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Writing Schedule Calculator

Enter the length of your book and how much you write each day to see when you will finish. Or set a deadline and find out how many words a day it takes.

Writing Schedule Calculator

I want to know
Writing days per week

80 writing days

That is 16 weeks of writing at 5 writing days a week.

Words left to write
80,000
Writing days left
80
Weeks of writing
16
Calendar days until the last writing day
110

Days to finish at a steady pace

Words a day50,000 words80,000 words100,000 words
250200 days320 days400 days
500100 days160 days200 days
1,00050 days80 days100 days
1,66730 days48 days60 days
2,00025 days40 days50 days

Writing every day. If you write five days a week, the time on the calendar is 7 divided by 5, or 1.4 times longer. 1,667 words a day for 30 days makes 50,000 words.

How long it takes to write a book

The time a draft takes is the length of the book divided by the words you write each day. At 1,000 words a day an 80,000 word novel takes 80 writing days, which is 16 weeks at five writing days a week. At 500 words a day the same book takes 160 writing days, and at 2,000 words a day it takes 40.

These are first drafts. Revision takes its own time, so plan it as a separate stretch after the draft rather than assuming the first pass is the finished book.

Choose a daily word count you can keep

Work back from the days you really have. If you can write three mornings a week, enter 3 as your writing days: 80 writing days at 1,000 words is then about 27 weeks, not 16. A smaller pace you keep up beats a big one you drop after a week.

A fixed pace is easy to check. 1,667 words a day for 30 days makes 50,000 words, the pace of the November challenge known as NaNoWriMo. The table under the calculator shows the days a 50,000, 80,000 and 100,000 word book takes at five common paces.

How the dates are worked out

Today counts as your first writing day, and your writing days are spread through each week as evenly as whole days allow. In deadline mode the calculator counts the writing days from today to your deadline, both included, and divides the words you have left by them, rounding up.

Nothing is stored or sent: the calculation runs in your browser, and the dates use your own calendar. It is a plan, so if a week goes badly, change the words already written and the calculator gives you the new finish date.

Questions about Writing Schedule Calculator

How long does it take to write a book?

At 1,000 words per writing day an 80,000 word draft takes 80 writing days, or 16 weeks at five days a week. At 500 words a day it takes 160 writing days and at 2,000 words a day, 40.

How long does it take to write 50,000 words?

Writing every day it takes 200 days at 250 words, 100 days at 500 words, 50 days at 1,000 words, 30 days at 1,667 words and 25 days at 2,000 words.

How many words a day do I need to write 50,000 words in 30 days?

You need 1,667 words a day: 50,000 divided by 30 is 1,666.7, rounded up, and 1,667 times 30 is 50,010. This is the pace of the November 50,000 word challenge known as NaNoWriMo.

How many words a day do I need to finish an 80,000 word novel in 90 days?

With a deadline 90 days from today, which is 91 days counting today and the deadline, you need 880 words a day if you write every day, or 1,231 words per writing day at five writing days a week.

What happens if I write fewer days a week?

The number of writing days stays the same and the calendar time grows. 80,000 words at 1,000 words a writing day is 80 writing days: about 11 weeks at seven days a week, 16 at five and 27 at three.

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