How many words per day?

[Jessicathe69]

I know this is probably a silly question and has surely been addressed here a number of times, but I have several story ideas in my head and have recently started to sit down and just write. First with a pen and paper and now here on the computer (Word). But how many words do you try to write a day?

I know we all have our off days, writers block or no time to write on occasion, but what your target? I'm at 942 at the moment for this afternoon.

Thanks!

 

[NotWise]

I know this is probably a silly question and has surely been addressed here a number of times, but I have several story ideas in my head and have recently started to sit down and just write. First with a pen and paper and now here on the computer (Word). But how many words do you try to write a day?

I know we all have our off days, writers block or no time to write on occasion, but what your target? I'm at 942 at the moment for this afternoon.

Thanks!

I'd like to do 2000+, but rarely do. And then there's the rewrites and the editing. The most I've written in a day was about 20,000 words, which I think I've done twice.

 

[Jessicathe69]

I'd like to do 2000+, but rarely do. And then there's the rewrites and the editing. The most I've written in a day was about 20,000 words, which I think I've done twice.

Thanks! I can't imagine writing 20K a day unless I was really into it.

 

[KeithD]

I consider 3,000 words a day as a full writing day, but sometimes I go up to 9,000 words and occasionally I do zero. I try to do at least 1,000 words. And all that said, that's just a general feeling of being productive or not. I don't have any set needs or requirements on wordage written. And, like any regularly producing author, it isn't all about generating wordage. Some time is spent in researching a different story than the one I'm writing or reviewing already-written stories to go to the publisher or cleaning up edits when they come back. I can have a highly productive day without doing any writing at all.

 

[NotWise]

Thanks! I can't imagine writing 20K a day unless I was really into it.

I was really into it. I barely looked up from the screen.

 

[Jessicathe69]

I consider 3,000 words a day as a full writing day, but sometimes I go up to 9,000 words and occasionally I do zero. I try to do at least 1,000 words. And all that said, that's just a general feeling of being productive or not. I don't have any set needs or requirements on wordage written. And, like any regularly producing author, it isn't all about generating wordage. Some time is spent in researching a different story than the one I'm writing or reviewing already-written stories to go to the publisher or cleaning up edits when they come back. I can have a highly productive day without doing any writing at all.

Thanks! Looks like it's kinda' what I figured, do what you can when you can, and when you feel productive.

 

[ElectricBlue]

ChloeTzang seems to be our words champ right now, her productivity is astonishing. She'll drop by with her melted keyboard, I'm sure.

I've worked out that my productivity, averaged out over all time, is about ten - fifteen thousand a month, so doing the maths, that's only 500 words a day. Which sometimes sounds about right, but often it's twice, three times that. That's based on published content, includes edit time blah blah blah. I never ever set targets, though. Never. The words are what they are, that day.

But I also have other lives and interests, which take up similar chunks of time. I generally manage an hour or two each day, more if it's sunny and I have an excuse to sit outside.

 

[SamScribble]

Graham Greene aimed to write 500 'finished' words a day. Sometimes he wrote more; often he simply stopped when he reached 500 - even if it was in mid-sentence.

I aim for 500 finished words - and often end up at about one thousand.

 

[Jessicathe69]

Thanks guys. I'm at 1,784 and a good place to stop for the day.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

I don't think I've ever counted per day. I fit my writing in when and if I can depending on how life allows it. My writing time is anything but consistent, so I doubt counting words would provide any meaningful measure of accomplishment.

Also I tend to re-write and revise constantly. I know there have been times that I have rewritten a 1200 word section down to 900, giving me a net loss for the day in word count. But if the result is cleaner, tighter, and better paced, then the loss of word count is a gain for the story.

I guess what I'm saying is that word count measures productivity, not quality, so be sure not to confuse the two. Don't get so focused on either one that the other suffers.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Chloe and TxRad seem to be the EverReady word-bunnies around here. I am constantly amazed at the reports from them, the casual, “Stopped after 5,000 words before lunch...”

I write in fits and starts, sometimes bang out a bunch and then sit for a few days with no production whatever.

 

[KeithD]

I've (ahem) averaged half a million words a year--published to the marketplace--for the last fifteen years. I think that comes to about 1,500 words every day for fifteen years. I was editing books for the mainstream for thirteen of those years too. Conversely, I do practically nothing around the house.

