Between the Lulls

I've been working on my second novel and am almost at the 70000-word mark. There have been lulls between the writing and then the typing out of the words. Like, I assume, most writers every time we re-read our work, we tweak it, change it, or delete it.

When someone asks, "How long did it take to write?" It's difficult to give an answer. It almost seems like you're letting them down when you just can't roll out a number for them. Is that because, if you give them a number it might seem like something they might endeavor to do themselves? Maybe I should just roll out a number so they can take the bait and try to write something for themselves. But, then my brain says that wouldn't be fair to mislead a potential writer.

Writing must seem like a hobby to some but to others, it's a form of expression, a way to imagine things beyond ourselves, and it can be a lot of hard work.