Free tool
Word count goal calculator
Set your target and how many days a week you actually write. Then work it either way — from a deadline to a daily number, or from your pace to a finish date.
0 of 90,000 words — 0% · 90,000 to go
I have a deadline
688
words per writing day
131 writing days across about 6 months.
I have a pace
Saturday, December 5, 2026
about 4 months from today
90 writing days at 1,000 words.
Writing days are spread evenly across the week rather than pinned to particular days. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is saved.
What each pace really costs
Assuming a 90,000-word novel and writing seven days a week:
| Per day | Per week | 90k draft | In practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 | 1,750 | 12 months | A page a day. Finishes books. |
| 500 | 3,500 | 6 months | The most common sustainable target. |
| 1,000 | 7,000 | 3 months | Demanding but doable with a routine. |
| 1,667 | 11,669 | under 2 months | NaNoWriMo pace, for 30 days. |
| 2,500 | 17,500 | 5 weeks | Full-time, and hard to sustain. |
Setting a target you will keep
The arithmetic is the easy half. The reason most word-count plans fail is not that the number was wrong, it is that the number was set for the writer you intend to be rather than the one who will sit down on a Tuesday in February.
- Set the floor, not the ceiling. Pick the number you can hit when tired, ill, and busy. Exceeding it is a good day; hitting it is a normal one. A target you miss twice stops being a target.
- Be honest about days per week. Four real days beats seven imaginary ones, and the calculator will give you a daily number that survives the difference.
- Leave room for revision. The draft date above is a draft date. Revision commonly takes as long again, so a deadline that lands on the final word is already late.
- Recalculate, do not catch up. After a bad fortnight, run the numbers again rather than carrying a deficit. Debt is a terrible motivator and an excellent reason to quit.
Common questions
How many words a day should I write?
The number you will still hit on a bad day. 500 words daily finishes a 90,000-word draft in six months. Writers who set 2,000 and miss it usually write less over a year than writers who set 500 and keep it.
How long does it take to write a novel?
At 500 words a day, about six months for a 90,000-word draft, plus revision. At 1,000 a day, about three months. The calculator above does this for your own target and pace, including days you do not write.
Should I count words or time?
Words if you are drafting, time if you are revising. Revision can take four hours and reduce your word count, which makes a word target actively discouraging at exactly the point you need encouragement.
What is the NaNoWriMo daily target?
1,667 words a day, which reaches 50,000 in 30 days. Note that 50,000 is a novella by publishing standards — most finished novels need considerably more.
What if I miss days?
Set writing days per week to what you actually manage rather than what you intend. A five-day plan you keep beats a seven-day plan you abandon in week two, and the arithmetic above accounts for the difference.