Daily word count

[Nuffaluff]

How much do you manage to write in a day? I'm managing 500 words at the moment, which isn't that much but I've done it for five days in a row so I'm pleased! I work part time in a full on job and I have two young kids so don't get around to it until the evening.
If I try to write more than that the quality is pants. I couldn't do the NaNoWriMo at the mo.
It's going to take me forever to finish this bloomin' novel though isn't it?

[schmalex]

500 a day isn't bad at all if you keep it up. Many full-time writers only aim for 1,000 a day.

[Nuffaluff]

I did it again last night! I feel on top of the world (until I find time at the weekend to read it back again and find out it's actually rubbish).
The hard bit is keeping faith in what I'm doing I find. Sometimes I stop for a few days, a couple of weeks and so on.

[Ferrousfumerate1]

I wouldn't worry too much about the quality if it's a first draft. I would just get the story down. Loads will change by the time you reach the end so you don't want to spend too much time refining it at first, only to then have to chuck out huge swathes.

[Nuffaluff]

Thanks ferrous I know that's how you're supposed to do it.
It's just that if I write too fast it's so so so so bad. Really bad.
Like this 'she made a cup of tea and sat down, said something then stood up. Did a lot of other boring stuff then had another cup of tea.'

[Ferrousfumerate1]

But you have to write without judgement when you're writing the first draft. Of course it's not going to be great - good writing is about editing. i would try and not use 'good/bad' to describe it. It's pointless. Just get the story down. It's much more important than the writing at that point. Of course, try and make your sentences as specific as possible (explain what she says, not that she just says something). But it's not about the writing at first. Almost every first draft is rubbish unless you're the sort of writer who maps out the book in detail, knows exactly where they're going with it, and doesn't need to do many drafts. This is not the majority of writers.

[CertainHalfDesertedStreets]

Also those are the bones aren't they? I do that sometimes and then redraft redraft redraft. When I am inspired and I read it back I often find that I have missed that kind of boring stuff that actually helps the reader along and my character is now suddenly outside listening to the birds when she was in the bath...