29 How much, for how long? N ewer writers continually worry about whether they are producing enough and wonder how much output is typical. There are about as many answers to that as there are writers. However, it can be encouraging to find that success is not contingent on any particular level of productivity. Reading the variety of approaches may give you some ideas of how to handle your own writing sessions. It's also good to know that the process is messier than most writers admit when interviewed on talk shows. This has been an issue since before such shows existed. Edgar Allen Poe wrote: Most writers--poets in especial--prefer having it under- stood that they compose by a species of fine frenzy--an ecstatic intuition--and would positively shudder at letting