how (and why) to update your word count

On your profile, and next to any forum post you make, is a nifty blue bar that shows your progress and the number of words you've written. How does it know? Well, you have to tell it -- the feature that goes into your computer and checks your novel document hasn't been implemented yet (and maybe that's just as well).

The easiest way to update your word count is to enter the total number of words you've written (as calculated by your word processor or team of pigeons) into the little box at the top right of every page of the site when you're logged in. Hit the yellow "Update" button, and you're done!

You can also update your word count on the Novel Info page: Go to the "My NaNoWriMo" menu and choose "Edit Novel Info", OR go to your profile and look in the left sidebar for "Novel Info" (under "Edit Info"). In the field that says "Word Count", type in your word count, then scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Submit". (On the Novel Info page, you can also put in a synopsis of your novel, an excerpt, and even book cover art, and change them as often as you like. Doing this is entirely optional, but fun.)

Alternatively, you can copy the full text of your manuscript and paste in into the Word Count Validator, and the nanowrimo.org counting monkeys will count the number of words for you.

Why You Should Keep Your Word Count Updated

Try to update your word count on a daily basis so that:

- Your friends will know you're really making progress on your novel, and not send you messages of concern.

- The cool chart under the "NaNo Stats" tab in your profile will accurately reflect your day-by-day word count. If you're obsessive about that sort of thing, be sure to update before midnight every day (and make sure your time zone is correct in "User Settings").

- But most importantly, keep updating your word count so that the South Bay can demonstrate our power as the GREATEST REGION IN THE WORLD on the word count scoreboard. Okay, maybe some of those other regions have a size advantage over us, but we still want to make as good a showing as we possibly can. If your home region is set to the South Bay -- and it is, right? -- then your words go toward our total. (Note that the scoreboard only updates about once a day).

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