As writers, we track progress in terms of number of words written, number of chapters completed, number of books published. Some days, every word is a struggle. Some days the word’s flow freely and we thank our muse, God, Gods, whoever is in charge of literary output.

One key to progress is committing to your writing. You know that.

But are you the type of person who does better when you can see the wordcount going up? Perhaps you know how many words you’ve written because you did a check via your word processors Word Count feature. But if that isn’t enough to spur you on, here are four suggestions.

1. Keep a notepad next to the keyboard where you list your progress. You could list daily progress, or keeping a running tab of how many words you’ve written each day.

2. Keep a spreadsheet with your daily wordcount output. You could also list your daily goals. (Don’t have spreadsheet software? Try Google Spreadsheet. It’s free to use.)

3. If you’re scared of spreadsheets and don’t like pen and paper, and you have an iPhone, there’s a new app I recommend to help you keep track of your progress. It’s called WordOne and there’s a free version that let’s you keep track of one project. It asks how many words you estimate your book will be. Then it asks how many you have currently. And a deadline to complete the book. You then enter your wordcount each day (though if you write in spurts throughout the day I believe you can enter multiple counts each day.) and it will add that to your words written, subtract it from words needed, and recalculate how many words you need to write each day to make your deadline.

4. If you haven’t tried Write or Die, I must insist you give it a shot. It’s a program that will eat your words if you stop writing, therefore, forcing you to keep going. You don’t have time for your internal editor to kick on until you’re done with your challenge. You can challenge yourself to 10 minutes, 500 words, or more. There are various options, and I’ll let you test them out, but I suggest you check out the online version here (free), and if works for you, consider the desktop version here ($10). I have the desktop version and it makes it so much easier to get extra words in at lunch. Later in the day I can add more words or begin the editing procress. A key to the success with Write or Die is knowing what you want to write before you begin, so at least have an idea for the scene you’re writing and what that scene must accomplish before you hit “go.”

How to do you track your progress? Leave me a comment.

Good luck!

~ Alice

PS. Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed so you’ll get updates when I add more tips and recommendations.

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