Interested in hearing from screenwriters who have a full day to devote to the craft - how many hours a day do you actually spend writing? Maybe it's because I'm on "the wrong side of 40" but I find it hard to spend more than 4 hours a day on solid writing.
Interested to hear about other people's output!
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Happy Holidays, Michael David! Some days I write longer than others. Sometimes it's 30 mins, one hour, two hours, etc. I don't have a set number of hours to write unless I have a deadline for a job. And it's easier for me to write in the morning and afternoon than at night.
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Write on, Maurice. Those nighttime ideas sometimes get me up at 3am to get them down (I don't scribble notes on a pad on the nightstand to avoid a Seinfeld moment). To Michael: my approach is Don't force it! The writing is either there or needs to steep for a little bit. The only thing that comes from forcing oneself to write is sloppy, frustrating writing. However, inside my mind, I'm always writing ideas, scenarios, variations of a theme, and dot-dot-dot
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I get those nighttime ideas, Matthew Kelcourse. Sometimes I forget them by time I get up in the morning. I need to start writing them down.
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Good question, Michael. Though my business and schedule does not support it at the moment, once when I'd completed a production and had the time and wherewithal I took a couple months off. Writing every day beginning in the early morning and going until around 3 or 4, I was able to complete the first draft of a four-hundred page novel. Now to get to those re-writes....
Retreats do serve that purpose and there are a good number of them out there, ranging from a few days to a few months. Might be worth looking into, and some are in pretty exotic locales that can be quite inspiring, too.
Wishing good fortune to all writers on finding the time and seeing positive progress.
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Just to add my 2 cents, I try for half an nour a day. But there are definitely days where I write for three of four hours. I would do more but still have a regulare job.
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I'm retired and now spend about 4 hours a day writing screenplay with my brothers. If I had more ready content to write I might get more done. It's tough out there.
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I work during the week (Middle School Reading Instructor). It's exhausting so when I get home I just want to veg with my wife (also a teacher). It's different on weekends (and especially now during holiday break). Up at 6:30, continental style breakfast. At my laptop by 7:30. I grind through until lunch. Run errands. Back at it by 3 until 6-6:30. Sunday (and Christmas) time for Mass (I pray to solve sticky plot problems). Work with football as BG noise. So...that's what?? 14/16 hrs?
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5-12 hours depending on where we are in production
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It is considered normal to have 5 pages of script per day. it would be a mistake to think that you can write all day long. Writing fiction is a difficult job that can easily lead to burnout.
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15 minutes a day, seven days a week
roughly about 105 minutes a week.
If I have an off day. I can write as much as eight hours straight with one or two small breaks. Right now I’ve been taking a break from writing currently. Focusing on bigger endeavors.
In the world of distractions, Pomodoro technique works best.
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Varies depending on what stage a project is or if there's a deadline. But sitting in the chair for 8 hours might only include two to three hours of actual writing. Planning, scribbling reminder notes and thinking are all part of the process and take up time.
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It depends on how quickly someone writes. I've had some scripts that took me off / on few months to write. Whereas my last screenplay, took 3 days to write (only writing 3-5 hrs each day)
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2-3 hours a day but as it's been mentioned above most part of the working hours -> thinking
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@Michael David - How many scripts are you writing in a year?
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3-4 hours a day, Monday to Friday, but I don’t monitor hours, as output is more important to me. I don’t want to create a rod for my back. If I write for only an hour on one day, if that has led to me resolving a problem in the script, or I finish a scene or action sequence then I’m happy. In my mind, it pays not to get too litigious. Go with the flow.
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I'm on the right side of 40 (i.e. past it) and try to write 7 - 8 hours per day. Sometimes longer. But it's not always possible with other commitments. I call writing 'the Time Machine' because it can eat so much. If I'm in the zone, fully concentrated, hours go by completely unnoticed.
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@Richard Buzzell 3-4 scripts a year
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12hrs (12:00 until midnight with an hour break for food around 6pm)
Two things though;
1) Never compare yourself to others.
2) Effort is not the same as output.
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I don't actually write until I have the whole thing in my mind.
After I got the idea I analyze characters, find out what the main event is going to be, how the ending is going to look like, but the real writing for me starts months after I come up with the idea for the first time.
I have a habit of thinking about my story everyday for hours, but when I have everything (or at least I think I have everything) then I can start and then I am not stopping for over 10 hours.
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Michael - 3-4 scripts a year is pretty good output. Why is it you feel you need to write more than that?
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I write everyday, but how much time varies. It can be a hour or two or a whole day if things are rolling for me.
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May the New Year bring all Writers new inspiration, plenty of time to craft it, and lots of Rewards and Recognition. Best to you all!