MF, I did that very thing today - I wrote just under 2000 words only to realise that I'll have to nuke most of them, but it's only through writing those 2000 words that I now know what I want to say instead. This is probably why it takes me forever to complete a first draft; I spent most of my time rewriting what I banged out yesterday.

It's maybe wrong to confuse lit fic with visible style or even so-called literary device.

Yes, it is very wrong, I think. As you say, some of the best literary prose is incredibly plain, and that's an essential part of how and why it works so well. What makes it literary isn't what kind of writing it is, but that the writing has some kind of originality in itself, as poetry has: that no single word is just doing an ordinary job - it has to be doing something more.

I'd define lit fic in terms of the issues it deals with rather than stylistic quality

I must say I'd disagree here: I think lit fic is all about how something's written, but the subject/issues can be absolutely anything - to that extent it's not as subject-bound as genre fiction is.

and in particular I would say that one aspect of lit fic is that it's always concerned more with matters beyond the storyline than with the storyline itself.

I think I'd qualify this as as concerned with matters beyond the storyline, but I'm sure this is true.

I was at a Nick Hornby reading the other evening: he was flying the flag for not reading anything you don't actually enjoy. He made the point (though not often or loudly enough to my mind) that this is entirely subjective, not least subject to the circumstances you're trying to read it in, and one person's terribly plodding virtuous duty read is someone else's great joy. But he absolutely wasn't doing that tedious 'literary clap-trap/pretentious nonsense' line: he was agreeing that intellectual enjoyment is as valuable as any other kind of enjoyment of a book. He did say that he felt that some literary authors got the balance wrong between intellectual interest and enjoyment of the story, which I'm sure is true, and is where many people part company with lit fic - though of course that balance is different for every person with every book. On the other hand, talking about Marilyn Robertson's Gilead he said it was a fantastic novel and very difficult to read, and that was absolutely fine, because 'she couldn't get the job done any easier'. His point was that some lit. fic. could get the job done easier but doesn't try hard enough to.

What he didn't say, which I would, is that while we should feel free to abandon a book we're not enjoying, it can be worth keeping going for a while, to give it a chance to warm up. How many books have we all read which in the end were wonderful, but didn't start that way?

Emma

I'd say in lit fic storyline is one tool among many the writer uses to explore whatever it is he or she wishes to explore. I'd say plotting for its own sake is low down the list of lit fic concerns, the opposite being the case for genre fiction like crime or horror wher it's the primary concern. Events exist in lit fic to provoke reflection and investigation, satirical or straight. The plot of Lord Jim might be defined in two sentences but the depth and breadth of that book's concerns are extraordinary.

I've always rated Hornby and often quote him as an influence, so it's nice to hear him talking such (imo) sensible literary theory.

In answer to the original question and just to keep a balance I'd say Quite precious indeed, managing a maximum of 600 words a day and lately, fewer than that. It's just the way I like to work. I inch forward, nipping continually at the words like a sheepdog herding a nervous flock.

Compared to many other novelists I think it's a relatively small daily word count, but then it's what works for me. Fascinating question, Geoff, though in some ways it's a bit like asking 'How long do you like to wear your hair?'

I have had a go at NaNoWriMo for exactly those reasons - to speed up my otherwise paralysed snail's pace - Have managed just over 10,000 words, so miles away from fingering the 50,000th word by midnight on the 30th. I started out with 1,000+ words per day OK but other things just got in the way. I did, however, find it a very useful exercise since I'm normally a compulsive edit-as-you-go person. Haven't looked to see if there's anything worth rescuing in the 10,000, but have returned invigorated to a short story and am composing it my usual Meursault way!

Marilyn

I'm not precious at all - I tend to write big, then cut out afterwards so I can easily get three thousand words in a day. This means I end up with a huge messy god-awful mss that I have to crack open and cull mercilessly in later drafts - but I like doing that too. When I'm writing and I can't decide between three or four words or phrases, I put them all in one after the other, knowing that when I go back I can sit and think and chuck the rest of it out, or save it for something else. The first draft of my novel was 120k words - I chopped it in half on the second draft, and after a few more drafts ended up at about 90k words... a very wasteful way to write, and perhaps because I didn't have any idea what I was doing, but it did work in that I finished something big and feel reasonably happy with it.

I'd love to be more precious (or is it decisive?) but I don't think its in me, I just want to get everything down as quick as I can so I can see what I've got and mess about with it later.

B

I think writers are either cutters or adders, with the former in the majority. 'How do I know what I think till I see what I say?' is a very honourable position to adopt. I don't think your process is wasteful, Blackbird, just very usual. I also go flat out for a first draft, to get the skeleton right, but mine tend to come out too bony, so my second draft tends to be a matter of fleshing things out.

Emma

It certainly helps you to be a bit less attached to what you write - I'm quite happy to chuck any old thing down the first time round. Thanks to the computer, I'm not even wasting paper - sometimes it kills me to get rid of stuff and I have a scene from my recently finished novel that kills me to have in my 'homeless' file...

ahh - the magic is in the delete key, for me. I wish I was a putter in rather than a taker out just because I think it would be quicker, but it is not how I'm made.

B