A Cool Writing Tool!

Whether you're participating in Speedbo (hosted by the Seekers over at Seekerville), working on a book with a deadline set by a publisher, or simply writing on your own timetable, it's nice to have a way to keep track of your progress. As a participant in Speedbo, I went on the hunt for a widget to put in the sidebar of my personal blog that would display my current word count along with my goal word count. I found a progress meter widget I really liked on a friend's blog (Legacy of a Writer), and I created my own through the Story Toolz site.

Now, I've only been using this widget for about a little over a week, but from what I've seen so far, it's quite helpful. Here's what the widget for my WIP looks like as of now (Sunday night):


I like the colors, and it's fun to have my WIP title on there, too!

Story Toolz allows you to write a general note about your book (probably safest not to put TOO much information on this public site, if you know what I mean!), as well as comments for every word count entry you enter. It also creates line graphs for your weekly progress.

I think having a widget is nice so that you can see how each little chunk of writing adds up. And this particular one is extra cool because of the notes it allows you to make along the way, which can either help you when you go back to edit, or at least put a smile on your face when you look back on your thoughts as you finished each scene. =)

Note: You do have to create an account by entering your e-mail and creating a password. I haven't experienced any adverse effects because of this, but again, I haven't been using it for very long. So, in other words, proceed at your own risk!

Do you have another word count widget you prefer? Or do you know about some other cool author tools?

(P.S. If you go to my personal blog, you can click on the widget in my sidebar to see examples of the graphs/notes I have so far.)