# Important New Tool for Writers--Kboards' Own Chris Fox's Word Count App



## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Chris Fox, innovator that he is, has come up with a deceptively simple little App that encourages you to produce more words, and to get faster and more efficient with your writing.

EDITED TO ADD: the App is called "5,000 Words Per Hour"

I'd been using a stopwatch and some little tricks to encourage myself over the years--but Chris has found a way to bring this mentality into the modern era with a very easy to use, but very cool App.  There's a great free version but the 2.99 has some neat bonus features.

On top of that, he has a corresponding book that is a quick read but is a great tool for any author.

I've always stated that in my opinion, today's market demands productive writers.  This is an invaluable tool for getting the best out of yourself in that sense...great job, Chris!


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## Small Town Writer (Jun 11, 2014)

What is the app called? And is it available on iOS?


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## Susanne123 (Jan 9, 2014)

I read Chris' book last night and really enjoyed how practical it was. I found it uplifting, especially the ending, and the "can do" theme.

I'm not an app person, so I won't be using that aspect, but the book sure was worthwhile reading.


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

David Neth said:


> What is the app called? And is it available on iOS?


App is called "5,000 WPH" and yes, it is available of iOS. Not sure what other gadgets it is available for...


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Susanne123 said:


> I read Chris' book last night and really enjoyed how practical it was. I found it uplifting, especially the ending, and the "can do" theme.
> 
> I'm not an app person, so I won't be using that aspect, but the book sure was worthwhile reading.


Yeah, the book is great. With a cool story about how Chris made some huge and inspiring changes in his life!


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## Kristy Tate (Apr 24, 2012)

I loved it. Since I don't want to spoil things, I won't tell you everything the book said, but I'm going to share my sprint experiments. Mainly, because I'm skeptical. I'm pretty sure I can't write 5000 words an hour. A really good day for me is 6,000--and that will take me six hours, since I typically write about a 1000 words an hour. But Chris suggests starting off small--five minute sprints--slowly building up to 30 minutes--and tracking all of it. He insists that by tracking I'll see noticeable increases in speed. Hmm... not so sure. But I'm game to try, and I'm going to do that on my blog. http://kristystories.blogspot.com/ (I also made some personal tweaks.)


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## Brevoort (Jan 27, 2014)

I was going to buy this book sight unseen since I admire his fiction skills, but instead I had a look at the sample. Nice sharp declarative sentences, lucid thought structures -- just downright clean effective prose. So of course I bought it and I'll leave a review once I've read the whole thing.

I consistently write 1K to 1.5K an hour but for never more than two hours at a time. I would like to extend that writing duration out to at least 3 hours at a sitting. _(I can do that when writing long form journalism but fiction is more tiring for me)_

I think that Chris' book has the techniques that will help me. I am intrigued by the micro-sprint concept for fiction. It is common in journalism but I never considered it for fiction which needs more thought and doesn't have tools such as fact notebooks and interview transcripts. But I think it can work well if my brief look at the concept in the sample chapters stands true.

Unfortunately the idea of using the Apple App is out for me. I do not have an iPhone and my iPad is first generation. But I have no problem using things like a timer and a word count feature and then plugging the data manually into a spreadsheet which is the way I have always worked anyway.


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## Indiecognito (May 19, 2014)

Used the app today. As a person who's driven, I love it. It drives me even harder.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Been looking forward to this one for a while (ordered the paperback last night).


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Can't find it!


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Evenstar said:


> Can't find it!


Are you using an iPhone? Just go to the App Store and in the search, enter: "5,000 Words Per Hour"

His app should pop up...


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Tulonsae said:


> I was not able to find the app in the store that way. (Using an iPad and the Apple store app and search for the name of the book.) I had to go into the book and click on the link to the app to find it.


Maybe Chris will come in at some point and clear up the issue people are having in finding the app through search...


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## lilywhite (Sep 25, 2010)

.


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## daffodils321 (Oct 31, 2014)

Just bought it. Maybe it was just me but somehow I got the idea that the app would only work if you were typing on an apple device. But it looks like that was a misconception on my part and the app is a timer for writers. Can't wait to start using it.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thank you for posting this, Gorv. This thread totally made my day. The links for the book and app are in my signature.

I've been working hard for months to create the app / book as a complete ecosystem. I'm really, really grateful to hear that it's helping some people. 

For those who don't use iDevices I created a spreadsheet to track and calculate your words per hour. It's free on my website, and there's a link in the book. Quite a few people have asked me to create an Android version, but sadly that's a platform I don't know at all =/

I'm happy to answer any questions about how the process works, and I'll also be on Rocking Self-Publishing in a few weeks to talk more about the process.


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## Paul Deaver (Apr 7, 2015)

I read the book and have been using the app. So far it has increased my writing output about 8x.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Just bought the book! Looking forward to giving it a squizz. At the moment I can probably bang about 1500 words in an hour.


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## Logan R. (May 13, 2011)

Use it and love it. I left a review on the book page if you want to know my full thoughts, but basically it's helped me not only write faster, but write faster consistently. Highly recommended.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

The book's in my TBR pile but the app is wonderful even just as a tracking app/timer. Before I'd track my word count and then have to remember to enter it into a spreadsheet. 5KWPH does all that for me and lets me divide it my project (at least with the premium features). It's definitely the best tracking app for writers I've ever seen.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Perry, I'll be deploying a feature soon to export the data to .csv so you can import it into spreadsheets. If you think of anything else cool you'd like added let me know!


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

gorvnice said:


> Are you using an iPhone? Just go to the App Store and in the search, enter: "5,000 Words Per Hour"
> 
> His app should pop up...


Ah! No, I was searching the app store on my kindle. I don't have any iproducts. I did get the ebook though  Nice one Chris. I love seeing stuff by other Kboards like this. It gives you a decent point of reference about who has written it. I read Libby's Take off your pants, which was really helpful, so I'm looking forward to reading this too.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Perry, I'll be deploying a feature soon to export the data to .csv so you can import it into spreadsheets. If you think of anything else cool you'd like added let me know!


The spreadsheet thing will definitely be awesome. What about sound customization? I was doing a sprint at work the other day and then freaked everyone out when my phone shouted, "Woohoo, nice job! Sprint completed!" Being able to set it to one of the iPhone alert sounds or vibrate would be great.


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## Kristy Tate (Apr 24, 2012)

I did the 5 minute sprint twice today. This morning I logged 74 words, which at first was pretty depressing. But after doing the math I realized how closely that met my typical 1000 words an hour output. I did it again this afternoon and wrote 132 words. I'm not sure why I was so much faster. It may have been because I realized how fast five minutes can fly. (Why does it seem like forever when I'm waiting for something?) Doing the math, if I wrote at that same pace for 60 minutes my output would be 1500+ versus my typical 1000. Hmm... and I've only done it twice so far.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

Oooo, good motive to get that iPad out of its box. In the meantime, let me at the book!


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## BGArcher (Jun 14, 2014)

Just grabbed it and upgraded to Premium. Love the look of it so far. Nice Work!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks, BG =)

Kristy, I'm very curious to hear where you are in a week!


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## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

Chris this looks great! If you want to use the Awesomegang family of sites to get the word out to authors we can make that happen. I haven't downloaded the app yet, getting ready to head to the airport for a flight.


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

How about a twenty-five words or less description of how it works?

Thanks.


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## 80593 (Nov 1, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> I'll be deploying a feature soon to export the data to .csv so you can import it into spreadsheets.


This sets my little Excel-loving heart aquiver.

I finished Chris's book today and have the premium version of the app, and have already made some adjustments to my workplans to implement his ideas. I love the app for tracking and especially like that with it on my phone I can update it wherever I am, rather than having to wait to get back to my desktop to update a spreadsheet (my laptop hasn't got Excel on it, alas).

I second Perry's idea of customizable sounds. I also think it would be cool if I could add customized rewards to the achievements section, maybe by changing the icons associated with the milestones to reflect a reward (like a cupcake or a nap or whatever).


