Word count

Word count is the most important part of the NaNoWriMo experience and the bar by which Nanoers measure their progress. Because the primary goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a novel of at least 50,000 words, participants must write at least 1,667 words per day in order to reach this goal. For some sessions of Camp Nanowrimo and other months with 31 days, it is 1,613 words per day. In FebNoWriMo (Spin-Off Event) it is 1,785 words a day during Non-Leap Years and 1,724 words a day during leap years.

Word count is the only measure of "success" on Nanowrimo; quality is irrelevant. There is a forum dedicated to tips and tricks on reaching higher word counts, as well as another forum dedicated to celebrating word counts. There are often multiple tools focused around word count, such as calendars and word count widgets. While some may measure wordcount by the day (which is tracked by the stats page), some may set hourly goals or smaller goals during word wars. Wrimos may also set challenges such as "Double your wordcount weekend" or use alternate daily goals such as Reverse NaNo which starts at a higher daily goal and gets progressively lower until it ends at a daily goal of 1.

Throughout the month of November, Wrimos update their unofficial Word Count by entering the amount of words they have written in to the box at the top right corner of the page, or by using the word count validator on the "Edit Novel Info" page of their profile. This box can be seen no matter where you are on the website. A Wrimo's word count is displayed in their word count bar, which shows up above their username when they post on the forums and in their profile.

The maximum word count one could enter has changed over the years. From 2002 to 2006 the maximum word count one could enter was 200,000 words. This limit was upped to 999,999 in 2007 until being reduced to 500,000 in 2010 and increased to 1,000,000 in 2011. Wrimos may still write more words than the word counter can handle, and a few overachievers do.

Starting with the 2013 sessions, Camp Nanowrimo participants have the option to set their own word count goals, ranging from 10,000 to 999,000 words. In 2016, the minimum goal became 30 to allow for non-wordcount goals, such as hours of editing or pages of scripts.

In 2015, a lifetime wordcount was added to profile pages, showing the total words logged in current and previous NaNoWriMo main events. It does not include Camp attempts and Camp NaNoWriMo currently does not have this functionality.

Word Count Chart

NaNoWriMo Word Count Chart

DAY	DAILY	REVERSE	75 K	100 K	150 K	200 K	250 K	300 K
1	1667	3346	2500	3334	5000	6668	8335	10000
2	3334	3216	5000	6668	10000	13336	16670	20000
3	5001	3101	7500	10002	15000	20004	25005	30000
4	6668	2986	10000	13336	20000	26672	33340	40000
5	8335	2872	12500	16670	25000	33340	41675	50000
6	10002	2757	15000	20004	30000	40008	50010	60000
7	11669	2642	17500	23338	35000	46676	58345	70000
8	13336	2527	20000	26672	40000	53344	66680	80000
9	15003	2412	22500	30006	45000	60012	75015	90000
10	16670	2298	25000	33340	50000	66680	83350	100000
11	18337	2153	27500	36674	55000	73348	91685	110000
12	20004	2068	30000	40008	60000	80016	100020	120000
13	21671	1953	32500	43342	65000	86684	108355	130000
14	23338	1838	35000	46676	70000	93352	116690	140000
15	25005	1724	37500	50010	75000	100020	125025	150000
16	26672	1609	40000	53344	80000	106688	133360	160000
17	28339	1494	42500	56678	85000	113356	141695	170000
18	30006	1379	45000	60012	90000	120024	150030	180000
19	31673	1264	47250	63346	95000	126692	158365	190000
20	33340	1150	50000	66680	100000	133360	166700	200000
21	35007	1035	52500	70014	105000	140028	175035	210000
22	36674	920	55000	73348	110000	146696	183370	220000
23	38341	805	57500	76682	115000	153364	191705	230000
24	40008	690	60000	80016	120000	160032	200040	240000
25	41675	576	62500	83350	125000	166700	208375	250000
26	43392	461	65000	86684	130000	173368	216710	260000
27	45009	346	67500	90018	135000	180036	222045	270000
28	46676	231	70000	93352	140000	186704	233380	280000
29	48343	116	72500	96688	145000	193372	24715	290000
30	50010	1	75000	100020	150000	200040	250050	300000

Page count

Scripts are typically counted by page count rather than word count, so Script Frenzy's equivalent to the 50,000 word goal was 100 pages. The validator for Script Frenzy required a submission in PDF and counted pages from that. Since the discontinuation of Script Frenzy, no validator for page count is available. Camp Nanowrimo does offer the option to set a script as your Camp project, but suggests a wordcount equivalent in lieu of pages.