Why 3 hours is enough time in a day to write a novel.
keeping your energy levels high. not draining your self tired.
New writers ask how many hours in a day should I write? How much should be dedicated to writing? What do famous writers do? Do they write all day or for a short time? What are the ups and downs of writing for a short time or all day?
In this blog, we will be looking at why 3 hours is enough time in a day to write a novel...
WHY 3 HOURS IS ENOUGH TIME IN A DAY TO WRITE A NOVEL
Table of Contents
When a new writer hears that most well-known published writers only write for 3 hours a day they’re shocked. They believe it has to be longer, at least 8 or 10 hours. How can a professional writer only write for 3 hours? Can you actually be a successful published author working 3 hours a day?
You’d be amazed by how much you can get done in 3 hours. New writers believe you have to write all day, every day, none stop from the moment you wake up to the moment to drop from exhaustion. But professional writers will quickly tell you this causes burnout. Amateurs believe 3 hours isn’t enough time to get anything done. But you’d be amazed by how much you can get done in 3 hours.
THEY CAN BE DISTRACTED
Here’s the problem with writing for 3 hours then stopping. New writers spend a lot of their time distracted by other things. They spend too much time on their cell phones. Looking up things on the internet. Watching videos on Youtube, talking on the phone, napping or daydreaming. Professional writers know how to focus for those three hours. They are in “the zone” from the time they sit down to the time 3 hours are up.
Stephen King says he writes about 6 pages a day in about 3 hours. New writers hear that and can’t imagine how anyone can write 6 pages in 3 hours. They feel they need all day to write 6.
YOU CAN WRITE 2 NOVELS A YEAR
But Stephen King knows he has a good 3 hours to focus without distraction and can complete a good 6 pages. When you look at the numbers, 6 times 7 days on a week that 42 pages. Times 4 weeks is 168. Times 3 months is 504. So your average writer can complete 504 pages in three months if they set out to complete 6 pages a day. Those are pretty good numbers. Now we know how Stephen King can publish 2 books a year.
Keep in mind he works for those 3 hours without distraction. meaning no cell phones, Youtube, watching TV, napping. daydreaming. When he sits down to write he focuses on writing the entire time.
YOU CAN END UP WRITING LIKE THE GREATS
If new writers were to challenge themselves to sit down and for the next three hours do not stop writing they to would be amazed by how much they can get done. But this means do not stop to look things up online ( which causes you to spend time looking up other things non-writing related.) Not spending time on social media. Listening to the radio, watching tv. Daydreaming, or napping.
They may not get all 6 pages done the first time. But they will get a lot done. And in time they will prove to themselves that yes you can write 6 pages in 3 hours. Matching what the great writers do. Some like to write when they first wake up. Some even start at early as 4 am. Dan Brown who wrote “The da vinic code” likes to start at 4 am. But this doesn’t mean you have to.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR PLACE TO WRITE
Stephen King starts around 9 am and works until 12. If this worked for you then great. But some writers like to write at night from 12 am to 3 am. Everyone is different. When it comes to writing everyone is different when they when or where.
Some like to write in a crowded coffee shop, others like to be alone in an office. Some can have music playing others like complete silence.
THEY WILL FOCUS THE WHOLE TIME
There really is no one right way to write a novel. But the big thing that separates famous writers from amateurs is how much they focus when writing. They do not allow themselves to be distracted. Time and time again you hear the famous writers talking about nothing stops them when they’re on a role. They have an idea in their head and want to get it all down as fast as they can before they forget the idea or lose the momentum.
They do not stop to look things up online nor do they chat on the phone at that time. If they did they would not get their 6 pages done in 3 hours. They know how important time is to them. No one has to tell them to write. They do so out of the fun of creating life on pages.
THEIR WRITING WILL SUFFER
However, like an athlete, they have only so much energy in their body to write great work. They know if they push themselves past the 3-hour limit their writing will suffer. If they keep on writing their quality of writing will go down to a point where the next day they’ll have to go back and fix everything. Wasting the next day’s writing time.
They are not doing themselves any favors by writing for 8 or 10 hours a day. After their 3 hours are up their mind and body start to run down. That charge of energy is gone. They are not “writing.” They are no longer “creating an amazing story.” They’re just writing words.
THEY WILL EXPERIENCE BURNOUT
New writers start off with a ton of energy running through their body. They picture themselves writing all day for weeks on end, finishing the story, sending it to a publisher and having it in stores a few weeks later.
They end writing for 10 hours every day. But after a week or so they begin to slow down. They wake up in the morning not looking forward to writing for 10 hours knowing it will lead to their body and mind being tied. They do not look forward to sitting at their desk all day.
HAVING A TON OF ENERGY
They’ll start putting off writing until another day. But the “another day” never comes. More and more they move away from writing until they give up on it altogether. Not having any desire to go back and write.
Whereas successful writers know to write for a short time with a ton of energy and come back the next day and do it again. They know when to stop. Knowing not to enter the burnout phase. It becomes like an adventure. They wake up and go about writing with energy and feel great as they write.
IT’S EITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
In life, everything we do is put into one of two categories. Either positive or negative. You either like what you’re doing or not. If something is positive you will come back to it time and time again. The part of the brain that is triggered when something is positive is being active.
However, if the part of your brain that feels negativity is triggered turning something you will avoid it. If you start off writing feeling great your body will want to do it again. However, if you write for too long and you feel negative you will want to stop writing after a while. No one wants to do something that makes them feel negative.
THEY STILL DAYDREAM THEIR NOVEL
It’s important to never let negativity make its way into your world of writing. You should always make sure it’s positive and feel great. You need to find your place to write. Maybe you like a coffee shop. Maybe you like a quiet office. Some people can’t work in their bedrooms, it makes them feel tired looking at their bed.
But here’s a secret. If you ask any writer they will tell you they don’t actually stop writing their novel after 3 hours. They still have the storyline in their head. Coming up with new ideas. Working on the story. The physical part of writing lastest for 3 hours, but daydreaming will last for the rest of the day.
THEY CLOSE THE BOOK ON THEIR NOVEL
However, some writers do not daydream at all. After the 3 hours are up they’ll have nothing to do with their story for the rest of the day. They “close the book” on writing in their mind. Will only think of their story the next day when they sit down in front of their laptop. They do not want their story on their mind in any way. They say it makes them feel trapped.
Stephen King goes for a walk after lunch the comes home to read. He writes in the morning but frees up his time for the rest of the day. Yes, there might be some well-known writers who write all day, every day. Until the book is finished. Putting in 10 or more hours until they’re done. It’s not wrong, but it may not be for everyone.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN STYLE
Some writers will daydream about their novel for weeks on end seeing it from start to finish before writing a word. After they feel the novel is finished in their head they will then sit down to write it. They complete their novel rather quickly. Leaving everyone to be amazed at how fast they write. But it did take them a long time to daydream the complete story before actually writing.
In the end, it’s up to everyone to decide how long they wish to write for. But the idea that you have to write 10 or more hours every day will only lead to burnout and weak writing. We have seen great writers who work for only 3 hours and complete amazing novels. But if you copy this style you must focus without distraction.
you might be interested in these blogs…
WHO’S WRITING STYLE SHOULD YOU COPY?
SHOULD YOU BUY APPS TO HELP WITH NOVEL WRITING?
ARE YOU TOO OLD TO START WRITING A NOVEL?