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Vinny OHare said:


> Chris this looks great! If you want to use the Awesomegang family of sites to get the word out to authors we can make that happen. I haven't downloaded the app yet, getting ready to head to the airport for a flight.


Thanks, Vinny! This is just one more reason I love you guys =)



TromboneAl said:


> How about a twenty-five words or less description of how it works?
> 
> Thanks.


Know what you're going to write. Write in the same place, at the same time, with no distractions. Record the results, and improve over time.


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## David Wisehart (Mar 2, 2010)

I got the premium app last night. It's great.

When I read _2K to 10K_ last year, I remember wishing I had an app that gamified word count like the apps I use for exercise. I remember thinking the same thing when DWS posted his "Pulp Speed" article.

Glad someone finally made one.

You did a good job with it, Chris.

Thanks.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Jen Rasmussen said:


> This sets my little Excel-loving heart aquiver.
> 
> I finished Chris's book today and have the premium version of the app, and have already made some adjustments to my workplans to implement his ideas. I love the app for tracking and especially like that with it on my phone I can update it wherever I am, rather than having to wait to get back to my desktop to update a spreadsheet (my laptop hasn't got Excel on it, alas).
> 
> I second Perry's idea of customizable sounds. I also think it would be cool if I could add customized rewards to the achievements section, maybe by changing the icons associated with the milestones to reflect a reward (like a cupcake or a nap or whatever).


Those are doable. I'm adding them to my list of feature requests. I also plan to add other types of achievements, like writing streaks (number of days in a row).

Customizable sounds have been planned for a while. I love listening to my girlfriend and her sister saying 'Woohoo', but I think adding a lot more sounds would be fun =)



David Wisehart said:


> I got the premium app last night. It's great.
> 
> When I read _2K to 10K_ last year, I remember wishing I had an app that gamified word count like the apps I use for exercise. I remember thinking the same thing when DWS posted his "Pulp Speed" article.
> 
> ...


Thanks, David! I said the same thing to myself when I read 2k to 10k, and I also love DWS's pulp speed article.


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## Marseille France or Bust (Sep 25, 2012)

This probably works better for some genres than others.  I write stories usually based in 1930s and 1940s, that require quite a bit of research before writing and during, to get the dialogue/setting correct.  Also research how things were made, worked, what products they used at the time, etc.  But I will definitely try this method once I select a project that doesn't require so much intensive research to write.


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## sela (Nov 2, 2014)

Hi, Chris -- just got both your app and book!  I usually can get 1,000 words done in an hour but if I could triple that, it would make my life a whole lot easier. Looking forward to upping my output!


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

Actually gamifying works for historical fiction as well. Note, this may NOT work for you, but for me, my first draft is not interrupted for research. If I don't know the right speech, I put it in [ ] and put the modern equivalent and keep going. Same with something I need to know. This allows me to do all of my rabbit hole researching at one time and NOT mess with the flow of writing. When I dictate I just say open parenthesis close parenthesis. using specific punctuation you wouldn't use in the story allows you to CMD-F or CTRL-F that mark and make sure nothing gets missed.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Sela said:


> Hi, Chris -- just got both your app and book! I usually can get 1,000 words done in an hour but if I could triple that, it would make my life a whole lot easier. Looking forward to upping my output!


I am 100% positive that you can, Sela. If you're anything like me you'll start seeing results immediately. Just the one change of not stopping to correct typos until the sprint ends almost doubled my speed.



Elizabeth Ann West said:


> Actually gamifying works for historical fiction as well. Note, this may NOT work for you, but for me, my first draft is not interrupted for research. If I don't know the right speech, I put it in [ ] and put the modern equivalent and keep going. Same with something I need to know. This allows me to do all of my rabbit hole researching at one time and NOT mess with the flow of writing. When I dictate I just say open parenthesis close parenthesis. using specific punctuation you wouldn't use in the story allows you to CMD-F or CTRL-F that mark and make sure nothing gets missed.


I tend to do my research before hand, where possible. I have a lot of helio-seismology, anthropology and genetics. I'll read the material first, but when I write the scenes I do the same thing Elizabeth does. If I'm not sure I put down what I think the correct info is, then I fact check myself when editing.


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> > twenty-five-words ...
> 
> 
> Know what you're going to write. Write in the same place, at the same time, with no distractions. Record the results, and improve over time.


Sorry, I meant the app--how does that work? Thanks.

Your book looks good!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

And here I was proud I kept to 25 words =p

The app is a sprint timer. You start the clock and write until the alarm goes off. When it does you enter your total words or project total to end the sprint. It calculates your words per hour, daily word count, and project total. If you pass certain milestones (25k words, 3k WPH, etc) then the app gives you achievements.

There's also a screen with graphs so you can see your progress over time.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

I got this APP, its good.

I actually bought the paid version though I don't see how its any different other than the graph. It says you can attach sprints to your novel but after paying I don't see the feature, unless im overlooking something. I do see a graph though. I already had the awards and words per day ( shown as date ) which it said was in the premium app.

One other thing and this is strange. I did a full hour using it and was watching it the moment it got to 60 minutes instead of it doing its woohoo, it just started all over again and so instead of telling me i did X amount of words in 1 hour, it thought i had done that amount of words in 1 minute as I had to hit cancel and save.  (im using an ipod touch ). I hope that isn't a glitch. I didn't see that with 15 mins. 30 mins, those got to the end and stopped fine. But 60 mins continued on. ( meaning it got to 59:99 then went back to 00:00 and never stopped) I will try it again at 60 mins to see if its a glitch.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Kalel, to attach sprints to a project go to the project tab and create or modify a project. Once you've done so that project will change to 'Active' in the list. All sprints you do from there forward will attach to the active project.

The premium version of the app lets you create new projects. The basic version only includes one project. You can still earn achievements in the basic version, but you can't review them like you can in the premium version. Graphs and projects will both be more robust in future releases.

It does look like you found a bug. When I created the app I didn't envision people doing sprints longer than an hour. I've logged that as a bug and will get it corrected for the next release.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

Chris Fox said:


> Kalel, to attach sprints to a project go to the project tab and create or modify a project. Once you've done so that project will change to 'Active' in the list. All sprints you do from there forward will attach to the active project.
> 
> The premium version of the app lets you create new projects. The basic version only includes one project. You can still earn achievements in the basic version, but you can't review them like you can in the premium version. Graphs and projects will both be more robust in future releases.
> 
> It does look like you found a bug. When I created the app I didn't envision people doing sprints longer than an hour. I've logged that as a bug and will get it corrected for the next release.


Hi Chris, a couple of questions.

1. Lets say you do a project and after its complete. You create a new one. Can you delete the old one or does it automatically get removed?

2. Since getting this, I did a 5 minute and that stopped and was fine, I did a 15 minute, that was fine, 30 minute was fine. It was when I set it to 60 minutes that it continued on. Meaning it didn't stop at the end of a 1 hour sprint, it just reset itself. But I will test that again.

3. I notice if you go under STATS, click on any of the sprints, so yesterday one said June 22, 2015 10:44 706 words. Ok if I click on that it takes me to a new screen which says daily words 619. That 619 is how many words I have done today 23rd, not yesterday. Shouldn't that be the total of words that I had done for the 22nd at that point that it logged those 706 words? Meaning if that sprint was the first one of the day and at 10:44 on june 22nd i did 706 words, and no others, shouldn't it say daily words 706 words? Yet its saying 619 ( which is todays words so far ) So i went under all of the ones from yesterday ( i did 3 sprints yesterday) and all of them are showing todays daily words, instead of showing me the total of words I did yesterday


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

1- Completed projects will remain in the list. I couldn't think of a reason to remove them, so I didn't add that.

2- See my post above. This is definitely a bug. I've only written the app to handle up to a 60 minute sprint. Anything past that will have the issue you described.

3- That sounds like another bug. I'll probably remove daily total from that screen and put it directly on stats, as that will be clearer to most users.


