I've also added a word count widget in the left menu column. There are several styles, but I like this little calendar. I can see my pattern at a glance and it lists my total to date. I'll leave it over there on the top throughout the month. The green days mean I met at least the minimum daily average of 1667 to be able to accomplish 50,000 words in 30 days; the yellow days mean I wrote something but it was below that average, and the red days - well, you know - it was a -0- words written.
If you take a glance at the little word count widget on the left, you'll see that my word count right now is 15,188 - that puts me 188 words over the average total goal for today.
And I still like my story. Yes, I do. And I can tell that this one will be over 50k words when it's done. There is no way I could reasonably get from where I am now to the end in 35k. Nope, I don't think so. Unless I toss in some deus ex machina or something. Which could happen.
Right now in the story, Hand has donned a rain slicker and boots and is working on his lawn - it was recently raining and he doesn't want to get soaked as he cleans up his yard by hand. As he's moving from the wandering hollyhock to the expanding grass line, a hired moving van backs up to the vacant house at the end of his street. The same house where he tripped? was knocked out?
I think the mysterious Juliette is about to make her appearance.