Here are the results:<\/p>\n
The first graph plots word count by duration spent writing. \u00a0As you can see, there’s a definite trend: the longer I write, the more I tend to write. \u00a0No surprises there. \u00a0Most writing sessions are somewhere between 45 and 90 minutes, or 500 and 1,500 words.<\/p>\n The second graph plots the average writing rate (in words per hour) per session by hours spent writing, and it’s a little bit murkier. \u00a0In writing sessions of less than 45 minutes, I tend to average a little over 1000 words\/hour, but things get murkier between 45 and 90 minutes, and after 90 minutes, I tend to be around 600 and 800 words\/hour.<\/p>\n The overall trend appears to be down–that is, the longer I write, the slower I tend to write–but there appears to be a counter-trend, too, where if I start off slow I can increase the pace by writing for a longer amount of time. \u00a0Is that true, or is that simply a sharper downward trend line?<\/p>\n I think it’s a genuine counter-trend, and here’s why:<\/p>\n This graph shows writing rate plotted against word count, and it pretty clearly shows two trend lines: one starting at 1,000 to 1,200 words\/hour and going slightly down, the other starting at 400 to 600 words and going up. \u00a0At about 1,500 total words, they converge at around 800 words\/hour and appear to remain flat, though there isn’t really enough data to be able to say.<\/p>\n What I think this shows is that I have two different writing styles. \u00a0The first is to start off slow and gradually write my way into the story, picking up the pace but never really going over 800 words\/hour. \u00a0The other is to start off at a sprint of 1,200 words\/hour or so, but to slowly drop off to 800 words\/hour at around 90 minutes or 1,500 words.<\/p>\n The next graph plots the total word count of each writing session by the time of day in which I started the session. \u00a0Interestingly, there is no trend; the points are all over the map. \u00a0This tells me that there is no “best time” for me to write. \u00a0Other time-related factors might influence how much I can write, but time of day itself does not.<\/p>\n A quick glance at the next graph confirms this. \u00a0It plots writing rate by time of day, and the results are much the same as the graph for word count. \u00a0I tend to write at a more consistent pace in the afternoon–around 1,000 words\/hour–but really, there is no consistent trend.<\/p>\n This tells me that my first session of the day tends to be slow and gradual, but that once I’ve written myself into the story, the writing comes a lot faster. \u00a0In other words, if I wake up early and hit the ground running, I tend to write more and write faster throughout the day. \u00a0If I get lazy and sleep in, the whole day tends to be shot.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/wordcount_by_duration.jpg\" "\\"wordcount_by_duration\\"")
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