Discussion: How Often Do You Write?

Photo credit: JSDOC on Flickr

I've pretty frequently talked about why writing every day isn't a requirement. At the same time, because I'm a binge writer, I do tend to use pretty consistent writing spurts when I'm first drafting to maintain momentum, and use daily writing goals to keep myself on track.

But between chronic illness, work, freelancing and soon school again, I don't always get to write quite as consistently as I'd like when first drafting anymore, because there literally aren't enough hours in the day and/or I run out of energy before I can get to it.

Nowadays, I tend to aim for 2,000 words a day, six days a week when I'm first drafting. When revising, I go for the same kind of six day a week schedule, though I tend to be a little less structured about how much progress I have to make a day—I just try to get some progress in every day, tracked by items I check off as I get them done (have I mentioned lately how much I love to do lists?). Of course, life being what it is means I don't always get to have those six day a week writing/revising streaks, which is okay too, but in an ideal world, that's what I aim for.

Understandably, not everyone is able to maintain that pace—or even attempt to aim for that kind of pace—which is fine. We all work differently and have vastly different schedules, so it's fully understandable that we'd have different goals to tackle.

I'm curious, though: when first drafting or revising, how often do you write?

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