Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [time-management]

Issues regarding time management in writing, setting priorities and balancing workload.

For questions about representing time in written works, conveying the passage of time, or other questions about time as content, see .

28 questions
67
votes
12 answers

How do you communicate to people that writing is a job and prevent interruptions?

I’ve been a writer for fifteen years, five as a full-time writer, and still haven’t figured out how to get the people in my life to view it as a job. Right now, I’m editing a novel to a very tight deadline (in force due to timings with the London…
GGx
  • 9,963
  • 1
  • 27
  • 51
19
votes
7 answers

How many words/hour should you aim for when writing your first draft?

A couple of axioms here. Firstly, most people agree that you should write your first draft quickly, without too much care on quality, and get something down on paper first. The real writing begins with the second draft. This is the approach that…
Panda
  • 1,139
  • 1
  • 8
  • 18
15
votes
2 answers

Should I take breaks from writing?

I enjoy writing short stories very much, even though it is only a hobby for me, and I never gave thought towards publishing anything. I find that it's a good way to be productive with my time. There are two pieces of advice I have followed since…
Matthew
  • 291
  • 1
  • 3
13
votes
4 answers

How can you write during a full work day?

As provided in this excellent answer by @what, there is a certain 'creative time,' for writing, when you can write the best. I've been aware of this for awhile, though I never really saw it for what it was until recently. Unfortunately (and I doubt…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
  • 14,146
  • 5
  • 55
  • 116
12
votes
4 answers

How do I decide if writing expository scenes that won't be in my finished novel is useful, or procrastination?

I tend to burn out developing my stories before they even reach the page, so I'm taking some advice to plan a novel. I didn't quite follow the advice to the letter; I used an idea that had been rolling around in my head for a while. Character A had…
Sheelawolf
  • 569
  • 2
  • 14
12
votes
5 answers

How do I balance work with my love of writing?

I'm a programmer and an aspiring writer. I love writing. Over the past year, I had been working on my first novel. Making the plot, dimensioning the characters, integrating conflicts etc. And when I started writing the novel, Snap! came a financial…
Amin Mohamed Ajani
  • 1,481
  • 10
  • 24
9
votes
2 answers

Motivation - or how can I get myself to do the work I know I need to?

There is worldbuilding and/or writing that I know I need to do, and even want to do on some level, but I keep not doing it. I don't have what I think of as traditional writers block, because I'm not even getting as far as looking at a page that I'm…
Ash
  • 10,541
  • 21
  • 58
9
votes
1 answer

Have there been any studies indicating which software documentation practices save the most time during onboarding?

It's generally conceded that at least some documentation saves people time when "onboarding" to a new project. With that said, have there ever been any rigorous studies on how helpful various kinds of documentation tend to be? I'm particularly…
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine
  • 415
  • 3
  • 9
7
votes
4 answers

Writing vs roleplaying (by forum)

In the latest years, i've developed my two main writing-related hobbies: "Conventional" writing: short stories and a wanna-be novel, far from being completed Roleplaying in a forum Roleplaying, aside from being fun, has helped me grow a lot as a…
LiquidTower
  • 71
  • 2
7
votes
2 answers

In Science Fiction, how does one do research, but write at the same time?

I have posted twice before to writers.stackexchange and I compliment the people who answered me. As a result, I am going to start writing seriously without over reliance on craft books, even if I put out pure crap for awhile. However, I still…
user9885
  • 559
  • 2
  • 10
6
votes
2 answers

Content Sites - any still around and useful?

I missed my chance to write for About.Com when it was TheMiningCom and now it's DotDash and seems to be under different rules. Suite101 has become Suite.io (blocked from my work, so that's all I know.) I know at one point I had bookmarked Squiddoo,…
April Salutes Monica C.
  • 4,652
  • 13
  • 45
5
votes
2 answers

Nanowrimo and typewriting

I am a happy user of an Underwood 5, an old typewriter from the beginning of the XX century. I use it to type letters, short stories, greeting cards, and labels. I am now planning to try and type the next Nanowrimo. On a computer I can blob out…
NofP
  • 10,655
  • 2
  • 29
  • 68
5
votes
7 answers

How much time do you find you have to commit to daily writing to see results?

I've wanted to publish a book for a long time (since I was 10 or 11), but never bothered to do any serious writing until a few years ago. Now I'm in college and working part time in an engineering firm as well as on my own startup, so you can…
CMB
  • 275
  • 1
  • 6
3
votes
6 answers

How to get over a long break from writing?

I'm wanting to get back into writing and work on a novel or a collection of short stories. In the past, I've done creative writing and I've written a full-length novel, however it's been over a year since I've had time/energy/creativity to…
AnnWithNoE
  • 1,694
  • 8
  • 25
3
votes
1 answer

How can one go about writing with a full time job?

I'm a single working professional who after work, chores, and sleep can manage to find only a few hours to sit down and write each day. I do however try to religiously read everyday. Writing seems to take more effort from my part. Can anyone share…
Vigneswara Prabhu
  • 153
  • 5
1
2