Schwab has described her daily process in enough detail, across her own blog and several interviews spanning a decade, that a consistent shape emerges. The specifics shift with deadlines and touring, but the structure holds.
The Shape of a Writing Day
In a 2015 post on her personal blog, Schwab laid out a typical day.
I get up around 7am, walk the dogs, make tea, do my check of email/twitter/tumblr/fbook, etc and then get to writing.
V.E. Schwab, personal blog, September 2015
By her own account, mornings are where the real writing happens. Afternoons shift to editing or admin work, emails, blog posts, the parts of the job that don't need fresh focus, because her attention drifts too much by then to draft well. Evenings often include the gym before dinner, then another hour of writing before bed. When deadlines allow it, she tries to protect at least one weekend day to read and rest instead of work.
Sprints, Not Marathons
In a 2019 podcast interview, Schwab put a number on the actual writing time inside that structure: two to three hours a day of drafting, some days more and some less, worked in twenty- to twenty-five-minute sprints because, in her words, her focus runs short. She's described staying creatively engaged well beyond those sprints too, working through plot problems at the gym, walking the dog, or on a train, even when she isn't physically typing.
A more recent account, from an October 2025 interview, adds a practical detail: living in the UK, she gets a head start on the working day before American readers and colleagues log on, since the later the day runs, the easier it is to find an excuse to skip it. On days a full session feels like too much, she'll set a timer for ten minutes instead of twenty-five just to get the session started. She's also described herself as less of a fast writer than a consistent one, someone who shows up most days rather than working in bursts.
See the full V.E. Schwab writing routine for how this schedule connects to where she writes and how she plans a book before drafting it.
What You Can Steal
- Protect a morning block before the rest of the world is awake. Fewer competing demands means fewer excuses.
- Work in short sprints instead of forcing a marathon session. Twenty minutes of real focus beats two distracted hours.
- Move editing and admin to the part of the day when your focus naturally drops. Don't draft on tired attention.
- Aim for consistency over speed. Showing up most days will outproduce waiting for a burst of inspiration.