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## sela (Nov 2, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> I am 100% positive that you can, Sela. If you're anything like me you'll start seeing results immediately. Just the one change of not stopping to correct typos until the sprint ends almost doubled my speed.


HOLY COW it's amazing how well the microsprints work! I sat down and did what you said in the first chapter, a basic outline and then timed myself for 5 minutes and was able to get 66 words per minute written in a new scene I'm working on. If I can keep that up for an hour, more than half my work for the day (5,000 words) is done.  I'm loving your system, Chris!


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## Magda Alexander (Aug 13, 2011)

Bought the book. Would love to see the app developed for Android phones.


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## Jennifer Joy (Sep 23, 2014)

I liked the links Chris added to the e-book. That's how I downloaded the app right onto my ipad. The John Cleese video was fun too! 
Oh, and I'm still working on my writing space, but just using the timer moved my WPH from 1000 to 3000 in 5 minute sprints. I couldn't believe it when I saw it, so I kept doing 5 minute sprints throughout the day until I completed a chapter on my busiest day of the week. My WPH never fell below 2000! I liked the trophies too!
Great job! The book was a very small investment for such a big impact.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Quite a few people have asked me to create an Android version, but sadly that's a platform I don't know at all =/


Oh, the horrors! Sad, sad day! *puts hands to forehead and swoons, half-collapsing onto a chaise located conveniently nearby*

Can you tell I'm an Android user...?

Oh well, mad props to you, Chris!


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2015)

Buying the book and downloading the app today.  Thanks!


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

Just wanted to give a shout out to Chris's app. I've been using it, and it's doubled my writing speed. Thanks, Chris!


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## Kate. (Oct 7, 2014)

Hi Chris, two quick questions - I'm definitely going to buy the book, but I don't currently have anything that runs apps. Is there any chance you'd create a version that works in Windows?

And have you noticed if the increased speed sacrifices much quality? 5,000 words an hour (or, heck, even just 2,000 words an hour) sounds incredible, but editing is my least-favourite part of writing, and it would be a shame to save time on the first draft only to double the editing, y'know? =)


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Sela said:


> HOLY COW it's amazing how well the microsprints work! I sat down and did what you said in the first chapter, a basic outline and then timed myself for 5 minutes and was able to get 66 words per minute written in a new scene I'm working on. If I can keep that up for an hour, more than half my work for the day (5,000 words) is done.  I'm loving your system, Chris!


Hearing things like this makes my day. I LOVE that the system works for people. Cady was my very first user, and also the first person to double her writing speed using it. Thanks Cady!



Magda Alexander said:


> Bought the book. Would love to see the app developed for Android phones.


I know this is a large board. If anyone seeing this knows an Android developer send them my way. I'd be happy to partner up to get this made!



Darcy said:


> Hi Chris, two quick questions - I'm definitely going to buy the book, but I don't currently have anything that runs apps. Is there any chance you'd create a version that works in Windows?
> 
> And have you noticed if the increased speed sacrifices much quality? 5,000 words an hour (or, heck, even just 2,000 words an hour) sounds incredible, but editing is my least-favourite part of writing, and it would be a shame to save time on the first draft only to double the editing, y'know? =)


Fortunately, I see exactly the opposite. Writing faster increases the quality of my work, and I end up having to do less editing. It makes it easy to get into creative flow, a mental state where you stop thinking about mechanics and just get lost in the story. My best dialogue and most powerful imagery come from the scenes I write the most quickly. It's all about training your brain to forget that it's writing, so all that's left is the movie projector in your head.

As far as a Windows app I'd love to make one eventually, but it won't happen in the short term. I'm working on the Mac version now, but also hunting for other developers to help me port to Windows and Android. I'd love to do it myself, but my day job makes that impossible =/


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

Darcy said:


> Hi Chris, two quick questions - I'm definitely going to buy the book, but I don't currently have anything that runs apps. Is there any chance you'd create a version that works in Windows?


Note that the book has a link for a spreadsheet that you can download for free. I can't see the app, but I'm guessing you simply miss a bit of automation. That is, you can use a stopwatch, then enter in your word count.

Note that Scrivener can give you your word count per session, and you could reset this at the beginning of your sprint (Project/Project Targets).

I'm enjoying your book, Chris. You have a nice writing style.


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## Logan R. (May 13, 2011)

Chris Fox said:


> I know this is a large board. If anyone seeing this knows an Android developer send them my way. I'd be happy to partner up to get this made!


You might want to get in touch with the guy who developed Afterword, the Android app for tracking KDP sales. Here's a link to the thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,161947.0.html


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Logan Rutherford said:


> You might want to get in touch with the guy who developed Afterword, the Android app for tracking KDP sales. Here's a link to the thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,161947.0.html


Thanks, Logan. I'll reach out to him!

Also, thanks for the praise Al. It's so gratifying knowing people are reading and using this stuff. I'm just humbled.


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Still using it, still loving it.  This App is great and I'm sure as Chris comes out with new versions and features, it will just get better.  There's not many tools that are as helpful in learning to be a productive writer as this app combined with Chris's book.

The lessons, advice and methodology is spot on and perfect whether you are just trying to write your first book or your fiftieth.


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## Tracie (Jul 16, 2014)

I'm just grateful for having another word counter app. I used WordTyrant for a while and wanted to share it with my friend, but the makers no longer promote that app and, alas, it is nowhere to be found. I gifted Chris's book to said friend and I hope she is now able to use the app to monitor her word output and increase her productivity.

On a side note, I found that dictation is the only way I'm going to be able to hit 5k an hour and I'm not that good at dictation right now (another thing to practice). The power of the app is to show what you _could do if you monitored your progress. I did a 3 minute sprint and put out 232 words. In an hour, that would be 4640 words,...but I'm not yet that comfortable dictating my stories.

The greatest take-away from Chris's app and book is my rediscovered desire to produce more and eventually be able to write full time. The book (along with wanting to leave public education for good) motivated me to continue my regular habits of getting up at my work hour (5:30 a.m.) and write while my kids still sleep and my hubby is at work. In two days, I am half-way through a new 12k word novella (a prequel for my series that will go free) and anticipate having it done and ready for the editor by the weekend.

Thanks Chris._


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## AlexisR (Apr 3, 2015)

TromboneAl said:


> Note that the book has a link for a spreadsheet that you can download for free. I can't see the app, but I'm guessing you simply miss a bit of automation. That is, you can use a stopwatch, then enter in your word count.
> 
> Note that Scrivener can give you your word count per session, and you could reset this at the beginning of your sprint (Project/Project Targets).


If you want a windows solution that makes timing sprints consistent and easy, I use a free little program called Tomighty (http://www.tomighty.org/). It's designed for Pomodoros, but it's basically the same concept as micro-sprinting and you can set the timer to any length you like. Click start, and it dings when it's time to stop. (I also use Scrivener for word counts -- just highlight the text you wrote during the sprint and right-click for an instant word count).


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## SunshineOnMe (Jan 11, 2014)

Just got the book! I'm super excited to try it out.


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2015)

Downloaded the free app this morning. Upgraded to the premium. Bought the book this morning.  Read it.  Left a 5 star review on Amazon and Goodreads. Did two of the five minute sprints.  Got 500 words done in 10 minutes.  So . . . yeah.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

AlexisRadcliff said:


> If you want a windows solution that makes timing sprints consistent and easy, I use a free little program called Tomighty (http://www.tomighty.org/). It's designed for Pomodoros, but it's basically the same concept as micro-sprinting and you can set the timer to any length you like. Click start, and it dings when it's time to stop. (I also use Scrivener for word counts -- just highlight the text you wrote during the sprint and right-click for an instant word count).


I'm going to install this on my PC, Alexis. If it works well I'll add it as a suggestion to the book. Thanks!

Also, thank you to everyone who is trying the app or book. I can't believe how many people have embraced this, or how well it seems to be working for everyone. If you think if anything I can add or change please let me know =)


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I just submitted the next build to the App Store. They're running 7-10 days approval time right now, but when it goes live it will include the bug fixes listed in this thread. I'm also beta testing some cool new features that I plan to submit in early July!


