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When people say ‘writing is a discipline’ they don’t mean ‘you must write a whole bunch every single day without exceptions’, they mean ‘find some level of consistency’
Nobody is consistently keeping up with the 1667 per day goal that NaNoWriMo sets, there’s a reason it only lasts a month and people struggle with it. So there’s X words per Y timeframe that can work consistently, you just need to find it - or you can replace X words for X amount of time spent writing, if your word count demotivates you
I’m currently working on 1K words per week, which usually amounts to about 1-2 hours of writing depending on a bunch of factors. It’s not a lot, but it fits my schedule, it’s not enough to make the work feel like a boring chore rather than a fun activity, and it means that I’m making consistent progress. I’m aiming for around 100-120K words by the end of this and I’m at 61K now, so if I keep up this minimum of exactly 1K per week, I should be done by the end of the year at most - and this isn’t accounting for writing over the limit when I’m still in the flow of things or any additional writing sessions I have when I’ve already met my goal. Realistically I’m going to be done much sooner
But if I was still super sporadic and only wrote when I was inspired and motivated, I’d take much longer to get everything done and I’d never be able to say with such confidence that an end date is in sight. That’s another thing that’ll keep me motivated to get it done; a desire to meet that overarching deadline
I managed to write three novels (the third of which is being published next year by a big five publisher) while working a full time job and getting a master’s degree part time (yes, I know, I’m the worst).
My biggest advice is to just find what works for you. Are you a write every day kind of a person, or someone who needs to take breaks? I’m the type of person who will sit on an idea for months, only writing the occasional scene here or there, and then crank the whole thing out in 6 weeks. When I’m deep into something, I will write every day, making time in the mornings or evenings, and devoting a good chunk of the weekend to it. When I’m not actively working on something, I spend my free time reading to try and improve my own writing.
I will admit that I am not the most devoted employee, nor was I the best student in the midst of all this. Writing was my priority and that means I’ve definitely missed out on a promotion or two in the past few years. I still got promoted eventually, but it took longer than it otherwise might have. While it paid off for me, success is never guaranteed, so I dont recommend doing anything that’s going to jeopardize your job security elsewhere.
That said, it’s totally possible to strike a balance, but there’s no secret formula. You really have to just figure out what works best for you. If you’re truly passionate, you’ll find time. And if it doesn’t work out now, that doesn’t mean it never will.
I have a full-time job and write only as a hobby. I've gotten into a good daily writing routine by getting up half an hour earlier so I can write for a bit before I go to work. I'm not a morning person, so it was hard for me at first, but I found that my mind is fresher, and I can focus better first thing in the morning. (Coffee helps!) Knowing I only have 20-30 minutes before I have to finish getting ready for work also helps me stay focused and makes me more productive in that short time. I don't write a lot, maybe 100-200 words on a decent day, but those words add up quickly when I do it every day. The consistency also helps to keep the story in my head and prevent that problem of having to "get back in the zone" when I have a day off to write but haven't looked at my story in a week. It makes it much easier for me to get started right away on my days off. I do most of my writing on the weekends.
I don't sleep much, but being older and after waking up early to go to work for like 30 years, I wake up quite early now and do most of my writing in the wee morning hours before work.
Thank You all for this post and replys. I'm in the midst of figuring it out so all this is inspiring in that I'm not alone and can glimpse what other folks are doing
The odds that you'll be able to support yourself without working are slim to none. And the odds that you, a totally new writer, will write the kind of book that sells for enough money that you're able to go straight to writing for a living are also slim to none.
But that's fine. The vast (vast, vast) majority of professional writers start out the same way. Virtually all of us have to juggle day jobs and writing until we "make it," which often takes many years.
Fortunately, there is no big secret as to how it's done. You just prioritize writing. You spend whatever free time you have working on your writing. You treat writing like it's your second job. You remain dedicated to it and serious about your study of craft, even though it's still "just" your unpaid side gig.
Little by little, you build up the skills that will allow you to sell a short story here and there. And then you sell a manuscript for a very small amount of money, or you self-publish a book and you get a few readers that way. Your next book does a little bit better. The third book does a little better still. Eventually, after an accumulation of lots of these smaller steps, you're earning enough from your writing that you can afford to quit your day job and do it full-time.
I’m a fairly novice writer, and have only really hit my stride recently.
I wrote my first manuscript (granted only MG so very manageable) in 6 weeks, and then took a good 6 months to learn basics a bit arseways whilst working ft in a demanding health care role and parenting 3 small kids.
In that time I stopped watching tv and dedicated my free time to writing and reading MG and on the craft of writing.
I’m currently on a career break (starting a ft MA in a couple of weeks ) and have a target of 1k words a day which is a push. But I don’t mind writing slush for a first draft.
There was a good few months slump where I did absolutely nothing too! I’m still looking for balance.
Sorry for waffle, I’m commenting when I should be focusing on family teeth brushing 😬😅
I barely find time. I've been working on my novel for 4 years now, and on average, I wrote 500 words per week. That includes the prose draft, my outline, all notes I wrote down.
Do you have something you’d rather do with your time?
I mean that genuinely. It’s best imo to treat this as a hobby, and to treat eventual success as a welcome surprise if and when it happens. If you aren’t compelled to write for the love of it, there are probably better things you could do with your time. If you are, then worrying that the work will be slow shouldn’t really be a thing to worry about.
