Last weekend I set a goal of completing 10,000 words. I knew it was a little lofty, but I was pushing myself. I finished about 6,000 during the weekend and the other 4,000 during the week. Originally, I was going with the theory that a short novel was 50,000 words--striving for that number. Now that I am at 40,000 words I know that the book will be longer, or that I will have more to work with in the editing process.
I'm actually at a point where I am enjoying the process, not wondering how to get from point A to point B. And I'm learning to just plod through from one point to the next, and letting the story direct itself. Here is an interesting article on writing fast by Dean Wesley Smith, who has sold over 90 novels: http://deanwesleysmith.com/index.php/2008/07/26/writing-fast/
