Having a routine?

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  • Having a routine?

    How important is it to have a routine (when it comes to writing)? Like set hours that you write during, opposed to writing whenever the mood/muse strikes.

  • #2
    Re: Having a routine?

    Originally posted by bjamin View Post
    How important is it to have a routine (when it comes to writing)? Like set hours that you write during, opposed to writing whenever the mood/muse strikes.
    The correct question is how important is all this to you?
    Everyone's different. The way of no way.
    M.A.G.A.

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    • #3
      Re: Having a routine?

      Here's why I ask: Simply put, what I'm doing is no longer working for me.

      So I'd like to hear how other people approach their day to see if there is something they're doing that might help me.

      Think of it like going to the gym. You hit a plateau if you don't switch your workouts around.

      I'm looking for a new workout routine.

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      • #4
        Re: Having a routine?

        Fair enough but by the same token, what works for one guy in the gym won't necessarily work for another. You'll no doubt get a lot of answers - just like the gym rat - and many of these you can think up yourself but until you try one, you're not going to find what suits you best. Hence my answer.

        My recommendation would be less on finding what other people believe to be important and more on trying new ideas of your own. You might even come up with a perfect method no one else is doing. After all, you already know what doesn't work and probably a good idea of what won't.

        But for me, I write when I get a sudden burst of inspiration and also set aside time, usually in the evening, with a drink and some nature sounds.
        M.A.G.A.

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        • #5
          Re: Having a routine?

          I wake up, I eat breakfast, I watch the news. By 9am I am in the office. I write for about three hours, or until I run completely out of enthusiasm.

          Then I go about the rest of my day. But I have a flexible job. I set my own hours, and most of my work comes in the afternoon. But this is my standard routine.

          I think having a routine is a good idea. Your brain actually responds well to being told what to do. If all you do in bed is sleep, when you go to bed, your brain thinks "okay sleep time." So if you sit and write at the same time in the same place every day, your brain is far more likely to switch on the creative side. I don't have any sources for this, it just matches some crap I learned in a class or something. But it really works for me. Unless I'm just having a completely off day, I crank out pages pretty regularly. I do it in the morning so that the day's events can't impact how I feel, and I still have plenty of energy.
          Chicks Who Script podcast

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          • #6
            Re: Having a routine?

            Originally posted by emily blake View Post
            I wake up, I eat breakfast, I watch the news. By 9am I am in the office. I write for about three hours, or until I run completely out of enthusiasm.

            Then I go about the rest of my day. But I have a flexible job. I set my own hours, and most of my work comes in the afternoon. But this is my standard routine.

            I think having a routine is a good idea. Your brain actually responds well to being told what to do. If all you do in bed is sleep, when you go to bed, your brain thinks "okay sleep time." So if you sit and write at the same time in the same place every day, your brain is far more likely to switch on the creative side. I don't have any sources for this, it just matches some crap I learned in a class or something. But it really works for me. Unless I'm just having a completely off day, I crank out pages pretty regularly. I do it in the morning so that the day's events can't impact how I feel, and I still have plenty of energy.

            emily, how many pages are you getting down average?

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            • #7
              Re: Having a routine?

              Originally posted by madworld View Post
              emily, how many pages are you getting down average?
              I try to get at least 5. Some days it's more. Every now and then it's fewer.
              Chicks Who Script podcast

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              • #8
                Re: Having a routine?

                Originally posted by emily blake View Post
                I try to get at least 5. Some days it's more. Every now and then it's fewer.
                That's really good in three hours. It takes me all day to get 5, unless I get some really good sleep in.

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                • #9
                  Re: Having a routine?

                  Originally posted by madworld View Post
                  That's really good in three hours. It takes me all day to get 5, unless I get some really good sleep in.
                  I outline thoroughly. I know exactly what I'm writing before I start. I don't spend a lot of time stopping to think. I also don't rewrite as I'm writing. If the pages suck, I make a note of what I need to change and keep going, knowing I can fix it later.
                  Chicks Who Script podcast

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                  • #10
                    Re: Having a routine?

