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Word Sprint

Hit today's wordcount.

Pick a time or a word goal. Write alone, or share a room with other writers.

A Novela Word Sprint in progress — Chapter 1 in the editor on the left, sprint panel with the timer and live participant progress on the right.

Three ways to sprint

Pick the format that fits today's session.

Beat the clock

How much can you write before time runs out?

e.g. 30 minutes

Hit the goal

How fast can you reach today's wordcount?

e.g. 5,000 words

Both at once

Can you hit the goal before the timer ends?

e.g. 5,000 words in 30 min

How a sprint works

From opening a room to looking back at your record.

  1. Step 1

    Set your deadline

    Pick a mode (time, word goal, or both) and set your target. Make the room public so any writer can drop in, or private if you only want a specific group.

    Up to20 writers
  2. Step 2

    Hit start

    Writing alone? Just go. With others, everyone hits Ready and the host starts the session.

    Mira
    SooReady
    JayNot ready
  3. Step 3

    Watch your pace

    Track your progress from the live pill at the bottom of the sidebar, or open the sprint panel for a fuller view. The pill stays visible even when the sidebar is closed.

    1
    Mira1,240
    2
    Soo980
    3
    Jay640
  4. Step 4

    See your results

    When the timer ends, your results land right away. Today's wordcount, your minute-by-minute pace, and where you placed if others were in the room.

    Novela sprint result — your stats card with rank, wordcount and pace, plus the participant ranking with word counts.

Good to know

  • Word counting

    Only typed words count. Pasted text is filtered out.

  • Room size

    You can write alone, or share a room with up to 20 writers. Public rooms are open to anyone, while private rooms only let in writers with the code. Rooms left in waiting auto-close after about two hours.

  • Personal Best

    Top your own record and a Personal Best badge appears.

Start today's session

Set a deadline. Write for the next thirty minutes. See what happens.