I think the answer is going to vary for every writer, and you have to discover what works best for you. For me and many other writers I’ve spoken with, writing often feels like pulling teeth. Occasionally, I’ll get into the flow of it and write 5,000 words in one day, but those bursts only happen a few times a year for me. If I only wrote when I felt truly motivated, I wouldn’t produce much. I understand what you mean about it not feeling right when you force the words. Oftentimes, though, I’ll go back to a part I wrote when I felt uninspired and discover that it has potential. As Jodi Picoult says, “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

Some people seem to believe that if you don’t enjoy every second of writing or if you have to force yourself to write, then you’re not cut out to be a writer, and I really don’t believe that. To me, writing is like exercise: I know I should do it regularly, but it sounds like so much effort, and it’s painful when I’m doing it, but when it’s all over, I feel energized and I’m overjoyed to have accomplished the task. It’s that idea of “I hate writing, but I love having written” (a quote often attributed to Dorothy Parker).

On Twitter, author V.E. Schwab is very open about her struggles with writing, often lamenting about how difficult it is to sit down and write. And yet she’s written over a dozen successful fantasy novels. So, I think forcing yourself to write is part of the process, and some writers struggle more with putting words on the page than others, but that doesn’t make them lesser writers. If you’re struggling to reach your goals with your current writing habits, then that might mean you need to find ways to inspire yourself to write more.