If you’re not using a word tracker when you write, you should be. Word trackers are simple yet incredibly useful tools that should be an integral part of every writing process.

Accountability

Word trackers help you hit targets like daily word counts (or weekly or monthly, etc.) This gives you something to work toward, which in turn keeps you accountable and more likely to sit/stand at your desk and write until you’ve hit your goal.

Consistency

Accountability can lead to consistency, which is one of the most important factors in finishing a project. When you know you’re hitting a thousand words a day or whatever your goal is, you’re most likely to have a sense of progress, which in turn is more likely to keep bringing you back to write more.

Patterns

Word trackers can help you identify the times of day you may be most or least productive. Everyday distractions and stresses can sometimes be invisible. Using a word tracker can make the patterns visible.

Milestones

Word trackers can help you break large projects down into manageable milestones. For instance, it’s much easier to approach a project when you’re working toward writing 10,000 words in a month rather than writing 100,000 words by deadline X.

Word trackers can also help with a project’s internal milestones, such as act structure. If you know you want the first act of a book to break into the second act at 20,000 words, you can build toward that properly when using a word tracker.

Momentum

Word trackers can help you build momentum when writing. If you set yourself a modest daily goal, every time you surpass that goal it gives you a bit of creative energy.

Similarly, reaching certain points such as the halfway mark can also give you a creative boost and generate more motivation and momentum.

Accomplishment

The hardest part of a project is usually the beginning, when nothing is yet written. The more you keep track of what you have accomplished by using a word tracker, the greater the sense of achievement you have. That in turn transforms into the desire to create more.

Word trackers are about reaching goals, yes. But they are also about highlighting your achievements to yourself and generating more creative desire and momentum.

Different types of word trackers

There are as many types of word trackers as there are books. Some are simple number trackers, while others provide visual progress markers in the form of charts, percentages, etc.

I’ve used a range of apps for different projects: Word Keeper, TrackBear, Notion and more. If none of those work for you then you can make your own word tracker. Create a spreadsheet, use post-it notes on your wall, tattoo it on your arm. Whatever helps you finish that work and bring it into the world.