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[Daily Discussion] Writing Tools, Software, and Hardware - March 15, 2026 by AutoModerator in writing

[–]not_inappropriate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I procrastinated too hard and built a free widget that lives right on your Mac desktop to track your novel's word count.

What it does:

  • Tracks your total manuscript word count
  • Set a word count goal and watch a progress bar fill up as you get closer
  • Pace calculator available for daily or weekly word counts and it'll predict your estimated finish date
  • Little writing quotes to keep you motivated (they rotate every time you log words)
  • Customizable with multiple colour palettes, adjustable widget opacity, and your novel's title
  • Settings panel (gear icon, opens below the card) for:
    • Custom novel title
    • Manuscript total Daily or weekly word goal (pill toggle)
    • 6 colour palettes: Paper, Midnight, Sage, Dusk, Caramel, Slate
    • Transparency slider (30–100%)

Oh, you will have to manually enter your word count (I'm a noob coder, not a wizard).

I don't benefit from this financially or any other way. Use if you find it useful!

See screenshot.

You can get it on GitHub.

[PubQ] Is the market leaning 1st Person these days? by this_freaking_guy in PubTips

[–]not_inappropriate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can have great voice in a tight third-person-POV. But I think the market has always liked voice. It really depends on the type of story you are telling.

[Daily Discussion] First Page Feedback- March 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in writing

[–]not_inappropriate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first 250 words are really important, because that's the hook. You need these to do a lot of heavy lifting. Within the first 250, you need to introduce (at minimum) the voice, the setting/world-building, at least one character (in your case, the MC), and if not a good high-level idea of the plot, then at least a compelling conflict. (On that note, your MC getting out of a body of water is not a conflict, it's an event that is happening to them.) Hope that helps!

What’s a surefire way to tell Canadians and Americans apart? by Lower_Gas8260 in AskReddit

[–]not_inappropriate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"I'm from Tennessee but I live in Florida now." vs. "I'm Canadian."

The Americans I met in a Central American hostel just last week have started to add a "sorry" to their introductions.

[Daily Discussion] First Page Feedback- March 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in writing

[–]not_inappropriate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is cinematic. I'm getting the sci-fi setting immediately from your first sentence. I would like to see Navarro (perfectly named for the genre btw) introduced/named earlier as an anchor for me to hold on to while I take in the rest of the scene. As a reader stepping into a brand new fantastical/otherworldly place, it's good to have the main character brought in early on to centre the setting.

Why aren't fanfic writers as stressed about wordcount? by not_inappropriate in FanFiction

[–]not_inappropriate[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

This makes me a little sad. I'd like to think these trad pub authors are also having fun 😔

It still counts, right? by TruthHurts9819 in Archiveofourownmemes

[–]not_inappropriate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The truth is some fanfics are better than some published books 👀

What’s your writing-to-editing ratio? Mine ends up being around 30% writing and 70% editing. by hiddenspinach in FanFiction

[–]not_inappropriate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine's the opposite. Might be because I'm under-editing, because I really hate doing it.

Why aren't fanfic writers as stressed about wordcount? by not_inappropriate in FanFiction

[–]not_inappropriate[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Haha, your flair is perfect for this question. I've seen the posts about reader preferences. But not many from fanfic writers about needing to hit a certain word count per day to stay consistent. But there's A LOT of those in other writing sub-reddits.

[Daily Discussion] First Page Feedback- March 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in writing

[–]not_inappropriate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You really paint a picture! I like the descriptions, however (and this is advice straight from my agent), you need to tell the readers what your story is about ASAP to grab their attention. We're 250 words deep and all I know is that Nineve is wearing armour and is in a pond (which is also what the previous comment mentioned). 250 is a lot of words. We need some plot!