How Many Words a Day Do You Write?

"So, how many words a day do you write?" a friend asked me the other day. And on the surface it seemed quite a simple question. I thought for a moment. "I guess I must write well over five thousand words a day if you include daily journal, non fiction book, proposal,  emails, blogs, web articles and letters." (Yes, I actually do put pen to paper to write to my Mum!)

"I mean for a novel," she said. Ah. Now that is different. "Well, I think I'm comfortable writing between five hundred and a thousand a day, " I said. "On my own stuff." She was shocked. I asked why.

"I thought it would be about ten or twenty thousand or something!"she said.

I think it's a pretty common preconception that novelists churn out thousands of words a day. Some do. Barbara Cartland, that doyenne of the romance genre, used to write beween six and seven thousand  words a day, but she used to dictate her novels to an assistant, which kind of doesn't count.

Steven King says in his book On Writing that he usually manages two thousand words a day and that he even writes on weekends, holidays, Christmas... a true labour of love.

But actually writing a story? When I'm working on my own material, I know from experience that I average about 600 words a day (per novel) and that I only work Monday to Friday. It may not sound a lot, but it means that in eight months I have written 80,000 words, which is an average novel length. For clients, especially those who have already got a plot outline, this output doubles - even quadruples sometimes. But as I work on several projects at once, mixing all kinds of writing work, I don't write novels full time.

Once I'd explained this to my friend, she was relieved. "That seems kind of doable," she said."Maybe I can write a novel after all!"

So to encourage people faced with the daunting task of writing a novel, I'd say this. Take it steady, don't go crazy, stick to your 500 words a day - don't make it a chore - and you'll get there.

Comments

[Fiona]

I think you've misunderstood the tone of my comment Jamie! The piece starts with someone expressing surprise at how few words per day it takes to write a novel as she thought it was ten or twenty thousand. My point is that if you take it slow and steady, then even with as few as 500 words a day, you will get there. I'm certainly not suggesting people only write that if they feel the urge to write more! Sorry if that's how it comes across.

[Jamie]

What do you mean 'stick to YOUR 500 words a day’? As you clearly pointed out, word counts per day can fluctuate and are often personal to the particular novelist. So I am unsure why you feel it is prudent to tell people to write 500 a day.