Tuesday, February 8, 2011

How much is too much?



When I write, I find I'm only good for about two and a half hours at a time, and it's pushing it to do more than one session of two and a half hours.
For whatever reason, I always reach a magical point at which it gets significantly harder to think of words to put down.

In the past I've always stepped away from my computer and said "That's good. I just wrote for two and a half hours and I have something to show for it. Time for mindless distraction!"
But I've recently started wondering if I should push through it and force myself to write beyond that point.

So this week I'm going to try an experiment. I will write until I come to my finishing point, and then attempt to write some more. Next week I'll examine my writing and see if writing past my finishing point makes me write better or worse.
Also, I'll see if there's a golden valley of muse-inspired words after I push myself past that point. Maybe there's a second wind that comes if I push myself.

There was one day last year when I wrote for nine hours straight. But that was for NaNoWriMo when I turned myself into a strict word machine. This experiment pertains more to the entire writing process: not only adding to my word count, but editing, contemplating, researching, and doing all the little things that go into a polished novel.

Check back next week to see what happens!

1 comment:

  1. When the "creative saliva" is flowing, I'm sure you can write longer, but, in music, 2-2.5 hours is the max for practicing--2 hours if the practice is intense. You aren't going to accomplish more after two hours (practicing music). I would think that it would be the same with creative writing, except for when the juices are flowing.

    XOXOXOXOXOXOXO,
    Daddy

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