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

Chris Fox said:


> 2- See my post above. This is definitely a bug. I've only written the app to handle up to a 60 minute sprint. Anything past that will have the issue you described.


This isn't past that. It's at the 60 minute sprint mark. Meaning the option to sprint for 60 mins ( not beyond ) is what isn't working for me.

For example if you set to 5 mins. At the conclusion of 5 mins. It would say wohoo

But when its set to 60 mins. At the conclusion it doesn't stop and say wohoo. It just resets itself.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Interesting. The fix I applied should fix that instance as well, but I'll double check to be sure.

I extended it to allow up to two hours, and have tested to that point with no issues =)


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

Chris Fox said:


> Interesting. The fix I applied should fix that instance as well, but I'll double check to be sure.
> 
> I extended it to allow up to two hours, and have tested to that point with no issues =)


How do we download the update?


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I'll announce it here when it goes live. If your phone is set up for automatic updates it will happen without you doing anything. If not, you can manually trigger the update anywhere you have wifi or cell access.


----------



## Winter Light (Apr 24, 2015)

I've had the same issue when using it at 60 minutes. It restarts itself right after finishing and keeps alerting me after every 60 minutes until I set the timer for a different time increment. I'm glad to see that it'll be fixed.

I'm loving the app and book and have found them to be very useful. It has helped me jumped in speed when writing! Instead of second-guessing words and sentences, it gave me the boost to just write the entire time. I can say with certainty that, for me, writing faster makes no negative impact on my writing quality. It would be the same words if I had written slower, I just don't worry about typos right away. By putting off fixing typos until I finish my sprint, I get to focus on the story.

I can type faster than I'm currently writing, which is encouraging because with practice, I'll know I'll be able to continue to improve my speed. Knowing that people consistently write 4k or 5k (or even 3k!) an hour is encouraging.

Thanks, Chris!


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## Anna_ (Jan 18, 2015)

I bought the book and just downloaded the app. Can't wait to get started!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Winter Light said:


> I've had the same issue when using it at 60 minutes. It restarts itself right after finishing and keeps alerting me after every 60 minutes until I set the timer for a different time increment. I'm glad to see that it'll be fixed.
> 
> I'm loving the app and book and have found them to be very useful. It has helped me jumped in speed when writing! Instead of second-guessing words and sentences, it gave me the boost to just write the entire time. I can say with certainty that, for me, writing faster makes no negative impact on my writing quality. It would be the same words if I had written slower, I just don't worry about typos right away. By putting off fixing typos until I finish my sprint, I get to focus on the story.
> 
> ...


Sorry for the bugs. I'm getting them ironed out as quickly as possible!

So glad to hear that it's working for you. Stuff like this totally makes my day =)


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## Kenzi (Jul 28, 2014)

I bought the book last night and am going to try my first sprints this morning. Can't wait to see how this goes.


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## Sandra K. Williams (Jun 15, 2013)

Chris, is there a way in the app to reset the Achievements? After a sprint I accidentally entered the Project Total in the Word Count box. 

I really like the app, by the way. I'm using it with ForceDraft word processor, and the two work well together.


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Sandra K. Williams said:


> Chris, is there a way in the app to reset the Achievements? After a sprint I accidentally entered the Project Total in the Word Count box.
> 
> I really like the app, by the way. I'm using it with ForceDraft word processor, and the two work well together.


Not yet. I just created a 'Reset Achievements' feature request. I'll add it as a button to the settings screen =)


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## Lisa Blackwood (Feb 1, 2015)

Sounds interesting. Off I go to have a look.


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## Sandra K. Williams (Jun 15, 2013)

Chris Fox said:


> Not yet. I just created a 'Reset Achievements' feature request. I'll add it as a button to the settings screen =)


Thanks, Chris!


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## bdwilson (Mar 19, 2015)

I picked up the book and the app last week, and tried the sprints out on Friday. I managed to match by output from the previous week in half that time. I had a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to working it into my regular routine, especially with Camp NaNo coming up in a few days.

They're both great, Chris. Worth de-lurking for, even 

I have a couple of questions about the app.

[list type=decimal]
[*]Is it possible to specify the type of sprint in the app? I did a few editing and proofing sprints, and now I've got a some achievements I don't think I earned, yet 
[*]Can you change the project a sprint was assigned to? I had the wrong one active and didn't notice  (I would understand having to correct the project word count on my own. I just want the sprint record to be accurate.)
[/list]

Oh, and just in case, I'm on a 4S, so I understand if I'm not seeing these because of the unsupported device.

Thanks again!


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Sprint types are coming! They're going out for beta testing this week. I've included four types:

1- Writing
2- Editing
3- Proofing
4- Other

That same build will allow you to re-associate sprints with new projects =)


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## bdwilson (Mar 19, 2015)

Excellent!

Thank you very much


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Chris, I'm going to sound like an idiot here, but how do I get the spreadsheet onto my laptop? I'm reading your book on my kindle and it can't open it from there.


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> Sprint types are coming! They're going out for beta testing this week. I've included four types:
> 
> 1- Writing
> 2- Editing
> ...


Okay, cool. We'll wait for further details.


----------



## shel (May 14, 2011)

Downloaded both the book and app yesterday and already love it. Just wanted to say thank you to Chris Fox.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> Chris, I'm going to sound like an idiot here, but how do I get the spreadsheet onto my laptop? I'm reading your book on my kindle and it can't open it from there.


Sorry, Evenstar just saw this. Here's the direct link to the spreadsheet:

http://chrisfoxwrites.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5kwph.xlsx



shel said:


> Downloaded both the book and app yesterday and already love it. Just wanted to say thank you to Chris Fox.


Thanks, Shel! I'm blown away by all the support from people =)


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## Indiecognito (May 19, 2014)

I was just now wishing that it had an editing sprint feature. So glad you're looking into that! 

I've written well over 20K words since downloading it a few days back. Like I said, it kicks my butt. It kicks butt. Love it.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Chris Fox said:


> Sorry, Evenstar just saw this. Here's the direct link to the spreadsheet:
> 
> http://chrisfoxwrites.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5kwph.xlsx
> 
> ...


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

What version of Excel are you using? I'm guessing if you're running XP, probably a pretty early version =/

If you want to shoot me a personal message with your email I'll see if I can build a compatible worksheet for you.


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

I have not read the book, but I've downloaded the app and will start using it tomorrow for Camp NaNo. I've done Pomodoro before, and generally do about 1,000-1,500 wpm. We'll see if this gets me there faster! I generally finish a 100,000 word novel in about 23 days. If I boost my speed, maybe I could do two novels in a month...


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

pdworkman said:


> I generally finish a 100,000 word novel in about 23 days. If I boost my speed, maybe I could do two novels in a month...


You win the internet.


----------



## Veronica Sicoe (Jun 21, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> Sprint types are coming! They're going out for beta testing this week. I've included four types:
> 
> 1- Writing
> 2- Editing
> ...


I'm not using the app yet (I'm on Android) but I was wondering if you'd consider adding "Pre-Production" or "Planning" or something of the sort. I write sci-fi and usually do a lot of worldbuilding & detailed outlining beforehand. Lately, I've been writing story mock-ups before drafting (beat sheets for scenes), and even though I don't count those as actual wordcount, I do have to timebox them so I don't go crazy on the preparation stuff. 

Does that make sense? Anyone else here interested in pre-production effort tracking?


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

I decided to try voice dictation as recommended. So far my sprints are about 2500 wpm typing, and only 1500 wpm dictating. Everything I dictate has to be edited/proofed afterward, but my typing is pretty clean. I will continue to train on the voice recognition to get the speed/accuracy up and to give me a change of pace. Who would expect it to be perfect after one day? 

Really enjoying the app. It is well put together. I figured I would have to type into a separate window in order to do a word count after each sprint, but it lets you update your sprint progress by entering your project word count, so I can just keep typing in my scene without worrying about tracking where I started that sprint.


