But it's not true at all.
I usually work for between 3 and 4 hours a day, 4 days a week (sometimes 5 days, but mostly 4).
The reason for this is that it's difficult (at least for me) to be creative for a full day. Not only that but I also have other admin things to take care of every day too.
And I also have a life.
Years ago I thought that working such short hours made me lazy. But it turns out that most writers only write an hour or two or three every day.
It seems that we are all plagued by the same problems:
- Lack of creative thinking for too long.
- Showing up for "work" every day.
Indeed, showing up for work every day is the hardest because before I can do any creative work at all, I need to be sitting at my desk.
I don't always write at the same desk every day, but I have to sit down at one of them.
Some days I sit in my home study, or at a table out on our big deck (with great views), or a picnic table at a park, or a table in the local library.
I've even been known, on occasion, to sit in my car, under a shady tree and write there, which sometimes happens if I'm out and it starts raining or there are no tables available at the park.
It's easy to get to work every day when you have a "day job" and a boss who'll fire you if you don't turn up.
But it's completely different when you only have yourself to tell you when it's time to work and when it's time to stop for the day.
In his book "On Writing," horror author Stephen King said that your muse doesn't show up for work until you do. And that is so true.
I'm rarely dying to sit down and write every day, but once I sit down and get to work, my muse does indeed show up and I can keep going for ages.
But that initial sitting down is usually the hardest.
And next comes the struggle of being able to keep writing for too long.
There are some writers, although not many, who can sit and write all day every day, but these kind of writers are few and far between. Isaac Asimov, the sci-fi writer, was one such author who would just sit and write all day from early morning till late evening.
Today I was listening to a podcast of writer Geoff Goins who was interviewing another writer Austin Kleon. Austin was talking about this very subject of how difficult it is for most writers to actually sit down and write every day.
He also made the point that even once we sit down to write, after just a few hours, it's hard to keep going.
Even well-known authors like Stephen King admit that they only write for 1 to 3 hours a day and then they're finished.
And like me, they find it easier to write early in the day rather than later. Although, sometimes, if I'm in the middle of a big project and I want to keep working on it, I will sit down in the evening and work for a couple more hours if I can.
So while I do love being a writer and wouldn't want to do anything else, I find it easier to work for a few hours every day than to sit and write for one full day.
There are people who tell me that they don't have time to write because they have a full time job, but even if they didn't, they wouldn't spend all that time writing. None of us do.
And it's probably a good thing too because I find that my best ideas come when I'm away from my computer. Usually when I'm doing what I call "busy-hands-empt-mind" jobs like weeding, showering, cleaning, sweeping, walking. Those jobs where you're physically busy but you've done them so many times you don't have to think about what you're doing any more.
So don't let a day job hold you back from your writing because you don't need all day to write.
You just need an hour or two a day.
This is one of my favourite "how to write a novel" books because it's a complete step-by-step workbook.
Brilliant!
Click the image above to learn more.
This book will definitely help you to sit down every day and write.
