How long do you take to write a story?

[cburton]

I'm a new author who has recently posted my first story in 3 parts, "Dad is an Exhibitionist" in the incest theme. I am waiting for another story to be approved to be published under the gay theme "The Dreamer". My question involves how long it takes most of you to write, edit and finally publish your story. Admittedly I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I probably spend a month of more writing, then rewriting and then editing multiple times. I'm finding that my problem seems to stem from the fact that I need to put some time between my writing and editing before I can look at the story and be constructive. Each time I spend several hours writing or editing I need to put the results away for a few days. Do many of you have this same problem. I'll be particularly interested in hearing from someone who is prolific on this site. I will appreciate whatever comments you make. Thanks.

 

[Geod]

I tried to write a story a few weeks ago, after it went of to be screened I never saw what happened to it. The problem I had while writing was getting too hot to keep going. I spent a lot of time on the "research" I can only assume that's pretty common except for the professionals.

 

[sr71plt]

I write most of my stories in one sitting. Most range between 3,000 and 7,000 words. I can't manage much more than 9,000 words in a day if only because I can't devote more time to writing in a day than that. I then normally let it sit at least until the next day. I normally do one review at once, though, right after writing the first draft, during which time the wordage generally goes up rather than down. I spell check it at the beginning of the review. After the second review later, I do a find on all double quotes, as I tend to drop those on dialogue. I rarely review more than twice at this point, because it then starts to lose the spontaneity that is part of my writing style. I spell check it again, and then I send it to my editor. How long it then takes is up to my editor. When it comes back, I do the corrections, review it again, invariably making it longer. Then I check the quotes again and spell check again. And submit it ot Literotica, if it's a story for here, or send it off to the publisher.

I can do this each and every day given the time to devote to writing. I also edit mainstream books, so that takes precedence--and I have to exercise about two hours every weekday to keep in shape. But I've written (and published) between a half million and three-quarters of a million words a year between mainstream writing and separate erotica writing for about the last twenty years.

Other than the book editing, I'm retired, however, and have others doing practically everything else needing done in my life. So I do have a big chuck of time available each day for writing (or the editing).

My writing rate, I estimate, is between 1,700 and 2,000 words an hour, and I don't mull over story construction. My mind has generally composed the story in my self-conscious and I just sit and let it type out.

 

[paxxana]

Here we go: http://nie.im/3rl
I always dreamed of wearing such a little red shoes like the princesses did in fairy tales.It looks really close to the appearance what they should be in my mind.OMG,am I kinda sensitive ??

 

[sr71plt]

The spam has been reported.

 

[TE999]

Goddamn spambots!

Anyway, I've been known to knock out a story in a day ... generally 7-8K words ... other times I'll fiddle with one for a month before I'm satisfied with it.

Write at your own pace and when the muse beckons, answer her.

Right now I'm working on a multi-chapter story about two young women who are attracted to one another, become lovers and try to keep things low profile for fear of parental interference, peer ostracism and societal reactions to Lesbians (and Gays) in general. They plan to go to college together and live their own lives, but shit happens as it usually does.

I'm taking my time on this one.

 

[sethp]

If I'm on a roll it takes me a few weeks with an hour a day in the mornings 3 to 4 days a week. Then I usually do a quick rewrite about an hour. Then it's off to my editors ...depending on their real life issues....could be a day to a week before I get it back. Sometimes that rewrite is one sitting and other times its 2 to 3 days.

 

[SamScribble]

It usually takes me somewhere between three hours and three months for the story, and then a couple of hours or a couple of days for the editing and polishing. But then I'm a slow writer. Graham Greene used to reckon that 500 finished words a day was good going. And I'm not sure that I would disagree.

 

[sr71plt]

Graham Greene had a nerve-racking job to perform before he could sit down and write--actually two jobs. He had to perform public duties and then fulfill spy requirements. Having been there and done that, I know it doesn't leave much time for writing.

If I haven't finished a story idea in a couple of days, it's pretty much gone and forced out of my brain by the next shipment of story ideas.

 

[SevenSquared]

Theoretically I could write a few of thousand words an hour quite comfortably. In reality my stories tend to travel at an overall progress of about 20,000 words per month, including all the editing and rewriting etc.

 

[TxRad]

it's all according to how much time I have and how the muse is feeling. If i really get into the story, I can knock out a 9000 word story in 8 to 10 hours. If I hit a snag or lose interest it could take years of a line here and a line there.

If I have a deadline then all bets are off.

 

[Kikoro]

Time it takes for an appropriate inspiration to hit: Ranges anywhere from hours to months.

Time it takes to get a rough draft out: 3-5 hours for what would classify as a "short story" in more conventional writing circles.

I then do a once-over where I tweak the descriptions and fix continuity errors. If I make a lot of changes or have to fix anything related to continuity then I repeat this pass until that is no longer true. Roughly 1 hour per pass.

If I want to write a longer story, it is easier to write it as a series of shorts rather then waiting to finish a whole novel. I like to know that people are enjoying the story before investing a lot more time in it, and I can only really focus long enough to finish a single short at a time.

 

[oggbashan]

I have written a short (800 word) Lit story in an hour.

My fifteen x 50-word stories can take weeks to complete.

My longer stories can take months but one year for NaNoWriMo I wrote and posted all 12 chapters (50,000 words) of Flawed Red Silk within the month of November.

