Stephen King writes a thousand words a day minimum. Ian Fleming wrote three hours a day before going for a swim and spending the rest of the day in the bar. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote for exactly forty five minutes a day before going to his job reading gas meters.
I may be a little mixed up on that last one.
I have a much humbler goal. I try to sit down and write, one or twice a day. My goal is 500-1000 words, but if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not like my writing makes real money, not the money you can live on. Not even the money to buy a bus ticket.
However, some days, I don’t even make that. Things are busy with my day job, or I have to do some side job for anther writer or I have to help someone with their website or I have to deal with personal stuff. Some days, I even get too tired at the end of the day to write. Occasionally, I even want to relax or have fun.
I used to think that this was the end of the world. Writing is, after all, hard work, and only the dedicated survive to get published. But in the end, I figure it’s all about happiness. If the writing’s not making you happy, go find something else to do for the night. At least you tried, and it will be there tomorrow.