 

[TxRad]

The number of words I write a day is not set in stone in any way. Since I'm retired, I've set aside three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon as writing time. Being a three finger typist slows me down. It also makes my brain "My Muse."slow down and plan whats next while I'm catching up on the words.

Most of my writing today is for my mainstream publisher, so I have a great editor and proofing staff for that. Lit is now the fun writing time. I try to put out a 50k YA book every other month. Kind of like doing NANO with a two month time limit.

Chloe is young and fast but she has a job and a life. I'm old, slow, and retired so i have a big advantage. 1k words, twice a day isn't uncommon. 8-9k in a day isn't either. It all depends.

Don't get hung up on numbers. Just write. When someone starts paying for your stuff is time to worry about numbers. Make sure you have good habits down pat when that time comes.

 

[yukonnights]

My writing is very sporadic. If you compare my join date to the number of words per day...well, it'd be meaningless. Writing these stories for me is 100% a hobby and creative outlet. It is one among many such outlets. So, it seems to me that one should consider their own purposes and goals in this endeavor. Is it for profit or fun? I always try to put out my best effort though, however humble that may turn out to be...and some starts never see the finish line.

 

[FEELINGLUCKYPUNK]

In my old age word count means little to me, instead I obcess about what matters in a story. Writing stories are much like composing music.

 

[ChloeTzang]

ChloeTzang seems to be our words champ right now, her productivity is astonishing. She'll drop by with her melted keyboard.......

of course I’ll drop by! Tex alas is right. I write around a full time job that has me busy on 10-12 hour shifts so my writing is structured around that. On a work day, I get up earlier and try and write for an hour before and afterwards. Before is more productive, afterwards tends to be more editing than fresh words and I’ll average 1-2k words on days like that. My average on a good work-free writing day would be about 5-6k words and the most is about 10k when I’m really rolling.

That said, I just set my 2019 writing goals. One 80-100k novel per month and one Lit 20-30k story per month for the year. I have my stories listed out month by month with some clear targets to hit. That probably will push me to average 35k words per week, which I think is the max I can do consistently. So I’ll see how that goes.... I may end up being a bit optimistic there but I’d rather aim too high and push myself.

 

[Boota]

I write in scenes with a goal of what I want to accomplish. It's usually over 2,000 words for the day, but maybe not. Depends on what the scene needed to feel done to me at the time. Sometimes it's well over 3,000. I'd go more if I felt like it was needed, but what usually happens is that it feels like I should be moving on by that point. I don't get to write every day, though. I work long overnight hours four days a week, so I try to do the best I can with my three day weekends.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I may end up being a bit optimistic there but I’d rather aim too high and push myself.

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky." Hendrix, J.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm thoroughly undisciplined in maintaining an average daily writing quota, and I have no idea what my average is. I have many days when I write nothing. I have days where I write a few thousand words. I would guess that roughly 5,000 words are the most I've written in one day.

 

[ChloeTzang]

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky." Hendrix, J.

that’s good

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Like Simon, I too am undisciplined maintaining and avg.

Some days no words at all, then some where I might do 200, then others where I do about 8,000.

I just finished a story that was supposed to be a short almost flash story of about 6,000 words. Turned out to be about 15,000 words instead.

I have typed 10K words, maybe not all correctly, in a day(10-15 hours long). The problem with doing that is then I can't sit for a few days and get nothing done.

Average per day? Hell if I know or care. I write when I feel like it and I don't when I don't. Although there are days I feel the need.

 

[colddiesel]

Jessica should not research either the Belgian George Simenon or the Englishman, Charles Hamilton AKA. Frank Richards - both were phenomenally productive. Simenon was reputed once to have started a 250 page novel on a Friday and delivered it to his Publisher on the following Monday.

It has been estimated that Hamilton wrote 100 million words. Both used mechanical typewriters.

 

[KeithD]

Yes, the trophy goes to whoever did it on a manual typewriter.

 

[FEELINGLUCKYPUNK]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSmsq2iq4bQ

J fred COOTS SAID IT TOOK HIM 10 MINUTES TO WRITE THIS CLASSIC.

 

[FEELINGLUCKYPUNK]

I'M seriously influenced by John O'Hara's porn; almost all of it is brief, often a sentence or two, and rarely more than 1000 words.

Whole scenes and and stories pop into my head. One came today. I wrote it up. 500 words of filth.