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

VeronicaSicoe said:


> I'm not using the app yet (I'm on Android) but I was wondering if you'd consider adding "Pre-Production" or "Planning" or something of the sort. I write sci-fi and usually do a lot of worldbuilding & detailed outlining beforehand. Lately, I've been writing story mock-ups before drafting (beat sheets for scenes), and even though I don't count those as actual wordcount, I do have to timebox them so I don't go crazy on the preparation stuff.
> 
> Does that make sense? Anyone else here interested in pre-production effort tracking?


I'm exploring this, but probably not in the context of the 5k App. I'm also working on an App I call Myth Maker, which is designed to create stories. It allows you to enter everything from the inciting incident to the protagonist to story arcs. The idea is to gather all your story elements in one place, with an eye for exporting it into Scrivener. That won't come out until 2016 though.

In the meantime I can add a 'preparation' sprint type.



pdworkman said:


> I decided to try voice dictation as recommended. So far my sprints are about 2500 wpm typing, and only 1500 wpm dictating. Everything I dictate has to be edited/proofed afterward, but my typing is pretty clean. I will continue to train on the voice recognition to get the speed/accuracy up and to give me a change of pace. Who would expect it to be perfect after one day?
> 
> Really enjoying the app. It is well put together. I figured I would have to type into a separate window in order to do a word count after each sprint, but it lets you update your sprint progress by entering your project word count, so I can just keep typing in my scene without worrying about tracking where I started that sprint.


I ran into this too, especially during the first week. It felt slow and awkward, but I forced myself to stick with it until I got better at it. Now I can stand at the bus stop and just dictate into my phone through my ear buds. Clean up takes a bit of effort, but even factoring that in it's still worth the effort.


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## Kate. (Oct 7, 2014)

I just wanted to report in after reading the book and doing five days of sprints. Instead of trying to sprint through my current WIP, I've been writing a 1,000 word short story each night.

My normal speed is ~1,000 words an hour. Even just doubling that would have been amazing. But you know what? Right now I'm hovering around _3,000_ words per hour. I can't believe it. What normally takes me an hour is done in twenty minutes. It's amazing!

Now, I can't say the writing is great; the higher speeds are having a pretty big impact on the quality. But that's just me - my brain lags, so I have to put _a lot_ of effort into creating a clean first draft . And that's impossible (so far) with the higher speeds. But I'm also starting to see small improvements in the quality of each story. I'm hoping that, with enough practice, I can get the 3k-per-hour words as good (decent?) as the 1k-per-hour.

I always thought sprints would be terrible for me. I'm used to writing for long bursts of 3-4 hours twice a week, and thought choppy, five-minute blocks would be too disjointed. I've been struggling to raise my monthly total above 30k, but I only have a set number of hours outside the house each week, and writing inside the house is impossible for me. _Unless _I'm sprinting. The sprints are giving me way more focus than I was expecting, and I'm finding it easy to do four blocks of five minutes each night.

That means I have an extra 5k banked in just five days. _On top_ of my day writing. Chris, your book is, without a doubt, the best investment I've made this year. Thank you!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks for reporting back, Darcy. I'm really glad to hear that this is working for you. I'm very curious to hear your thoughts on overall quality after a few weeks. Hopefully you get to a point where you're not sacrificing anything while still maintaining that 3k WPH =)


----------



## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

Winter Light said:


> I've had the same issue when using it at 60 minutes. It restarts itself right after finishing and keeps alerting me after every 60 minutes until I set the timer for a different time increment. I'm glad to see that it'll be fixed.
> 
> I'm loving the app and book and have found them to be very useful. It has helped me jumped in speed when writing! Instead of second-guessing words and sentences, it gave me the boost to just write the entire time. I can say with certainty that, for me, writing faster makes no negative impact on my writing quality. It would be the same words if I had written slower, I just don't worry about typos right away. By putting off fixing typos until I finish my sprint, I get to focus on the story.
> 
> ...


Anyone know if this update for the fix has been applied yet?


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Not yet. The update was rejected by Apple, because I explicitly listed the price of the upgrade in U.S. Dollars. I've made the correction they asked for and resubmitted, but it takes 7-10 days for them to look at it again. Wish I had a way to get it out faster!

In the meantime I'd suggest setting your sprints to 59 minutes =/


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## Kwalker (Aug 23, 2012)

I'm trying this out myself after reading this yesterday =)
Not fixing typos is seriously torturing me, but I'm feeling motivated and productive and this is getting me writing faster again which I needed.

My outlook is switching from "Can I stop yet, how much longer on Freedom (which I've been using for a while now) to "but I want to keep writing!"

I'm using the spreadsheet while I hope for an android version -)


----------



## Jane Killick (Aug 29, 2014)

I tried looking for an app such as this last year with no success. And now, at last, just what I was looking for has arrived!

Hoping to use on a novel this week. However, I have a lot to write and plan to cheat by doing 30mins sprints. I may downgrade that to 20mins if that doesn't work. I think you're right and planning is the key.

So thanks for developing the app. Oh, and I read the book too!

One thing for the wish list would be the ability to delete sprints, which I couldn't see. What if your sprint is interrupted by the postman, a power cut, or child screaming for urgent assistance? That could really skew a person's average. I know we should make sure we are not interrupted, but some things can't be helped.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

The book was awesome, Chris!

I downloaded the app on my MacBook Air laptop, will it work on it? I downloaded it, installed it, and authorized... message said it's good on 4 of 5 computers so I'm thinking it worked, but I can't find the bugger. 

Got it installed on my iPhone, I should read the app description first.

The woo-hoo voice startled me.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Jane Killick said:


> I tried looking for an app such as this last year with no success. And now, at last, just what I was looking for has arrived!
> 
> Hoping to use on a novel this week. However, I have a lot to write and plan to cheat by doing 30mins sprints. I may downgrade that to 20mins if that doesn't work. I think you're right and planning is the key.
> 
> ...


I hope it goes well for you, Jane! You can delete sprints on the stats screen. Just swipe a sprint and you'll see the delete button =)

Alan, the woo hoo is my lovely girlfriend or her sister (it's random). You can turn the voices off under the settings if you'd like!


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## Diane Patterson (Jun 17, 2012)

6+ running 8.4 here, and the app opens to its splash screen and then immediately crashes. Am I the only one this is happening to?


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I've tested on an iPad mini and a 6 running 8.4 with no problem.

Have you tried restarting the phone since the update? Feel free to message me and I'll see if I can get to the bottom of it.


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## Jane Killick (Aug 29, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> You can delete sprints on the stats screen. Just swipe a sprint and you'll see the delete button =)


Ah yes, that's an Apple thing I always forget about. Same with iTunes etc. I must remember the power of the swipe


----------



## Logan R. (May 13, 2011)

Just got the update through TestFlight, and I gotta say, I absolutely *LOVE* being able to see how many more hours to go until a project is completed. Such an awesome feature that I didn't even realize I wanted!  Haha.

Only 30 hours to go on this project, but I just started using Dragon Dictate, and I'm already getting faster writing speeds. Excited to see just how fast I can get this project done!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks, Logan! If you run across any bugs please let me know =)

My goal is another update this weekend with a few cool new features, mostly centered around projects.


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

Getting 2500-3000 wpm on most sprints at this point.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Go, P.D =D

For those using the app the first update just went live. It fixes most of the bugs listed in this thread, and introduces hours to completion for projects.


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## RomanceAuthor (Aug 18, 2014)

I have the book! It's really great!i have a question: in ex 7 Chris recommends downloading a typing program to increase writing speed.

My current wpm is quite low and i'd love to train my typing speed. Can anyone recommend such a program?

Thanks


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

If you're using Windows you might give this one a peek:

http://www.rapidtyping.com/best-typing-tutors/rapidtyping.html

I've heard good things, though to be fair I've never used the program so I can't really vouch for it =)


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> Go, P.D =D
> 
> For those using the app the first update just went live. It fixes most of the bugs listed in this thread, and introduces hours to completion for projects.


