Average Word Count

[Tarin]

Some more nosy questions, just for fun. ;)

What's your average word count per day? How many days a week do you write?

[michaelsnyder]

I aim for 1000 per day, but am usually pleased if I can point to one good sentence.

My writing schedule is 3 hours/day, 7 days/week, about 45-48 weeks/year.

Of course, I have to factor in four kids (ages 10 to 3), one lovely wife (age withheld), one very dumb but lovable dog...sickness, day job, writer's block, sleep deprivation...nail-clipping, guilt over not exercising, mindless internet searching, message boards like this one, checking sports scores I care nothing about...natural disasters, critiquing other people's work, editing my own natural disasters, squeezing the tea bag and eating cookies...etc.

Mike

[Tarin]

I aim for 1000 per day, but am usually pleased if I can point to one good sentence.

My writing schedule is 3 hours/day, 7 days/week, about 45-48 weeks/year.

Of course, I have to factor in four kids (ages 10 to 3), one lovely wife (age withheld), one very dumb but lovable dog...sickness, day job, writer's block, sleep deprivation...nail-clipping, guilt over not exercising, mindless internet searching, message boards like this one, checking sports scores I care nothing about...natural disasters, critiquing other people's work, editing my own natural disasters, squeezing the tea bag and eating cookies...etc.

Mike

LOL Hmm, you sound like a writer... ;)

If I'm on a roll, I can generally crank out around 1,200 words a day. But I aim for at least a minimum of a page (800 words). Lately, I've been lucky to hang onto to 700 a day. :rolleyes: Barring natural disasters and tantalizing bags of cookies (;)), I write two hours a day, five days a week, every week.

[lynnmosher]

LOL! Mike, I loved that! My day is a little unique. I no longer have any pets to jump in my lap or on top of my computer causing some other language to appear on the screen and I no longer have any children housed under my roof. They now stick their hands out from a distance! LOL!

Anyway, I do have a husband who totally supports what I do and is off doing his own thing. I am at my computer from the time I get up in the morning to the time I go to bed at night, except for trips to the bathroom or the kitchen or when I have to plug it in to recharge the battery!

Other than my monthly column, my writing has take a back seat to dealing with my mother's estate and cleaning out her house, etc. Now, it is taking a back seat to trying to develop a website and a newsletter for a daily devotion, of which I am having great difficulty! However, whatever happens during the day, something gets written, one way or another, even if it is only a few sentences right now.

[Thebigguy]

About 600, 300 for a while now that I'm job hunting again it's been maybe 900 a week if that. (sign)

[Tommie Lyn]

My writing schedule right now, like everything else in my life, is haphazard, catch-as-catch-can. I have so many demands, so many things to do for hubby, Daddy, grandkiddos, plus nursing home visits, etc. that I can rarely plan anything. It would be an exercise in frustration and futility if I set a schedule. And the irritation I'd feel over having my schedule interrupted continually would have a deleterious effect on the feeling in anything I'd write.

So, I write when I can, luxuriate in the time I'm actually allowed. And I don't always write when I'm seated at the computer -- if I don't have enough time to immerse myself in the story, to develop the feelings in myself that I want to come through into the story, I do other things -- check email, check the forums, etc.

And since it is so haphazard, I have no clue what the average daily word count is. I do know that I started Tugger's Down May 1st, didn't write for a couple of weeks when I was struggling with myself over whether to finish the story. So, the total, as of today, is just over 17,000 in about 3 weeks.

[Tarin]

I do know that I started Tugger's Down May 1st, didn't write for a couple of weeks when I was struggling with myself over whether to finish the story. So, the total, as of today, is just over 17,000 in about 3 weeks.

Wow. Not bad at all! Esp. if you weren't able to write it on a regular basis. !thumbsup!

[Lookin^Up]

On a good day, I can crank out half a chapter (800 to 1,000 words). Most of my days, however, are spent working out plot points in my head--basically, mental writing. It's hard to measure that in words, but once I've resolved a sticky plot point and committed it to a computer file, it's well worth it.

[VLSmith]

I only get about 1-2 hours of writing time Monday through Friday, hardly any on the weekends. But I have set time during the week 7:00-8:30 a.m.

Depending on how much rewriting I do, I might get anywhere from 300-800 words a day. Occasionally, I go backwards if I decide a scene doesn't work and I delete. There are bonus days, like last night and tonight, where my husband is working at his second job and I'll sneak in at least 2-3 more hours.

[paulchernoch]

Over the last four and a half years I have written about 500,000 words. During that time I spent 6 months on research and over a year on editing, so my average during the writing phase is 500 words a day. I only write three to four days a week, so that comes to 1000 words a day on days I write.

- Paul

[AnnieJ]

Wow, y'all are doing good. I have no discipline. I write 5 days a week and zero days a week if I can get away with it ;) and sometimes 7 days a week to catch up. Some days it's a couple of pages that I have to wipe out later, some days more. I find it is dependent more on what stage I am on a book than on my own routine.

annie jones

[kshsj777]

I'm been in a dry spell lately. I usually can fill up a 70 page spiral notebook front and back sides in about 2 to 3 months. No idea how that translates in words.

[michaelsnyder]

Annie said: "I find it is dependent more on what stage I am on a book than on my own routine."

All kidding aside, I find that to be true for me as well. It's amazing how productive I can be with a deadline looming...

Mike

[tlm]

You all put me to shame. I am editing right now and I am lucky if I get 200 words that I keep. I am usually rewriting a sentence (or paragraph) to make it more concise. It's more like how many words do I lose in a day instead of how many I add.

The bad part is that I need about 2500 more words before I can send my WIP to the publishing company I want.

