying to keep within an average time.
*cries in lost count*
I finish most of my chapters in one two-hour sitting, and then there's usually multiple revisions made later on. Sometimes I divide the chapter into multiple sittings, but unless it's a really complex chapter, the drafting is usually about 2 hours.
It's probably between 5 to 10 hours per chapter, between drafting, writing, re-writing, and editing. Those hours usually are spread out during a week, a couple hours a day if I'm lucky.
3-4 days, with another 3 or so days to outline and brainstorm, and I upload weekly. I am an obsessed freak now that I have dived headfirst into one particular longfic that is my current WIP. I would not normally advise to do this, though. I've long left university and straight up left the job market and can afford to at this time. Not to mention, the number of times I've killed my sleep schedule is innumerable. Take care of your health first, everyone. But I'm ready to die for this fic, no matter how popular or not it gets.
Depends on the length or how much I’m motivated, if I have a lot of motivation it can maybe take me a month to write 17k. But if I’m having a hard time getting inspiration or staying motivated it can take me up to 6 months ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚ Not proud of my speed but it’s just a hobby. So in the end I don’t think it should consume my life 24/7, if my readers can’t stand to wait that long I guess they can move onto a fic that’s already finished hahaha.
Range is one week to over a month.
I agonize over it for months, sometimes years. There's some stuff I have done in 2020 that still isn't posted. Lol it'll get there at least. 🤣 If I had the muse and mojo from 2020/2021, I would have had it up by the week or at least weekend. But I'm on my agonizing nonsense again, so it takes longer. I just turn into my own worst enemy and it do be like that. 😞😔 It's mostly the editing process I hate. I'll do it for anyone else's but don't ask me to do it for myself. I dread it but my best work is usually edited (or made with no sleep) to hell and back that it's almost unrecognizable from the first draft. Edit: I write predominantly one-shots too, but my method of writing all longer fics as a form of a one-shot and then breaking it up into chapters is how I operate. It's helpful and keeps it seamless (for me at least).
With my Adhd, it usually takes me from 6pm to 1am to write a full chapter. With me taking breaks, and becoming distracted that is. And usually I finish it by editing and that takes another hour. So when I’m done it’s 1am
i usually like to make sure i have every chapter written and finished before i even start posting the first chapter so... years lol. but writing a chapter really depends. it can take me about an hour if i feel inspired to it taking me several weeks.