Shouldn't I receive an update notice on my iPhone? I'm not seeing one.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Jolie du Pre said:


> Shouldn't I receive an update notice on my iPhone? I'm not seeing one.


If you have iOS 8 it may have auto updated in the background. You can verify it by going to the update tab under the App Store app. Either you'll see the app was updated, or you should have the option to update it =)


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> If you have iOS 8 it may have auto updated in the background. You can verify it by going to the update tab under the App Store app. Either you'll see the app was updated, or you should have the option to update it =)


Okay, cool!  Thanks so much!


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Time to completion is so cool! Great job. Nice touch.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks, RKC. It was suggested by several people here at Kboards and I thought it was too cool not to implement. I'm loving it.

When you see '12 hours to completion' it's really hard not to get your writing in for the day. It's been great for my motivation.


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Chris Fox said:


> Thanks, RKC. It was suggested by several people here at Kboards and I thought it was too cool not to implement. I'm loving it.
> 
> When you see '12 hours to completion' it's really hard not to get your writing in for the day. It's been great for my motivation.


That is AWESOME. I freaking love this App, dude. And as you keep building in these unique little details and add-ons, it's just getting cooler and more useful!

Thanks so much for this, Chris. Amazing job!


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## Laterz (Jul 8, 2015)

Listening to Chris on the Rocking Self Publishing Podcast right now...


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## Monie (Oct 4, 2014)

I have been using this app for about a week. I have been doing words sprints since I was introduced to them during NaNo. This app makes it so much easier to keep my data in one place and not have to have tons of windows open to track sprint time, word count, and project. 

The new added feature of hours to completion is so motivating. I saw 12 hours until completion and wanted to write more. Thanks Chris


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## J.A. Cipriano (May 27, 2014)

Yup. When I saw time to completion 8hrs today, I was like. I can do that in a day. lol...


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

gorvnice said:


> That is AWESOME. I freaking love this App, dude. And as you keep building in these unique little details and add-ons, it's just getting cooler and more useful!
> 
> Thanks so much for this, Chris. Amazing job!


Thanks, Gorv! There are a lot of neat new features coming down the pipe. Most were suggested by people here. I'll try to get another build out soon.



JohnFai said:


> Listening to Chris on the Rocking Self Publishing Podcast right now...


I haven't heard the interview yet. I know I'd had a lot of caffeine, so hopefully I don't come across like a gibbering monkey.


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## Laterz (Jul 8, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> I haven't heard the interview yet. I know I'd had a lot of caffeine, so hopefully I don't come across like a gibbering monkey.


Haha, no, you did well. I'll have to listen to it a few more times, but that's what I usually do with all of Simon's interviews anyway. The first time I listen is while I'm browsing the web and the other times are when I REALLY buckle down and pay attention.


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

JohnFai said:


> Haha, no, you did well. I'll have to listen to it a few more times, but that's what I usually do with all of Simon's interviews anyway. The first time I listen is while I'm browsing the web and the other times are when I REALLY buckle down and pay attention.


I just listened to it. He even mentioned in the intro how fast I talk =p

Still, it seemed to go pretty well. Thanks for listening John!


----------



## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Hey Chris, not sure if this has already been suggested...have you thought of doing like a fitbit type deal where people could add folks who have the app to like a friends list and then have word sprint competitions with one another, etc?


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

gorvnice said:


> Hey Chris, not sure if this has already been suggested...have you thought of doing like a fitbit type deal where people could add folks who have the app to like a friends list and then have word sprint competitions with one another, etc?


I've definitely considered it. Right now the app will allow you to post sprints to Facebook or Twitter, but I think a leaderboard would be a lot more interesting to most writers.

The server infrastructure for that would be tough, so I've considered using the built in Apple Game Center instead. Much easier for a sole developer to maintain. Would you use it there? Or do you think I need a standalone website to display rankings?


----------



## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Chris Fox said:


> I've definitely considered it. Right now the app will allow you to post sprints to Facebook or Twitter, but I think a leaderboard would be a lot more interesting to most writers.
> 
> The server infrastructure for that would be tough, so I've considered using the built in Apple Game Center instead. Much easier for a sole developer to maintain. Would you use it there? Or do you think I need a standalone website to display rankings?


Hmmm...I'm not savvy enough to know. I think it would be cool if it was something I could see within the app itself and view it one way or another, see maybe where I stood in relation to the top leaders...I'm sure there's some simple solution, right? Lol.

Anyway, maybe it's a down the line type of thing, but it could be cool in order to further the gamification aspect!

Edited to add: Also, the value of the "community" that might build would help insulate you against competitors, because you'd have the community built up ahead of the rest of the pack.


----------



## horst5 (Aug 9, 2013)

Hi Chris,
I am just wondering if it would help someone like me.
Presently I am unable to produce more then 600 words in 8 hours. (That is on a good day)i
This is due to several factors.
1) I hunt and peck and some gremlin is constantly stealing letters from my keyboard.
2) I have arthritis in my finger and often strike two letters in a single stroke.
3) I turn 85 next week.
4) English is my second language.

Any helpful advise or comment, please.
Horst


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

That's a tough situation, Horst. The book would advise you to either take a typing course, or to try out voice dictation. If arthritis is an issue dictation may be the way to go. It's tough to adjust to, but you just speak what you want to write and out it comes on the screen.

English being your second language can complicate that, but if you invest the time in training Dragon you might find it worth it. I'd recommend looking into Elizabeth's how to train your dragon thread.


----------



## Hope (Nov 28, 2014)

gorvnice said:


> Hey Chris, not sure if this has already been suggested...have you thought of doing like a fitbit type deal where people could add folks who have the app to like a friends list and then have word sprint competitions with one another, etc?


Awesome idea!


----------



## horst5 (Aug 9, 2013)

Thank's Chris.
Will follow your advise.
Very much appreciated.
Horst


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## Onedayatatime (Oct 14, 2012)

Just bought the book and the app!! Going to read it tonight and start using the techniques tomorrow!!


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## Onedayatatime (Oct 14, 2012)

How do I link a sprint to a project? I have the upgraded app.

And do I have to input how many words I typed manually or can it figure it out based on my new word count?

I just did a 5 minute sprint and it thinks I wrote 20k words.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

If you select a project it will become Active (you'll see the tag next to the project on the projects screen). All sprints will be automatically linked to that sprint.

At the end of a sprint you can choose to either put in the number of words you wrote, OR the new project total. There is a box for each, just pick the one that makes sense. The app will do the math. If you make a mistake (I know I have) you can delete sprints on the stats tab by swiping to reveal the delete button. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm happy to help!


----------



## Underthesea (Mar 29, 2014)

Hi Chris, I also have your book/app.  For some reason my app isn't actually making the sound at the end of a writing sprint so I don't know when my 5 minutes is up unless I glance at it.  I have played around disabling the audio, turning back on, making sure my sound is on etc.  Ipad 2.  Please can you tell me if I'm overlooking something really obvious!

I'm doing a workaround where I am using a different timer, plus running the app so I can enter my word counts but would love to not have to do that


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I'd check the volume button on the side of the iPad. If the switch is set to off you won't hear the sound =)


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## Underthesea (Mar 29, 2014)

Well I feel like a wally, I switched the little switch thing for alerts on the side and voila sound.  I didn't realize what that did as I thought just having the volume turned up would be enough.  Much nicer end to a writing sprint than the buzz


----------



## Kenzi (Jul 28, 2014)

I downloaded the app and paid the 2.99 to unlock it for the premium features, but they're not working. It's still acting like it's the free version. Any clue what I should do?


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Kenzi, what version of iOS are you using and on what device? If it's pre-iOS 7 you might have issues, as I haven't tested iOS 6 and before.

Worst case scenario I can get you a beta build with the features unlocked. Email me at [email protected]


----------



## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

I actually had the same issue as Kenzi on a 6+ running the latest iOS at first. I just opened and closed the app a few times and all was sorted.