[pprmint777]

Of course, I have to factor in four kids (ages 10 to 3), one lovely wife (age withheld), one very dumb but lovable dog...sickness, day job, writer's block, sleep deprivation...nail-clipping, guilt over not exercising, mindless internet searching, message boards like this one, checking sports scores I care nothing about...natural disasters, critiquing other people's work, editing my own natural disasters, squeezing the tea bag and eating cookies...etc.

Mike

Giggle!

In other words, real life kicks in and demands time.

I reckon that's a common problem. For me, when life is "normal" (and it hasn't been all year), I go to work when hubby does. That gives me eight hours a day, five or more days a week, forty-seven weeks a year. There's always the writer's block, having to shut down the puter to keep from throwing it across the room, and keeping the cats off my key board. Then, there's the cooking, the canning in the summer, the cleaning, the laundry, the work at the food bank, and running back and forth between my house and Mom's to take care of her.

So, my word count varies. Sometimes I get in a proud chapter or two; sometimes the best I can do is proof what I've got and pray for ideas. If I were to average it out, though, I'd say I write around nine hundred words a day. In an eight-hour period. Hmmmm. Suddenly, that sounds pathetic.

[jacks girl]

Im into editing what i've all ready written. but when I'm writing i would say about 4 days a week i get in anywhere from a 1000 words up When doing Nano I did an all time high of over 6000 words in one day. I impressed myself. LOL

Good question.

[writerpatty]

My word count per day varies. I have quite a full life. For the past two months, I have been writing at least a 1,000 words a day. But, I count what I do for blogs and other projects. For my novel, I haven't written anything in a while.

[michaelsnyder]

I always tell people that most any writing problem can be solved by more writing. Time to take my own advice.

I've been on a much-needed break after turning in my last round of edits. But it's time to get serious and get back to work.

So this is my public declaration that I'm coming back out of semi-self-induced-temporary retirement again. I have Radiohead in the headphones with Over The Rhine next in line. My orange spiced tea is still warm. So I'm unplugging the internet until I come up with a thousand new words.

Have a great Sunday folks. (And thanks for being my unwitting accountability partner...)

Mike

[Narrannik]

Time spent "writing" isn't nessesarily cranking out words. Sometimes people catch me staring into space, whispering to myself, and ask what I'm doing. They're a little doubious when I tell them I'm writing.

But, in answer to the question, I probably write between 500 and 600 words on a typical day. I've done 5,000, but I didn't sleep or eat much

[Tommie Lyn]

Wow. Not bad at all! Esp. if you weren't able to write it on a regular basis. !thumbsup!

Thanks, Tarin. But I can't help but judge my output in terms of what I did during NaNo 2006 -- I did almost 17,000 in two days' time. So, taking the whole month of May plus one week of June (minus the time I was interrupted by my own internal struggles) to produce that amount of words....

Wow, y'all are doing good. I have no discipline.

In my case, Annie, it's not discipline -- it's obsession. I become obsessed with my stories and can't stay away from them.

[Tarin]

Thanks, Tarin. But I can't help but judge my output in terms of what I did during NaNo 2006 -- I did almost 17,000 in two days' time. So, taking the whole month of May plus one week of June (minus the time I was interrupted by my own internal struggles) to produce that amount of words....

I hear ya. ;) But that kind of productivity usually only hits one in a blue moon. Most of the time most of us have to be content with just grinding out a little bit a little at time. In the long run, it's consistency that wins the day.

[Laina]

I have just challenged an acquaintance to write everyday. She wants to start with 30 words per day except weekends. So we are going to check with each other to make sure we are at least writing 30 words per day. I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but both of us are beginners and taking a writer's course. So I expect that I will write at least 30 words per day. Maybe a challenge with another writer would help some of you that are struggling with writing each day. Even a small amount is better than not writing at all. I expect that the 30 words for both of us will end up being more than that. It's like a jump start.

[Gina123]

I know that I tend to write more when I come to this website regularly and read what other writers are doing!

[Country Girl]

I write a minimum of 1,000 a day and a maximum of 2,100. If I don't, my husband comes home, and wonders if I should get a real job. And because I love writing so much, I get those words down. =) And I have a lot of fun in the process. No job is better than being a writer.

[tlm]

Ha!
I am averaging around 100, not 1000. The reason is, I am editing. I am cutting out deadwood, making my WIP more concise. I cut out and rearrange entire paragraphs. I may work for an hour and only get through 3 or 4 pages.

[Lookin^Up]

I have just challenged an acquaintance to write everyday. She wants to start with 30 words per day except weekends. So we are going to check with each other to make sure we are at least writing 30 words per day. I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but both of us are beginners and taking a writer's course. So I expect that I will write at least 30 words per day. Maybe a challenge with another writer would help some of you that are struggling with writing each day. Even a small amount is better than not writing at all. I expect that the 30 words for both of us will end up being more than that. It's like a jump start.
30 words? That's between 2 and 2 1/2 lines. That is starting small.

[tlm]

She wants to start with 30 words per day except weekends.

That is an attainable goal and you know you can do it. The thing is, if you are a writer, 30 words will suck you in. You will stop to write your 30 words and the next thing you know, an hour has passed.

I used to head a writing workshop at my former church and I told them I had a goal to write 15 minutes a day. They laughed at me. Of course my 15 minutes always turned into an hour or more. None of them are still writing. I have had a few magazine stories and newspaper articles published since then.

Always make your goals attainable. The love to write will take over after that. At least that is how it works for me.

[Laina]

Actually Paula was the one who wanted to only do 30 words. I wanted to do more, but she is pregnant with twins and I didn't want to stress her or stretch her too much. I told her if she could only do 30, at least that was a start. She isn't even doing well with 30. But I told her that at this season of her life to not worry about it. Yesterday I wrote over 700 words. Today I haven't written anything, yet. Maybe tonight.