> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.fortelling.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.fortelling.app/writing/writing-statistics.md).

# Writing statistics

## How to track your progress when writing?

What should I track when writing my novel? Word count on its own doesn't tell you much. What matters is whether you're writing consistently, whether your current pace gets you to your deadline, and whether the story itself, its structure and its characters, is moving forward alongside the word count. A good tracking setup covers all three: output, pace, and structure.

<figure><img src="/files/GUCN9QMZyQo2pwqIhuwu" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## What can you track in Fortelling?

**Fortelling organizes tracking into four areas:**

* **Writing progress and goals** (total words, word targets, and progress graphs)
* **Team stats**  (output and consistency across every author on a project)
* **My writing** (your personal pace, deadline, and chapter status)
* **Plotting** (the number of story elements you have)

Each is covered below.

### Track your writing progress and goals

The statistics tab shows graphs and info on your overall writing progress. You can set a daily goal and an overall goal for the entire book, and the app highlights the following trends:

You can filter by author and by book.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Filter by author" %}

<figure><img src="/files/tmyrxZBhdld8C81TQAkS" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

* **Consistency (30d)** (the percentage of days in the last 30 with a logbook entry)
* Filter the Progress section by author to see:
* **Rolling 7-day average** (a smoothed view of the last week's output)
* **Rolling 30-day average** (a smoothed view of the last month's output)
* **Logbook** (every daily entry, with the date, words added, and words removed)
* **Most productive day** (a weekly bar chart highlighting your best day)
* **Records** (your best writing day, your best week ever, and your fastest 10k words)
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Filter by book inside a project" %}

<figure><img src="/files/coXAFOj7uftN5WVlnkRH" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

* **Words to goal** (how many words are left before you hit your target, with a progress bar and percentage)
* **Reading time** and **speaking time** (how long the book takes to read or narrate at its current length)
* **Chapters** (a breakdown of every chapter by status: not started yet, outlining, writing, first draft done, revised draft done, or finished)
* **Est. finish** (your projected finish date at your current pace)
* **Deadline** (the finish date you set, with days remaining)
* **Pace vs. needed** (your actual daily pace against the pace your deadline requires, marked ahead or behind)
* **Momentum** (this week's words against last week's, broken down by day over the past 5 weeks)
  {% endtab %}
  {% endtabs %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/Jb57V9cM1WdoWGHgE7TP" %}
[Goals & Logbook](/writing/writing-goals.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### Share your progress

From your statistics page, you can now share your progress with others!

<figure><img src="/files/nzDcvTfFxIE9rAjaUeUS" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Tap the share icon at the top of the Statistics page to turn a stat into a card for you to share with your audience or friends! Write so much that you motivate others to also start writing.

* **Stats snapshots** (pick a specific stat to turn into a card, such as word count, consistency, or your growth curve)
* **Daily recap** (a card built from today's writing, showing words written today)

{% hint style="info" %}
With Fortelling Pro, you will also have the benefit of branding your cards.
{% endhint %}

### Track the number of story elements in "Plotting"

<figure><img src="/files/FTZ4oarysoikwROZXMX1" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Which collections show up here depends on what you've set up for that project. Worldbuilding, characters, and the timeline are there by default; anything else, like a magic system or a set of biological powers, is a collection you've created yourself.

### Discover the story elements below:

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th data-type="content-ref"></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Organize your story's chronology</td><td><a href="/pages/LPUszkkjvTWjAsdy11MS">/pages/LPUszkkjvTWjAsdy11MS</a></td><td><a href="/files/hUD0gH6iXbBwHzqmCljb">/files/hUD0gH6iXbBwHzqmCljb</a></td></tr><tr><td>Characters</td><td><a href="/pages/KhGzbPfGaYxCzhUPnO2q">/pages/KhGzbPfGaYxCzhUPnO2q</a></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Character sheet for writing a book"><a href="/files/6RRfr5o4jSuzPGMvqkzj">/files/6RRfr5o4jSuzPGMvqkzj</a></td></tr><tr><td>Locations, species, items, Languages, ect.</td><td><a href="/pages/K9w2J1q9jZVcavjYJaRu">/pages/K9w2J1q9jZVcavjYJaRu</a></td><td><a href="/files/WPDzjGC1oCLrVmLR0JgU">/files/WPDzjGC1oCLrVmLR0JgU</a></td></tr><tr><td>Your own custom story elements</td><td><a href="/pages/5oBy3GrlPvzOoqptbxBx">/pages/5oBy3GrlPvzOoqptbxBx</a></td><td><a href="/files/RbBilwiz1R6FkqNlRnWp">/files/RbBilwiz1R6FkqNlRnWp</a></td></tr><tr><td>Your story in one view</td><td><a href="/pages/r0QeuomEmaDAlmme7LW5">/pages/r0QeuomEmaDAlmme7LW5</a></td><td><a href="/files/dp6S9JwE1gVqZFydFJCp">/files/dp6S9JwE1gVqZFydFJCp</a></td></tr><tr><td>Your assets organized</td><td><a href="/pages/K9s58LsuYmfy7q1sl01n">/pages/K9s58LsuYmfy7q1sl01n</a></td><td><a href="/files/miDKAxhrCMHEh10vxcxz">/files/miDKAxhrCMHEh10vxcxz</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

Ready to start plotting and writing with more creative tools like never before? Go and write!

<a href="https://link.fortelling.app/7w4J/Novelist" class="button primary" data-icon="book">Start writing</a>