----------



## Kenzi (Jul 28, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Kenzi, what version of iOS are you using and on what device? If it's pre-iOS 7 you might have issues, as I haven't tested iOS 6 and before.
> 
> Worst case scenario I can get you a beta build with the features unlocked. Email me at [email protected]


I'm using 7.1.2 on iPhone 6. Do you think removing it and then redownloading would help?

So far I love the free version. My WPH has gone from 1700 to 2600 typing and 3000 dictating!



RKC said:


> I actually had the same issue as Kenzi on a 6+ running the latest iOS at first. I just opened and closed the app a few times and all was sorted.


I'll see if this works. Thanks! ETA: nope.  It worked! I tried that and then turned my phone off and back on and it worked. Yay!


----------



## AllyWho (May 16, 2015)

I just bought the app and the book. Kids are still home on school holidays, so I'm using this week for prep work to start my sprints next Monday


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Kenzi said:


> I'm using 7.1.2 on iPhone 6. Do you think removing it and then redownloading would help?
> 
> So far I love the free version. My WPH has gone from 1700 to 2600 typing and 3000 dictating!
> 
> I'll see if this works. Thanks! ETA: nope.  It worked! I tried that and then turned my phone off and back on and it worked. Yay!


Woohoo! That's great news. I've had a few people run into that issue. Now I have a fix I can suggest until I lock the bug down. Thanks for finding it, RKC!

@Alice can't wait to hear what you think =)


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## Leanne King (Oct 2, 2012)

After listening to Simon’s podcast, I downloded this app and have been using it for a few days. Some observations:

- After paying to unlock the graph, I can’t see all the data as I drag across the points. The date and time and partially obscured by the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. There might be more data that’s hidden even further down, I don’t know.
- It would be really nice if there was a way to see the total number of words for any given day. Tapping on a sprint shows total words for the current day, but you can’t see previous day’s totals unless I'm missing something (likely)
- The ‘Recent Rewards’ section only shows the first three rewards I got, none of the subsequent ones.
- The time to project completion calculation seems quite random. When I do the calculation manually using the figures in the program, it’s off by up to 2 hours at a time. I’m drawing to the end of a project so have fewer than 10k words left - perhaps it’s more accurate over longer timescales / bigger projects? 
- The huge ‘Done’ button obscures some of the labels in the Sprint Report screen.
- I tried to restore the purchase on my iPad, but the Restore button doesn’t do anything (iOS 8.4 on an Air 2)
- Any chance of iCloud syncing between devices? I much prefer using the iPad, but sometimes have to use the phone.

I don’t want to sound like a miserable arsehole; all of these are minor gripes, except for the fact I can’t restore the purchase on the iPad, that’s a biggie. Apart from that, nice app. Hasn’t increase my speed yet (actually it’s gone down) but it’s only been a few days


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Still loving the app!

Tiny tiny bug I've noticed - whenever I cancel a sprint (after a false start or whatever), that 0 word sprint is still saved in my sprint history despite discarding it.

Otherwise, I've been using this app for the whole of July now and I absolutely love it. Favourite writing timer app by a mile.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Leanne King said:


> After listening to Simon's podcast, I downloded this app and have been using it for a few days. Some observations:
> 
> - After paying to unlock the graph, I can't see all the data as I drag across the points. The date and time and partially obscured by the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. There might be more data that's hidden even further down, I don't know.
> - It would be really nice if there was a way to see the total number of words for any given day. Tapping on a sprint shows total words for the current day, but you can't see previous day's totals unless I'm missing something (likely)
> ...


Thank you SO MUCH for the feedback Leanne. Fortunately, restoring purchases has been fixed and is going out to beta users today. I'll be submitting that to the app store this week. I've also prioritized the time to completion fix. It's worked well for me so far, but I've only finished one project using it. I'll dive into that logic and see if I can find the problem.

The graph is definitely an issue. When I built it I didn't realize how it would change over time. I have an idea to fix that. What if you could scroll right off the screen to see more of the graph, or had the option of showing weeks instead of individual sprints? I can do either easily enough.

I'll also be adding more graphs and metrics, and will put current day's words on the stats screen. That's been requested by several people. I've also logged the recent rewards as a bug.

The done button is crazy on the iPad, I know. I'll be scaling those screens for iPads. I haven't done it yet since only around 10% of users have an iPad, but I'll get to it as soon as I can!

iCloud syncing is coming as well. I had no idea people would want it, but I'm seeing more and more requests.



RKC said:


> Still loving the app!
> 
> Tiny tiny bug I've noticed - whenever I cancel a sprint (after a false start or whatever), that 0 word sprint is still saved in my sprint history despite discarding it.
> 
> Otherwise, I've been using this app for the whole of July now and I absolutely love it. Favourite writing timer app by a mile.


Logged! This should be a quick and easy fix. Thanks for the kind words RKC. This has been an eye opening experience for me. I've fixed dozens of bugs, and still have more to take care of. I'm really proud of how far the app has come though =)


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

Listened to Chris' appearance on Rocking Self-Publishing recently. 

It was a very timely podcast for me. Yesterday and today I am in the position of losing several hours of writing time in the evening due to other personal commitments, plus I got back both the final edits on a novel and the translation of another that I need to deal with. I am doing Camp Nano, so I am in the process of writing a first draft (right now I'm estimating the completed length will be in the neighborhood of 75,000 words.) I am on track, but didn't want to lose two days of writing. My morning and noon writing sessions yesterday were taken up by reviewing edits, formatting, etc. on the two books that came back to me. I knew that the most I could squeeze out of my evening was an hour of writing time and two short car commutes (during which people want to talk to me part of the time, so I can't really get sprints in, just a few words.)

I knew that Chris' advice to have the scenes planned out in detail before I started writing was key. Even though I had the scenes I needed to write next planned on a macro letter, I was a bit stumped as to how each was to proceed and how to deal with pulling threads together as I get close to the end of the book. (I am in the third act this week.)  

So I decided to forgo my usual bike ride home and grab the bus instead, to give myself forty-five minutes or so of planning time. During the ride, I planned out the next ten scenes or so in some detail on my phone. So once I got home and had a quick supper, I had about forty-five to fifty minutes to write before I had to go out. Did sprints with the scene outlines on my second monitor. I did a bit more writing on the two-way commute to my meeting, and altogether got 3500 words down. 

Similarly, in my morning sessions today, still working off of the scene outlines I did yesterday, I have managed to hit almost 4000 words. I should be able to get another 1500 in at lunch, so I will hit my daily target in spite of having to be at a meeting all evening.


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## AveryCockburn (Jul 5, 2015)

Just wanted to pop on and give a big THANKS to Chris for this book and app. It's helped me immensely with much more than just my word count.

For about ten years I've been using a tracking spreadsheet I found online during a NaNoWriMo. I would update my WC every quarter hour  or half hour. I thought ~750 words/hour was my sweet spot for getting the best writing. Any slower and I'm spending too much time daydreaming; any faster and quality would start to plummet.

But THIS has changed everything. The last three days I've averaged ~1800WPH, and because the sprints are short, I can keep checking back with my notes to make sure I'm on track and don't go off on tangents I'll need to delete later. I've been shocked when I reread my sprints the next day and thought, "Hey, this doesn't suck!"  

The app is great (though having my iPad near me while writing really tests my self-control), but I urge everyone to get the book as well to understand the principles behind it. Things like:

1. Planning scenes ahead of time, something Rachel Aron's 2K to 10K book stresses, but 5,000 WPH helped me put it into practice
2. Creating a distraction-free environment
3. Microsprints

It's the last one that's helped me most. It takes away that resistance I feel when I first sit down for a writing session. Like a warmup before hard exercise.

My current strategy: I start with a 5-minute sprint, then do a 6, then a 7, and so on, until I reach an 11-minute sprint. With only short pauses in between to check notes and stretch my wrists, this fills about an hour, when it's time for a real break. 

I've done two of these sessions today and already have 2600 words. Not blazing speed, but a huge improvement considering it's my 3rd day.

