Amount of words a day

by Gilly Ansell
10th July 2012

I am currently taking some time out of paid work to have a break and write fulltime (long story) so I write every weekday and sometimes at the weekend. However, I tend to be quite hard on myself if I only manage to write 1000 words that day. Other times I can write more but just wondered if I should be more disciplined or less harsh on myself. I'm not always happy with what I've written and go back and edit frequently. I know we are all different in what we write but just wondered if others feel the same about their writing.

Replies

The days when I've got spare time, I sit thinking that today I'm going to get 2000 words down but I realized later that it's not about the time, it's about the state of mind.

Write as the words come to you and don't force yourself to write in bulk because that will never produce quality result. On good days, when I'm really in the mood, I've got as much as 3000 words penned down. (That's when you're a student like me and can spend 10 hours a day carrying a notebook)

But you should always go back to editing. Normally, I write 300 words a day because I keep re-reading what I've written and focus on making it better.

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10/07/2012

Thanks Jonathan. I think I'm my own worst critic and need to just take the pressure off myself about how much I write and concentrate more on what I actually write.

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10/07/2012

Bernard Cornwell said he writes 1500 words a day, but I bet he doesn't edit as he goes along.

I try to write 300 in the evening, but it varies a lot. I think you have to go with what's comfortable for you.

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