Editing Word Counts by Day

Sometimes I forget to post my word count! This usually happened when I write early in the day and don’t post because I plan to add some more words later. Then I find myself in the position of posting two days worth of words the next day and a jump in my graph that does not accurately reflect my daily progress. Does it matter? Not really, it is the end total that counts but I like being accurate so here is how to fix that glitch.

Here's what the chart looks like with the skipped day. The accurate word counts were 14963 for November 7 and then 15800 for November 8.

So all I had to do to fix this was click on November 7, fill in 14963, and hit save. Now the daily counts are accurate and the graph has updated as well! Easy peasy!

Love Your Data Charts

Every day when you update your word count a page with this chart on it will pop up. I LOVE this graphic! The average words per day and words written today is a good snap shot of your current pace. The fun part is looking at words remaining, the date you will finish at your current average rate, and when you will finish if you keep that pace. If you have been jackrabbiting because it is early in the month and you are in that first flush of writing power but are worried about sustaining the pace, you can look at the words per day you need to finish on time. In this example because I am a bit ahead, I only need 1,564 words per day to be a winner on the 30th.

Of course if I stay with my personal goal of 2,000 words or more per day I will finish early. I like to post my total on Thanksgiving morning and then spend the day celebrating and relaxing with my family and friends.

Tomorrow we will talk about how to choose a nano name.

Tracking Your Words

The goal is to get to 50,000 words! NaNoWriMo's site provides a quick and easy way to track your count. Once you have registered your novel and sign in, click on My NaNoWriMo  and select dashboard. There you will find a white box (see above) where you can type in your daily total. When you push update, your new word count appears.

The most satisfying part of the day is filling in the new number and then watching the bar graph jump. As you can see, I am just a bit ahead as of the second day. Assuming 1,667 words per day, I would need to have 3,334 to be perfectly on track. As I have 4,670 today, I am a bit ahead so I am above the target line. I know from past years that there will be days where I will not get to 1,667 so having a little cushion feels good to me.

Tomorrow I will show you the second set of stats that appear when you update. If you like to track your words and see exactly where you are and what you need to finish, tomorrow's post will be for you.