A writing goal that fits your week.

How many words should you write a day?

Start with the time you can protect. A target of 500 words on five days a week gives you 2,500 words a week. At that pace, an 80,000-word first draft takes 32 writing weeks, before revision. A smaller goal you can return to is often more useful than an ambitious number that makes each missed day feel like failure.

Plan for a 50,000-word month

Writing 50,000 words in 30 consecutive days takes 1,667 words a day, rounded up. If you want weekends off, select the exact month and untick Saturday and Sunday. The number of available weekdays changes with your dates, so dividing by 30 would give you the wrong target. For a month-long drafting plan, read the guide to writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

Leave a little room for the book to change

Your first draft target is a planning choice. It is not a rule about the length your story should be. Set the deadline before your real hand-in date if you want a buffer, and plan revision separately. Update the words already written when you return to recalculate what remains.

Keep the goal beside your draft

Inside Blocwrite’s novel writing studio, word counts, daily goals and writing sprints sit beside your chapters. You can also keep your story bible and revision notes with the same book.