Tool: How and Why to Track Your Writing
Whether on paper or a spreadsheet, or on specialized software, keeping track of when, where, and how much you write can help you spot when your writing sweet spots are, and are useful tools for estimating how long a draft will take.
I'm at the Writer Unboxed Unconference this week, having a blast and soaking in a ton of inspiration for my writing and for these posts. In honor of those who might still be tackling the November Novel, whatever form that takes now, I've got three methods of tracking your writing whatever your writing goal may be.
Whether on paper or a spreadsheet, or on specialized software, keeping track of when, where, and how much you write can help you spot when your writing sweet spots are, and are useful tools for estimating how long a draft will take. If you know that you write best in the morning, then ideally you can plan your writing time in the mornings. If you know that you are most productive on your second hour and that your fourth hour of writing you tend to fall off, then you know to give yourself a break after hour three.
Further, if you know it takes you roughly two hours to write 2,000 words, and you are estimating that your book should be 80,000 words, then you know you need at least 80 hours of writing time to get it done. Are you a writer who only gets one scene done a day? Or can you plan on getting three scenes done in a sitting? Knowing yourself gives you the ability to plan for the future.
For instance, if an editior asks you "can you send me a 3,000 word short story in two weeks?", and you know it takes you about an hour to write or revise 1K works, then you know you need to carve out at least six hour block of writing time over the next two weeks to get that done.
The best way to track your writing is whatever method you actually use. It might take some time to find it, so I've included several methods here to get you started. Finally, I'll say, you don't need to track constantly, or ever at all if you don't think it will be helpful to you. Even if you are tracking, don't start all at once. Pick a short period and track for that, but don't feel the need to track everything 24/7 if it is stressful to you. Do what works for you.
With a Spreadsheet or On paper
In excel or google sheets, create a chart with columns for Time, Place, and Word Count. Track your total writing every hour for a few weeks. Try to vary your writing time by writing in the morning and afternoon, and in different places. Compare your output both day by day and also hour-by hour. When do you really get the most work done? Rachel Aaron Bach goes into some detail about this method in her book 2K to 10K.
There are also many pre-made writing tracking templates for Excel or Sheets available online, especially through the former NaNoWriMo community. If you don't feel like setting up your own, or find spreadsheets intimidating, a simple web search will find you dozens of templates ready to use, some with nifty graphs and color coding.
Using Scrivener
If you are using the writing software Scrivener there are writing trackers and calendars built in. You can set a target goal for your document and a session goal, and the software will automatically estimate how many writing days that will take. If you're using a Mac you can even set calendar reminders and plan out your writing days (a feature Windows users have been waiting for for years). Scivener is a great tool for writers with a lot of features, but it can be intimidating to start if you go in blind. There are plenty of videos on their website to get you started, or to learn more about what's possible.
Kirk McElhearn
Pacemaker
Pacemaker is a flexible tool for making plans, not just for writing. It allows you to track by words, pages, sessions, and will build a plan for you whether you want to write daily, only on weekdays or weekends. It will also build plans for you that build or taper over time, and has a strong community of challenges you can join to get encouragement from others.
So, do you track your writing? Do you find it useful or not? Are you tackling a goal in November? Let me know in the comments below. Happy writing. ~EM
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Image Credit: Via Library of Congress: Abbey, Edwin Austin, Artist. Upon Fone a school-master. , 1882. [?] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010714811/.
