1500 here. I don't think the word count is very important unless you keep writing, you'd be surprised how quickly it shoots up. I started writing it, perhaps, the beginning of this week, and have only been editing/changing a character right now, so its been stagnant for a few days, but mostly due to writing the Proposal, nowish.
As long as you have a BEGINNING you like, a proper idea of where it's all going to lead, and just maybe an end in sight, the rest will come. And then the first draft will be altered constantly, evolving as your research is expounded upon, and become far more sophisticated.
I've only just started writing my settled idea (i've tossed between about four now, written stuff for all), and my initial simple Dark Romantic/Social satire of man and woman in society, has now been altered into Dark Romantic/Social Satire/Lesbian lead/Homosexual Prejudices/Social Psychology/Burning at the Stake... and I've only really researched Dark Romanticism and Homosexual prejudice as of yet. All the gay lit., psych. texbooks, salem witch burnings, social satires I've to read and read upon is simply daunting.