ANDRE BEGIN

When it comes to the duration of writing sessions, establishing a universal rule of thumb is incredibly difficult. There are so many variables that need to be taken into consideration, variables that can differ from one writer to another.

Within a given writing session, are we breaking ground on new ideas? Are we developing seedlings of ideas into an outline? Are we researching to add substance? Are we performing final edits and polishing to make a story shine? Each of these tasks has a different time and energy requirement that may not add to the day’s word count significantly, but could instead be improving a piece’s quality by leaps and bounds which is just as important.

Then, we need to factor in what is going on in our lives, the package deal of home life, work life and all of their associated responsibilities. What is the balance and happy medium we are trying to establish?

These variables all impact the time, energy and clarity with which we can approach the writing desk.

For that reason, I think to establish the target that works for us, we should be kind to ourselves in doing the following:

Avoiding comparison

As writers, we do not do ourselves any favours when making comparisons to other writers whose playing field is completely different from our own.

A renowned novelist who can work a double-digit number of hours per day on their next book might have a staff to take care of their home and garden. A successful screenwriter who can pump out a series of scripts in short order might be an empty nester who does not have the same parental responsibilities as someone else. A non-fiction writer with 40 books to their name might be one of those people who can get by on very little sleep.

For that reason, trying to follow in their footsteps is unfair to ourselves when comparing apples to oranges.

Accepting the realities of life that are out of our control

There is no changing the fact that we need income, food, shelter and time to rest.

As well, we may be part of a community alongside life partners, parents, children, siblings, pets, neighbours and our work teams.

I would even go so far as to add that we need time to be true and good to ourselves, away from the noise of the world.

I believe we need buffer time between all of the above for creativity to find us and to bring inspiration to life.

This is not to say that we can’t make creativity a priority. We certainly should if it helps keep us grounded, happy and balanced through our other commitments. It is just a question of being mindful of the non-negotiable package deals of life, accepting them and in working toward a harmonious balance.

Knowing what we can do to make the most of our time

While the concept of scarcity of time is something that many of us deal with from time to time, there are ways to maximize focus and minimize the factors within our control that can distract us. The trick is to know what creates a vulnerability that can take us out of the writing bubble and then to address it.

Maybe we need to put our mobile devices out of reach.

Maybe we need noise cancelling headphones to block out the noise of the world.

Maybe we need to close the windows on our computer that aren’t in use for the writing session and creating visual clutter on our workspace.

In summary

For these reasons, to choose an actual word count or an actual length of time that constitutes a good writing session is an incredibly personal matter.

Whether it is a few minutes or a few hours, it’s the amount that is right for you, based on your circumstances and that keeps you coming back for more. Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s not enough.

To me, as long as the work is advancing incrementally, that is a good writing session.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André