"Three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write"
About this Quote
Three hours a day is less a creative limit than a moral boundary: Trollope is drawing a bright line between disciplined craft and the romantic myth of the artist as holy sufferer. Coming from a novelist famous for his clockwork productivity (and for timing his output in quarter-hour chunks), the line reads like a Victorian rebuke to both procrastinators and aesthetes. Writing, in this view, is not an altar where you bleed; its a job you show up for, then leave.
The phrasing is slyly normative. Not "as much as a man can write", but "as much as a man ought to write" - a claim about what is proper, sustainable, even socially responsible. Trollope is smuggling in a philosophy of balance: work hard, stop before you turn precious or depleted, and keep enough life in reserve to observe people, endure institutions, and gather the raw material novels actually need. The subtext is anti-genius. Talent matters, sure, but it should be harnessed by routine, not indulged by mood.
Context sharpens the edge. Trollope wrote while holding down a civil service career, producing vast novels on commuter trains and before breakfast. Three hours is an argument against the excuse culture of inspiration: if you wait for the muse, you cede your book to chance. He offers an almost impolite comfort: the daily minimum is also the daily maximum. Do the work, then go live.
The phrasing is slyly normative. Not "as much as a man can write", but "as much as a man ought to write" - a claim about what is proper, sustainable, even socially responsible. Trollope is smuggling in a philosophy of balance: work hard, stop before you turn precious or depleted, and keep enough life in reserve to observe people, endure institutions, and gather the raw material novels actually need. The subtext is anti-genius. Talent matters, sure, but it should be harnessed by routine, not indulged by mood.
Context sharpens the edge. Trollope wrote while holding down a civil service career, producing vast novels on commuter trains and before breakfast. Three hours is an argument against the excuse culture of inspiration: if you wait for the muse, you cede your book to chance. He offers an almost impolite comfort: the daily minimum is also the daily maximum. Do the work, then go live.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Trollope, Anthony. (n.d.). Three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/three-hours-a-day-will-produce-as-much-as-a-man-39012/
Chicago Style
Trollope, Anthony. "Three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/three-hours-a-day-will-produce-as-much-as-a-man-39012/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/three-hours-a-day-will-produce-as-much-as-a-man-39012/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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