Hit your writing goals

For writers with a long-term deadline, hitting a daily or weekly word count can be as challenging as finding the right turn of phrase. Thankfully the tracking features in Scrivener, the word processor extraordinaire, can help. Here’s how.

To see a running tally of characters, words and pages you’ve written at the bottom of your project window, enable Scrivener’s live counts (Preferences > Editing > Options > “Live counts show”).

Or for more details, like word frequency and estimated reading time, choose Project > Statistics. The Compiled tab shows shortest, longest and average document length – useful for spotting unbalanced chapters.

When you set a word or character goal, Scrivener monitors your progress for you. Click the target icon in the window footer, then enter a target for the current document. Now you’ll see your progress at a glance in the footer.

Working on a larger project with multiple documents or chapters? You can set an overarching goal as well as one for your current writing session by going to Project > Show Project Targets.

Keep the panel open to watch the meters fill up as you write – and to see how many days remain before your deadline. Don’t want the panel cluttering your screen? Once you set targets, a more subtle progress meter appears in Scrivener’s Quick Search bar.

Scrivener 3

The go-to app for writers

View