How much do you write?

[williemeikle]

In order of writing them, starting in 1998 I have the following novels :-

Eldren: The Book of the Dark
Eldren: The Book of the Dead (trunked and trashed as it was crap)
The Midnight Eye Files: The Amulet
Island Life
Watchers: The Coming of The King
Watchers: The Battle For the Throne
Watchers: Culloden
The Midnight Eye Files: The Sirens
The Road Hole Bunker Mystery
Generations (sold but not yet published)
Hunter's Dock (sold but not yet published)
The Concordances of the Red Serpent (sold but not yet published)
The Midnight Eye Files: The Skin Game (sold but not yet published)
Berserker (sold but not yet published)
The Valley
Crustaceans
The Invasion

So the one I'm on now is number 18. Blimey!

I also request that more than 250 short stories and ten screenplays also be taken into account :0)

That's what 1500 words a day, every day, can lead to :-)

[Greenkeeper]

Lately I've been averaging about 1200-1500 words per day 5 days per week, sometimes more if things are flowing well that day. I've only written two complete books so far, starting in 2007, but I accumulated a lengthy assortment of short stories and partially written novels over the years. I hope to one day go back and finish some of my other projects that got left hanging, but first I plan to finish my Tales from the Green series.

[James_Wilde]

I don't actually give myself a target, but on an average day when I'm on a roll, I can put out 2000 words in a two hour-ish run. Best result, when I had a day to myself, was about 4800. At the moment it's virtually nil, as I'm busy with other things, and not allowed to write. One of the other things is trying to finish the book our reading circle has chosen.

[Miss_Fletcher]

OMG, williemeikle. 18 books! How long have you been writing for? I've managed to complete 1. Though it was my first writing attempt.

I write when I can. Sometimes for days I simply cannot focus, and just kind of stare at the screen. Other times I can bash out 5k words in one sitting. Just depends on what mood I'm in.

I need to become much more disciplined, but I hope if I ever get near double figures in terms of complete books, that I will be by then.

[M T McGuire]

I'm a full-time parent with a two year old. I write about the speed glaciers move. I've been writing all my life, most of it paid boring stuff, 4 novels - 3 of which I wish somebody else had written one of which is quite good. 4 short stories, most of which are a bit crap. Since 1998. So usually it's several months without doing much then 20,000 words in a couple of weeks... A novel every two years... but at the moment about 1,000 words a month if I'm lucky.

Not much really.

Cheers

MTM

[doreenjoy]

I've learned the hard way that I have to be kind of strict about my writing. If I give myself wiggle room, months go by without any work.

I write between 1200 and 1500 words per day (no more, no less) for six days a week. I take Fridays off, and I take a month or six weeks off between books while I plot out the next book.

I think I've written 14 or 15 books so far (I don't keep count). All but three have been published. Fingers are crossed for the last two. I have high hopes for them.

I have a demanding job and family, too. They get short shrift when I'm doing the second half of a book, when there's an urgency to get the damn thing finished. Some of my friends who are full time writers are crazy productive and write a full chapter every single day.

[Luke King]

I've been writing for fifteen years on and off - mostly off. The children's stuff I've written (which I'm hawking here) was all written around ten years ago. I don't write for children anymore, but I have a science fiction novel for young adults (also written ten years ago) that I'm re-drafting - and that should be out soon. I want to put a price on it, unlike the other stuff below. I figure it's okay - better, anyway.

Aside from that, I've written five other novels. The first was hopeless, and I only have a printed copy of it, though I might get it scanned and try to do something with it. It would also likely fit into the young adult sci-fi genre.

My other stuff is all seeing the light of day under various pseudonyms.

At the moment, I'm trying to stick to 2000 words a day, six days a week. I usually don't make it, but I figure I'm rewriting also, so that's okay.

Since I started my 2000 word rule, I've written 27486 words. If I can stick to it, it would mean around 600 000 words a year. I once read a quote somewhere that said you need to write a million words before you're publishable.