Some of my stories are still incomplete 10 years after I started them. My oldest erotic fiction is 25 years old, still incomplete, and the last draft hasn't been touched for 8 years.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm a new author who has recently posted my first story in 3 parts, "Dad is an Exhibitionist" in the incest theme. I am waiting for another story to be approved to be published under the gay theme "The Dreamer". My question involves how long it takes most of you to write, edit and finally publish your story. Admittedly I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I probably spend a month of more writing, then rewriting and then editing multiple times. I'm finding that my problem seems to stem from the fact that I need to put some time between my writing and editing before I can look at the story and be constructive. Each time I spend several hours writing or editing I need to put the results away for a few days. Do many of you have this same problem. I'll be particularly interested in hearing from someone who is prolific on this site. I will appreciate whatever comments you make. Thanks.

On average, it takes me about four weeks to write a chapter (~ 7000 words, so about 250 words a day). I do my rewriting and self-editing as I go; once I get to the end of the chapter I'll read the whole thing through, edit as needed, and then pass to my beta reader. I'll make changes according to her feedback (doesn't usually take long) and then I'll post it; all up it's about five weeks between chapters, but it varies depending on what else I have on.

OTOH, I've written a 900-word flash piece in a couple of hours during a plane flight (sometimes the words just flow) and I managed 16,000 in two days when I was writing a thesis. I wouldn't like to do it again, though.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm a new author who has recently posted my first story in 3 parts, "Dad is an Exhibitionist" in the incest theme. I am waiting for another story to be approved to be published under the gay theme "The Dreamer". My question involves how long it takes most of you to write, edit and finally publish your story. Admittedly I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I probably spend a month of more writing, then rewriting and then editing multiple times. I'm finding that my problem seems to stem from the fact that I need to put some time between my writing and editing before I can look at the story and be constructive. Each time I spend several hours writing or editing I need to put the results away for a few days. Do many of you have this same problem. I'll be particularly interested in hearing from someone who is prolific on this site. I will appreciate whatever comments you make. Thanks.

For me its about a week, but I seem to not have developed the ability to write anything short.

My average story is about 18-20k so from start to finish its around 3-4 days. Then I let it sit a couple of days and then edit it so on average its a week

I would love to be able to kick out some short stuff, but my mind doesn't work that way.

 

[SevenSquared]

I would love to be able to kick out some short stuff, but my mind doesn't work that way.

Writing longer stories seems to be addictive. Once you finish a story you want to make the next one better, which usually means making the plot thicker and the characters deeper and so on, all of which contribute to making it longer. It's tough to break the cycle and go back to writing a short story with limited scope and disposable characters.

 

[johneb87]

It usually takes me about two months to complete a chapter. However, chapter 5 is running a lot longer than usual...damn writers block.

 

[DG Hear]

It takes me a lot longer to think of a story than to write it. I get an idea and let it fester in my head for awhile. I usually think of the beginning and then how it ends. Once I sit down to type it, I can knock a short story off in a day. Longer stories in a couple of days. It's how much time I want to sit at the computer.

I can knock off a short story in a couple of hours. However most of my stories are a wee bit longer. Needless to say, I always need an editor to make my story a better read.

 

[Handley_Page]

Says DG:
"I get an idea and let it fester in my head for awhile."

I think my head must be a 'fridge because the festering time can be many months.

 

[mikey2much]

Putting it to paper is quick

A story lives in my mind for weeks as I go about my job. I live the story in my mind until I get it finished. It is only then that I start to put the words to paper.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

It varies, but on average on about a month. A story idea is committed to my concept file, where it may sit for a week or years. Once I start writing, it usually takes a week or two to bang out the first draft. I send the draft off to my beta reader, then wait a day or a week for her thoughts. Then I usually spend another week or two re-writing before I send it out for final edits. Once the final edits come back I take another day or two to polish it before submitting.

Lately most of my stories and chapters are averaging around 15,000 words. Longer stories take a little longer; shorter stories tend to take less time.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

It takes me roughly two weeks to write a two (lit page) page chapter. During my longer pieces, I might take longer. Recently, it's been hard to get any work done because I've been doing so much studying for finals.

However, once or twice, my muse wont inspire me as much as bitch slap me.

I wrote File 66, my darkest and least erotic piece, in three days. It was insane. It was like I already knew the whole thing and was just taking the time to transcribe it. It was four lit pages.

The first half of Poor Simon was like that too.

Maybe I'm losing my touch, or just running out of ideas.

 

[sr71plt]

However, once or twice, my muse wont inspire me as much as bitch slap me.

I wrote File 66, my darkest and least erotic piece, in three days. It was insane. It was like I already knew the whole thing and was just taking the time to transcribe it. It was four lit pages.

The first half of Poor Simon was like that too.

Maybe I'm losing my touch, or just running out of ideas.

That's more of a description of being in the genuine writer's groove.

 

[topace]

It depends on how lazy I am at the time.

If I've got my rear in gear, a few days. If not, it can take over a month to write a chapter or one-shot.

 

[lovecraft68]

It takes me roughly two weeks to write a two (lit page) page chapter. During my longer pieces, I might take longer. Recently, it's been hard to get any work done because I've been doing so much studying for finals.

However, once or twice, my muse wont inspire me as much as bitch slap me.

I wrote File 66, my darkest and least erotic piece, in three days. It was insane. It was like I already knew the whole thing and was just taking the time to transcribe it. It was four lit pages.

The first half of Poor Simon was like that too.

Maybe I'm losing my touch, or just running out of ideas.

I think the more you "feel" a story will also affect the speed you write it.
I did a 33k story once from start to finish in a night.

I think I started around 2pm and went straight through to almost 3am. It just kept coming.

I've never had a burst that has equaled that, but have had some 8-10k nights

But I've noticed that the following nights are much slower, like I burned out on the "big" night