What about Thinking Time?

[Incanus]

We often hear about and discuss how many words per day, or per hour, tracking word counts, daily or weekly progress in terms of words on paper or into word docs. Obviously, writing is a large part of the writing process—after all, it’s right there in the name: writing.

But how about the time spent brainstorming, daydreaming, pondering and comparing ideas, imagining future parts of the story, and planning? It seems like we don’t hear about or discuss this part of the process very much.

A while ago, I came across an interesting little fact about one particular author’s writing method. This writer has been publishing large, epic fantasy and sci-fi books for decades now. He said he spends 3 hours before EVERY writing session just thinking.

Now that’s something you rarely hear about. He didn’t mention anything about notetaking during that time, but I have to assume something like that occurs.

Sometimes, especially during the work week, I only have 2-3 hours available to write, so I can’t do anything like this; and I probably wouldn’t even if I could. On the other hand, I sometimes spend several days or longer thinking through the next parts before tackling them. This means some of my ‘writing’ days are just ‘thinking’ days. The writing doesn’t happen without the thinking ahead of time. Thus, my daily word counts are sometimes zero.

So, how much time do you devote to thinking? When do you do it? How often? Is it a regular part of your process, or only on an ‘as needed’ basis?

 

[Finchbearer]

A while ago, I came across an interesting little fact about one particular author’s writing method. This writer has been publishing large, epic fantasy and sci-fi books for decades now. He said he spends 3 hours before EVERY writing session just thinking.

This sounds like Brandon Sanderson.

Honestly I think it’s odd if someone doesn’t think about their stories when they’re not writing. I have a good imagination, why not use it? It’s fun to think. More people should do it.

 

[Mad Swede]

Thinking is a part of my writing process. It has to be, given that I'm so severly dyslexic. I only ever write one draft, and that is the one that goes to my publisher. That means I have to think through the story before I write, doing in my head what other writers seem to do when they outline, then draft, re-draft and edit the various versions of their stories. I never think about how long this takes, I just do it.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I spend more time thinking about the stories than writing them. But half the time, I'm not thinking about the one I'm writing but the ones coming after. I take very few notes; if it's a keeper, it sticks with me. Three hours of thinking before starting to write, as in directly before... I'd have to be doing something like mowing the lawn (where much thinking gets done; I think the riding mower vibrates the brain) or riding a bike. I have enough trouble sitting to write without adding thinking time to that, heh heh.

 

[Jackarandajam]

Reminds me of the meme of the couple laying in bed.

wife thinking: "I bet he's thinking about other women..."
Husband thinking (in this case) "lets see... I know it's a mastermind struggle between the sorcerers familiar and the Mentor, and I know I want the catalyst for book 2 to happen in the finale of book one, and I know I want my POV'S converging from different timetables, but WHY is the question, WHY does it all have to happen stacked on top of each other like this, it needs to but WH.... wait a minute. Wait. A. Minute. The King is older and would have to die first. Yes. Yes my precious. The king is older... yes, and then the familiar would have to make him dead to get... yes... YYYES. YES! IT WORKS. THATS MY TIMETABLE, THATS MY TICKING CLOCK. notes, gotta make notes, okay here's a kleenex and a sharpie, DOG. MUST. DIE. FIRST. good enough."


Yeah, i think through my WIP all the time. I can't believe I can hold down a day job, tbh.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Funny how billing services never take "but I'm a writer!" as an excuse for not paying a bill. Autopayments have helped a lot, but those one-timers are a bitch to remember while you're killing people and bringing them back to life and killing them again in your head.

Reminds me of the meme of the couple laying in bed.

wife thinking: "I bet he's thinking about other women..."
Husband thinking (in this case) "lets see... I know it's a mastermind struggle between the sorcerers familiar and the Mentor, and I know I want the catalyst for book 2 to happen in the finale of book one, and I know I want my POV'S converging from different timetables, but WHY is the question, WHY does it all have to happen stacked on top of each other like this, it needs to but WH.... wait a minute. Wait. A. Minute. The King is older and would have to die first. Yes. Yes my precious. The king is older... yes, and then the familiar would have to make him dead to get... yes... YYYES. YES! IT WORKS. THATS MY TIMETABLE, THATS MY TICKING CLOCK. notes, gotta make notes, okay here's a kleenex and a sharpie, DOG. MUST. DIE. FIRST. good enough."


Yeah, i think through my WIP all the time. I can't believe I can hold down a day job, tbh.

 

[pmmg]

He said he spends 3 hours before EVERY writing session just thinking.

Now that’s something you rarely hear about. He didn’t mention anything about notetaking during that time, but I have to assume something like that occurs.

That's cause he does not have a day job, and writing is his work.

Since I dont have that luxury...

I tend to think of my story--ALL THE TIME. But I do my best thinking in the car, on long commutes (which are not so long anymore, and it hurts). Generally, I like 1-2 hours to think of the next scene to really come in swinging.

Actual writing is usually less than an hour a day. Once I finish the scene, I have to back to thinking on the next one...and the next one...