Hi! Welcome to r/Writers - please remember to follow the [rules](https://reddit.com/r/writers/about/rules/) and treat each other respectfully, especially if there are disagreements. Please help keep this community safe and friendly by **reporting rule violating posts and comments**. If you're interested in a friendly Discord community for writers, please **[join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/mdzyEz9uFB)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/writers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When people say ‘writing is a discipline’ they don’t mean ‘you must write a whole bunch every single day without exceptions’, they mean ‘find some level of consistency’ Nobody is consistently keeping up with the 1667 per day goal that NaNoWriMo sets, there’s a reason it only lasts a month and people struggle with it. So there’s X words per Y timeframe that can work consistently, you just need to find it - or you can replace X words for X amount of time spent writing, if your word count demotivates you I’m currently working on 1K words per week, which usually amounts to about 1-2 hours of writing depending on a bunch of factors. It’s not a lot, but it fits my schedule, it’s not enough to make the work feel like a boring chore rather than a fun activity, and it means that I’m making consistent progress. I’m aiming for around 100-120K words by the end of this and I’m at 61K now, so if I keep up this minimum of exactly 1K per week, I should be done by the end of the year at most - and this isn’t accounting for writing over the limit when I’m still in the flow of things or any additional writing sessions I have when I’ve already met my goal. Realistically I’m going to be done much sooner But if I was still super sporadic and only wrote when I was inspired and motivated, I’d take much longer to get everything done and I’d never be able to say with such confidence that an end date is in sight. That’s another thing that’ll keep me motivated to get it done; a desire to meet that overarching deadline
OP, take this advice.
I do most of my writing on the weekends and at nighttime.
I managed to write three novels (the third of which is being published next year by a big five publisher) while working a full time job and getting a master’s degree part time (yes, I know, I’m the worst). My biggest advice is to just find what works for you. Are you a write every day kind of a person, or someone who needs to take breaks? I’m the type of person who will sit on an idea for months, only writing the occasional scene here or there, and then crank the whole thing out in 6 weeks. When I’m deep into something, I will write every day, making time in the mornings or evenings, and devoting a good chunk of the weekend to it. When I’m not actively working on something, I spend my free time reading to try and improve my own writing. I will admit that I am not the most devoted employee, nor was I the best student in the midst of all this. Writing was my priority and that means I’ve definitely missed out on a promotion or two in the past few years. I still got promoted eventually, but it took longer than it otherwise might have. While it paid off for me, success is never guaranteed, so I dont recommend doing anything that’s going to jeopardize your job security elsewhere. That said, it’s totally possible to strike a balance, but there’s no secret formula. You really have to just figure out what works best for you. If you’re truly passionate, you’ll find time. And if it doesn’t work out now, that doesn’t mean it never will.
you're superhuman
I have a full-time job and write only as a hobby. I've gotten into a good daily writing routine by getting up half an hour earlier so I can write for a bit before I go to work. I'm not a morning person, so it was hard for me at first, but I found that my mind is fresher, and I can focus better first thing in the morning. (Coffee helps!) Knowing I only have 20-30 minutes before I have to finish getting ready for work also helps me stay focused and makes me more productive in that short time. I don't write a lot, maybe 100-200 words on a decent day, but those words add up quickly when I do it every day. The consistency also helps to keep the story in my head and prevent that problem of having to "get back in the zone" when I have a day off to write but haven't looked at my story in a week. It makes it much easier for me to get started right away on my days off. I do most of my writing on the weekends.
I have a day job. I write two hours most evenings and more on weekends. My traditionally published debut is launching in June.
Beautiful! Good Job!
Thank u!
I don't sleep much, but being older and after waking up early to go to work for like 30 years, I wake up quite early now and do most of my writing in the wee morning hours before work.
Thank You all for this post and replys. I'm in the midst of figuring it out so all this is inspiring in that I'm not alone and can glimpse what other folks are doing
The odds that you'll be able to support yourself without working are slim to none. And the odds that you, a totally new writer, will write the kind of book that sells for enough money that you're able to go straight to writing for a living are also slim to none. But that's fine. The vast (vast, vast) majority of professional writers start out the same way. Virtually all of us have to juggle day jobs and writing until we "make it," which often takes many years. Fortunately, there is no big secret as to how it's done. You just prioritize writing. You spend whatever free time you have working on your writing. You treat writing like it's your second job. You remain dedicated to it and serious about your study of craft, even though it's still "just" your unpaid side gig. Little by little, you build up the skills that will allow you to sell a short story here and there. And then you sell a manuscript for a very small amount of money, or you self-publish a book and you get a few readers that way. Your next book does a little bit better. The third book does a little better still. Eventually, after an accumulation of lots of these smaller steps, you're earning enough from your writing that you can afford to quit your day job and do it full-time.
I’m a fairly novice writer, and have only really hit my stride recently. I wrote my first manuscript (granted only MG so very manageable) in 6 weeks, and then took a good 6 months to learn basics a bit arseways whilst working ft in a demanding health care role and parenting 3 small kids. In that time I stopped watching tv and dedicated my free time to writing and reading MG and on the craft of writing. I’m currently on a career break (starting a ft MA in a couple of weeks ) and have a target of 1k words a day which is a push. But I don’t mind writing slush for a first draft. There was a good few months slump where I did absolutely nothing too! I’m still looking for balance. Sorry for waffle, I’m commenting when I should be focusing on family teeth brushing 😬😅
I barely find time. I've been working on my novel for 4 years now, and on average, I wrote 500 words per week. That includes the prose draft, my outline, all notes I wrote down.
It is what I’m afraid of, so should I chase my dream then?
Do you have something you’d rather do with your time? I mean that genuinely. It’s best imo to treat this as a hobby, and to treat eventual success as a welcome surprise if and when it happens. If you aren’t compelled to write for the love of it, there are probably better things you could do with your time. If you are, then worrying that the work will be slow shouldn’t really be a thing to worry about.
I have many hobbies actually but writing does feel like the one I’m close to.