                    Originally posted by emily blake View Post
                    I outline thoroughly. I know exactly what I'm writing before I start. I don't spend a lot of time stopping to think. I also don't rewrite as I'm writing. If the pages suck, I make a note of what I need to change and keep going, knowing I can fix it later.
                    All great habits. I outline too, sometimes more thoroughly than others. And it can be easy for me to fall into the editing trap, going over pages I've already written. But continuing/ finishing and then going back makes a lot more sense, because you get the benefit of looking at it with fresh eyes.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Having a routine?

                      Originally posted by bjamin View Post
                      writing whenever the mood/muse strikes.
                      Doesn't work for me. Massively unproductive.

                      You need some system, whatever it is, to force the mood/muse.
                      Story Structure 1
                      Story Structure 2
                      Story Structure 3

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                      • #12
                        Re: Having a routine?

                        I'm an insomniac by nature, but I find I work better with a cup of cappucino no matter if it's night or day. So when I write, I have one nearby. As for when I write, well, in truth, I write best in the dark hours of the day, which during the winter is a lot. Summer's a pain because it doesn't get dark until 10 sometimes where I live, so in summer the hours I have to work at my best is 10 p.m. to 5:45 a.m., roughly.

                        Find the best time of day for you to write, and by that, I mean when you can practically feel the creativity coming out of your fingers. During that time, that's when the real magic (writing-wise, anyways) happens. But sometimes I've run dry before that time period, so I spend my time watching something similar to what I'm going to write (thriller, action, horror, etc.) to kick-start my brain if I need it.

                        Just a couple things I do that's considered routine.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Having a routine?

                          There are a myriad of different methods writers use to "force the muse," and like Sundown said, you can only know their effectiveness for your own writing by trial and error.

                          I don't think I've ever kept a set schedule, per se, but I've had specific things I'll do to get myself "into the mood." At different times in my writing life, I'd do any of these things:

                          - Put my work shoes on. This can be especially helpful if you write in the morning, as donning a pair of shoes tells your mind that it's time to go to work. Imagine cooking breakfast in your PJ's and a pair of fuzzy slippers - it's a lazy morning. Do the same in jeans and a pair of men's casuals and you're on a schedule here.

                          - Put a suit on. Seriously, I used a three-piece suit. Vest, tie, the whole shebang. Then I'd sit down at my messy computer desk in my bedroom, and focus on nothing but my writing. A suit, like shoes, is just a trick. It only works if it works for you. It worked for me for as long as I used that particular trick, which wasn't long because I skipped town for LA shortly after that, and left my suit at home.

                          - Do the dishes. I got this idea from an article, I believe. It said that research had shown that doing menial physical tasks - something simple and repetitive, like the dishes, or dusting the house, or vacuuming the carpets - can help to switch your mind into work mode, and foster creativity. I did this for a bit, and felt it helped. Again, YMMV.

                          - Go somewhere you only go to write. For me, out in LA, this was Dolores Cafe on the corner of Santa Monica and Purdue. I'd go there, order some pancakes, and knock back about 6 pages an hour off an outline. Only ever once went there for non-writing purposes, and that was a meeting my buddy dragged me to.

                          For what it's worth, I think the most time I've ever spent writing in a day was about 6-7 hours. That said, when I'm knocking out a first draft, I write extremely fast, so it usually doesn't take more than 3 hours to hit my preferred 15-pg days. I recommend finding your sweet spot and sticking with it. Sometimes you DO have to know when to take your foot off the accelerator. You might get where you're going faster, but you won't have gas for the return trip. And screenwriting isn't just an A to B journey.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Having a routine?

                            Originally posted by bjamin View Post
                            How important is it to have a routine (when it comes to writing)? Like set hours that you write during, opposed to writing whenever the mood/muse strikes.
                            Deadlines don't wait for moods.

                            Bill
                            Free Script Tips:
                            http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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                            • #15
                              Re: Having a routine?

                              thanks for all the feedback, guys.

                              I started jotting down on the white board the scenes/beats I want accomplished by the end of the day. No more. No less. Strictly those scenes.

                              3 hours in the am cranking 'em out and 2 hours at night touching 'em up. Today is day 3. So far so good.

                              Oh, and I stopped looking at the pages I worked the day before.

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