 

[ThinkerX]

I think a lot about the stories and the worlds they are set in, turning ideas over and twisting them around. The more interesting ones get notes.

 

[Incanus]

Some really different takes on this, which isn't all that surprising.

The '3-hours thinking time' author I mentioned above is Tad Williams. One other thing about that--he apparently doesn't do this thinking while mowing a lawn, driving, or anything else. He simply stares off into space for 3 hours before his writing session, which I think is about 3-4 hours.

Sounds like Mad Swede does lots of thinking ahead of time, and then gets it all out in a single draft. (I can't imagine doing this.)

Demesne sounds like he doesn't think at all about his current WIP while writing it, but only the subsequent WIP. (I can't image that either.)

Jack and pmmg sound a little more like myself--jumping back and forth between thinking and drafting.

Like so many writing habits and techniques--if it works, it's the right way to do it. I would guess that the nature of the story being worked on has a lot to do with how we go about this process.

 

[Jackarandajam]

He simply stares off into space for 3 hours before his writing session, which I think is about 3-4 hours.

For me, having seven straight hours to do nothing but write and spending half of it staring into space would be like pouring half a $200 bottle of scotch down the drain to see if it made the same sound as water.

But honestly, I do sort of inwardly cheer when I hear stories like that about full time writers.
Yeah, staring into space is arguably as important as making the keyboard talk.
This writing stuff ain't just digging ditches.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I think about the WIP before I'm writing it and while writing it, and maybe 10-20% of my story-thinking time everywhere else. Since I pretty much think stories constantly, that amount of time adds up, heh heh.

Which story I'm thinking about varies, but since most everything I'm writing is a series, I'm trying to work out the zigs and zags that might screw up events in the next book and how to set up the events in the next book in the current book and how those bounce off of events in another series that takes place in an overlapping/concurrent series, heh heh.

I can't even imagine sitting and staring for 3 hours. About 10 seconds might be my average stare time, 30 seconds on the outside, and that will be more about working on a particular line rather than what happens next or something.

 

[Incanus]

I've got one more item about Tad Williams--according to him, he does his three-hour thinking while lying down on a bed. Just wow. I'd be out like a light in 20 minutes or less. I think he's been doing this since the 80's, so it's a method he is comfortable(!) with. It must work--he's one of the very, very few who have done epic fantasy the right way (in my view).

But, I think the nature of the work would necessarily dictate radically different 'thinking' approaches. Would the exact same method be appropriate for working on Catcher in the Rye as Lord of the Rings? Clearly not. One of these obviously took far more thinking time than the other.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I'd be dreaming the story like I sometimes do now. Nope! No way in hell I'd be able to do that. Out. Cold.

I've got one more item about Tad Williams--according to him, he does his three-hour thinking while lying down on a bed. Just wow. I'd be out like a light in 20 minutes or less. I think he's been doing this since the 80's, so it's a method he is comfortable(!) with. It must work--he's one of the very, very few who have done epic fantasy the right way (in my view).

But, I think the nature of the work would necessarily dictate radically different 'thinking' approaches. Would the exact same method be appropriate for working on Catcher in the Rye as Lord of the Rings? Clearly not. One of these obviously took far more thinking time than the other.

 

[Incanus]

I'd be dreaming the story like I sometimes do now. Nope! No way in hell I'd be able to do that. Out. Cold.

Yeah, me too. I'd probably have to down 3 espressos just before--and then after that, I wouldn't be able to lie down anymore!

I really don't know how he does it.

 

[Penpilot]

I stopped using word count as the only metric for progress a long time ago. I use brainstorming, note taking, sketching scenes out, etc., too.

IMHO, if you're someone who has trouble finishing stories, maybe word count becomes more important, because some get caught up in that perpetual loop of world building, editing as you go--specifically that one chapter or two--instead of writing deeper into the story. If you're someone who finishes almost everything you start, then it's a matter of doing the things you need to do to make progress, whether that's thinking, note taking, editing as you go, or whatever.

With my current novel, before I wrote each scene, I did a deep outline of it. I would think through all the problems, sketch things out, and wouldn't move on until everything made sense. I didn't want to have to fix it on the edit, or at least, I wanted less to fix on the edit. For the most part, things worked out well. Sometimes that outline took a couple of days or so. Sometimes it took like 15 minutes.

But, I didn't specifically set aside a set amount of time to just think. I think about my stories when I'm showering, when I'm on the throne, when I'm driving, walking through the mall, and during that time between lying down and falling asleep, which can be a PIA if I figure something out and have to write it down before I forget.

At the end of the day, we have to figure out what works for us and our lifestyles. I like to think of writing like it's MMA. You look around at what others are doing, what their process is like, and then, you take what's useful to you and discard the rest.

 

[Renè Williams]

A while ago, I came across an interesting little fact about one particular author’s writing method. This writer has been publishing large, epic fantasy and sci-fi books for decades now. He said he spends 3 hours before EVERY writing session just thinking.

I can't say whether it's working, but this is 100% my style too