How much time do you spend on each story?

[Voboy]

And here's a tip if you want to write realistic period pieces. You're going to burn up a lot of time finding out what most people watched on TV on Saturday nights in 1957 or when they stopped making Packards or started selling Coke in cans.

This, definitely.

But that part? That's fun!

 

[stickygirl]

https://henrywinning.co.uk/cdn/shop/products/no.6-cotton-twine-balls-1221-1-p_400x.jpg?v=1602086437

 

[MelissaBaby]

This, definitely.

But that part? That's fun!

Definitely fun, but beware of rabbit holes. I could have written thousands of words in the time I spent watching old clips of Sid Caesar and Jack Benny.

 

[Whanmore]

Do you employ paid editors or do you have an understanding with some other authors?

I just have a few friends that read and edit my work. nothing major.

 

[Rustyoznail]

https://henrywinning.co.uk/cdn/shop/products/no.6-cotton-twine-balls-1221-1-p_400x.jpg?v=1602086437

Yup. It depends on a lot of things, and the length of the story isn't the main one.

As an example, I've written three 750 word stories. Two took probably ten hours each to craft. One, on a premise suggested by Stickygirl, went down in about an hour.

YMMV...

 

[Vintage_DM]

A month or so. Then again, one well-known professional author knocks out 12,000 a day. For me, 12,000 words would be two months.

 

[StrangeLife]

A few days for writing... maybe a week on and off.

And then I will often leave the script in my virtual drawer for a while before doing the editing. That helps me experiencing the story more like a reader, so I can optimise the narrative flow.

Finally I'll upload and have it rejected, which prompts the last edit.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've been quite literally forcing myself to write my latest story.

Been at it for weeks, but mainly because I'm writing maybe a paragraph a day, if that.

Some stories come easier and faster, for sure. Really just depends on my mood.

 

[Gamblnluck]

My shortest stories are around 1,000 words. My longest (split across three episodes is 60,000 words). How long is a piece of string?

I think he meant time or effort spent. Most of my stories (and by that I mean even chapters) take a lot of time. Mainly because I drink beer while I write. I start at the beginning of each session reading and changing the story until I get to where I ended last time. That brings my thought process back up. Then i continue on telling the story. I generally drop a series of ideas at the end of my story for me to consider. Some of those ideas require a partial rewrite of a section. I was recently on a cruise and spent the better part of three afternoons writing to get a small chapter done. I'm sorta happy with it but then I think, "does it flow?'
I do have a few beta readers who I trust to point out my failures. I ask them before I get all the way into a lost cause. I do the same for them.
As a matter of fact, I just got through crucifying one's story. I pointed out errors in his plot, changes in the approach of various sections etc. I am about to send him my latest story and hope he is equally critical.

 

[Gamblnluck]

A few days for writing... maybe a week on and off.

And then I will often leave the script in my virtual drawer for a while before doing the editing. That helps me experiencing the story more like a reader, so I can optimise the narrative flow.

Finally I'll upload and have it rejected, which prompts the last edit.

My beta readers and I do the same thing. One calls it letting the story simmer. Amazing how many changes/errors you find when you go back after a bit.

 

[Seadog777]

As long as it takes.

This is the best answer.

There isn't really a "correct" amount of time.

 

[Codoc24]

It usually takes me a few weeks as long as I don't run into a roadblock. Sometimes I will come to a fork in my story plot and I have a hard deciding which way I want to take it.

 

[FifthEstate]

I write pretty much only series. And based on feedback from readers…Way too long!