Word Count Tracker: 50,000 Words in 30 Days
Set your goal and dates, log what you write each day, and see whether you're on pace, how many words a day you need from here, and when you'll finish. Add a reward for each milestone, then print a 30-day log if you'd rather track on paper. Built for the November novel challenge; works for any writing goal. Free, no sign-up, saved in this browser.
How many words a day is 50,000 in 30 days?
1,667 words a day. 50,000 ÷ 30 = 1,666.7, so most writers round up to 1,667. That's about an hour to an hour and a half of drafting for many people. Behind on day 10? The tracker tells you the new daily number for the days that are left, so a missed day becomes a slightly bigger target, not a reason to stop.
| Day | Words by the end of the day (on pace) |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | 1,667 |
| Day 7 | 11,667 |
| Day 15 | 25,000 (halfway) |
| Day 22 | 36,667 |
| Day 30 | 50,000 |
What happened to NaNoWriMo?
The nonprofit behind National Novel Writing Month closed in 2025, but the challenge didn't need it: writing 50,000 words in November is still something thousands of writers do every year, alone or with a writing group. All you need is a goal, a daily number and somewhere to log it, which is what this page does.
Make the daily words a habit
- Same time, same place. Tie the session to something you already do: "after I clear the dinner table, I write". That's habit stacking.
- Start smaller than the target. On bad days, the goal is to open the file and write one sentence. Most days the sentence turns into the session.
- Pay yourself at milestones. 25% and 50% are where most people stall. A reward waiting there gives the middle of the month something to aim for.
- Don't edit in November. Drafting and editing are different jobs. Keep going and fix it in December.
Track it on your phone
Add "Write 1,667 words" as a daily habit in Habit Rewards. Each day you check it off pays coins and builds your streak, and you spend the coins on rewards you set yourself, like that notebook at 25% or dinner out at halfway. It's free for three habits on iPhone and Android.