At the moment I'm over the moon because The Stinging Tree is number 8 on Smashwords most downloaded children's books. I don't think it deserves to be there, but hopefully it will lead to readers for the novel I have coming out.

[WPotocki]

It depends. I try to write in segments - so that I break at logical or finished points in the story. That means I most often write what constitutes an entire chapter - or scene if doing a movie. It works best for me. That said, my chapters range in word count. Picked a chapter at random from my latest work. It came in at 3,657. However, I may be writing simultaneous projects. If that's the case, then double or triple that amount.

I've only written 6 complete novels - three of which have seen the light of day. Two are being edited and one - well, that was my first one. That needs a rewrite! Still love the story though. One of these days ...

I haven't counted the screenplays ... maybe 5 or 6? Then there are the teleplays ... hmmm... could be around 10.

[altworld]

I have a daily quota of at least 1000 words a day, it normally includes a little rewriting and then a blast of first draft stuff. At the moment I am averaging about 2500 words a day, which is pretty good considering I get about a hour, to an hour and half free to myself.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I've learned the hard way that I have to be kind of strict about my writing. If I give myself wiggle room, months go by without any work.

Know the feeling.

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I write between 1200 and 1500 words per day (no more, no less) for six days a week. I take Fridays off,

Fridays off. That makes you a muslim, right? (I once worked in the Middle East, and you could tell religion by which day a person didn't work.)

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I have a demanding job and family, too. They get short shrift when I'm doing the second half of a book, when there's an urgency to get the damn thing finished.

RTB STM BTTS

[ExtremelyAvg]

Two years ago I was bored and decided I wanted to write a novel. I had never written anything longer than a 20 page term paper, and had always considered writing to be a form of punishment. It never interested me, but I do like challenging myself, so I did it. I wrote a science fiction novel, of 78,000 words, in 21 days. It was rubbish. My hard drive has since crashed, and it may be lost, but it wasn't very good, so I am only slightly saddened by this turn of events.

I didn't write again until Jan 2, 2010, when I posted a blog post on a woodworking website. I have blogged every day since then, most post with photos I have taken (I am also a stock photographer) I do a couple of guest blog posts per week and have written for my company. My best guess would be that I average about 1000 words per day, 7 days per week.

I have found that I find it enjoyable and will continue to write more. I don't know if I will ever become a real writer, but for now, I am enjoying the drivel I create, and my blog readers seem to be enjoying it as well.

The more I blog, the more I want to create stories. After I hit 'publish' on my first novella, I will likely try to carve out a bit of each day for writing the next one, and add that to my daily blog stuff.

That is my story...thus far.

Brian

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Fridays off. That makes you a muslim, right? (I once worked in the Middle East, and you could tell religion by which day a person didn't work.)

Hah! I have a friend from the Middle East who says the same thing.

Nope, not Muslim...Buddhist. One thing about buddhists, we don't have a specific holy day of the week. My temple has public meditation on Tuesday nights, but they don't interfere with writing.

Friday's the night I go out with friends, have dinner, and generally stay out too late, so writing is on hiatus on Friday.

[Suzanne Tyrpak]

I'm a slow writer. Right now I'm rewriting, which I find sooo much more enjoyable that getting through a first draft. Sometimes the words just pour out of me, other times it's like pulling teeth. I tend to set time aside to write, rather than worrying about word count.

[Luke King]

Originally Posted by ExtremelyAvg

My hard drive has since crashed, and it may be lost, but it wasn't very good, so I am only slightly saddened by this turn of events.

After losing a lot of stuff the last time my computer crashed, I have now become neurotic about backing stuff up. I email an updated version of everything I write to myself the minute I stop writing, and then back up on two different flash drives.

[kcmay]

I'm not a terribly consistent writer. I sometimes let life get in the way. But I've written 6 novels and 1 novella, plus a couple dozen short stories. Looking forward to the kick-in-the-pants called NaNoWriMo!