Looking forward to updates, Chris. Thanks again!


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## Yesenia Vargas (Jul 30, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Perry, I'll be deploying a feature soon to export the data to .csv so you can import it into spreadsheets. If you think of anything else cool you'd like added let me know!


I would love the export feature as well! Reading this book now and can't wait to start using the app. Thanks, Chris!


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## Yesenia Vargas (Jul 30, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Sprint types are coming! They're going out for beta testing this week. I've included four types:
> 
> 1- Writing
> 2- Editing
> ...


Sounds awesome! Can not wait for this feature. Always wanted a way to track this kinda thing.


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## Yesenia Vargas (Jul 30, 2014)

Logan R. said:


> Just got the update through TestFlight, and I gotta say, I absolutely *LOVE* being able to see how many more hours to go until a project is completed. Such an awesome feature that I didn't even realize I wanted!  Haha.
> 
> Only 30 hours to go on this project, but I just started using Dragon Dictate, and I'm already getting faster writing speeds. Excited to see just how fast I can get this project done!


Don't even have words for how amazing this is. Can't wait!


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## Yesenia Vargas (Jul 30, 2014)

VeronicaSicoe said:


> I'm not using the app yet (I'm on Android) but I was wondering if you'd consider adding "Pre-Production" or "Planning" or something of the sort. I write sci-fi and usually do a lot of worldbuilding & detailed outlining beforehand. Lately, I've been writing story mock-ups before drafting (beat sheets for scenes), and even though I don't count those as actual wordcount, I do have to timebox them so I don't go crazy on the preparation stuff.
> 
> Does that make sense? Anyone else here interested in pre-production effort tracking?


Yes! Would love this.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks for the kind words, guys! Every time I hear someone say their word count has improved I get a big grin.

The app has a long way to go before it's where I want it to be, but you guys are helping so much to show me what I need to do to get it there. Yesenia, most of the features mentioned will be out before I leave for the John Muir Trail in August.

@Avery and pdworkman I'm so pleased to hear how well things are going. Nice work!


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

It hit my 5,000 word goal at lunchtime today, so I don't have to worry about getting behind!

One suggestion for the app. When you hit cancel, you have the option to Discard or Save, but no button for "oops, I didn't mean to hit that, please continue my sprint". Or maybe just "Continue". A couple of times I have hit it because the phone range, and then someone else answered it or I didn't have to deal with it, and I wanted to continue my sprint. But there's no way to go on. Or once, I brushed the cancel button right after hitting start, which I didn't mean to do, and also led to the next issue.

When you cancel a sprint, then your next sprint is shortened to that length (although you can readjust it). So if I cancel because the phone rang after three minutes, it assumes the next sprint should be three minutes long. Or if I bump the button right after I start the sprint, it thinks I want to do a sprint of 0 minutes. Not a big deal, just a nit.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

This could be a good way to add a pause button. I'll just add 'resume' as a third option. Thanks for the suggestion!


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

Perfect!

Just put the final words on my CampNano project! 75,000 words in 15 days, thanks in part to your app.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Hi Chris,

As you know already, I love the app. However I encountered another little bug earlier.

In the middle of my sprint, I accidentally tapped away to the 'Projects' section. I tapped back onto the sprint timer and my sprint resumed as normal.

However, at the end of the sprint, after inputting my wordcount, the app closed and when I re-opened it, the sprit had been recorded as 0 words.

Cheers again, though. Still loving the app and finding it extremely useful!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up. I'm adding the Crashlytics framework, which will record issues like that. I need something called a stack trace to be able to see why the app crashed at the end of the sprint.


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## Chrisbwritin (Jan 28, 2014)

Looks very cool! Just picked up the app, am interested to see how it goes! Will report back.


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## Leanne King (Oct 2, 2012)

So I downloaded the update, which says it fixes the restore purchase, but the Restore button still doesn't do anything on my iPad


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## Donna White Glaser (Jan 12, 2011)

Still waiting for the android version.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Leanne King said:


> So I downloaded the update, which says it fixes the restore purchase, but the Restore button still doesn't do anything on my iPad


Well that's extremely frustrating. I found and fixed a problem preventing restore from working, then tested in iOS 7 and iOS 8 on an iPad mini, iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. I'm honestly mystified as to what else I can do to solve the problem. Apple's documentation has been no help, and none of my limited pool of beta testers have encountered this issue. Yet I still have at least a half dozen users in your situation. If you want to shoot me a private message I'm happy to offer a refund. Sorry for the hassle.



Donna White Glaser said:


> Still waiting for the android version.


At this point I can confidently say that is never going to happen. Given the range of problems I've run into with the iOS version I'm not willing to dive into another platform. I've invested a couple hundred hours of development so far, and have a couple hundred more to deal with bugs and additional features people are requesting. I'm making almost no money on the app, especially when you look at the amount of time I'm spending on this that could have gone toward my writing.

I'm strongly tempted to make the app free and halt development. If anyone is reading this and experiencing issues feel free to message me and I'll arrange a refund.


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

Hey Chris,

Sorry to hear it's been so frustrating.  Perhaps it's best to just take a step back for awhile and not fix every bug and make every improvement that's been requested.  I know you want to make the app work for everyone--but I think it's pretty darn good as it is, little bugs and all.  

Bottom line, it works.  The book helps.  

Maybe not think about it for a time and come back to it later on down the road?


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Tried using the app for the first time. Set the time limit and then clicked off the screen. The alarm never sounded to let me know the time had elapsed until I woke the phone up. Is this a known bug?


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

You should have received a notification that the sprint ended if you slept the app from the sprint screen. If you left the sprint screen to look at your stats, then slept it, then you wouldn't receive one.

This is the first report of that bug. What version of iOS are you using and what device?

Edit: Also, did you hit the start button and see the timer begin?


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> You should have received a notification that the sprint ended if you slept the app from the sprint screen. If you left the sprint screen to look at your stats, then slept it, then you wouldn't receive one.
> 
> This is the first report of that bug. What version of iOS are you using and what device?
> 
> Edit: Also, did you hit the start button and see the timer begin?


I'm using the current version of iOS on my 6 Plus. This is exactly what I did:

Set the sprint time, hit start, verified the countdown had started, then clicked the button on the right of my phone to put it into sleep mode (or whatever you call it). Tried it again with a 5 minute sprint just to be sure. No notification. Only when I woke the phone back up did it give me the notification.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Under settings --> notifications do you see 5KWHP and are badges, sounds and banners enabled?


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## Kylo Ren (Mar 29, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Under settings --> notifications do you see 5KWHP and are badges, sounds and banners enabled?


Okay, I found that it wasn't enabled there. Turned it on and works correctly now. Thanks.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Chris,

Sorry to hear you've been having trouble with this. But please don't get discouraged. I absolutely love the app, even with its bugs!

Maybe if you took a step back and committed to big fixing, say, every two to four weeks? That way it won't completely eat into your writing time.

You're onto something here. Together with the book, the app is an excellent companion. Please don't give up on it!


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## Nathalie Aynie (Nov 24, 2013)

Hi everyone 
Did you guys find a way to restore the premium feature? I can't seem to succeed.
I was thinking of deleting the app and reinstalling, but I'm afraid to lose all my sprints.


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## Pamela (Oct 6, 2010)

Just bought the Kindle book.  Excellent!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Nathalie Aynie said:


> Hi everyone
> Did you guys find a way to restore the premium feature? I can't seem to succeed.
> I was thinking of deleting the app and reinstalling, but I'm afraid to lose all my sprints.


Hit purchase again. It will tell you that you've already bought it, and won't charge you a second time. That will trigger the restore.

Let me know if it doesn't work =)


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2016)

Now if they could do an app that would improve your writing. Quantity is not something I aim for.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

CoryODoole said:


> Now if they could do an app that would improve your writing. Quantity is not something I aim for.


That's squarely on us as writers. Quality comes from mastery of your craft, and each one of us has to climb that hill on our own.

Asimov had over 500 published works. He aimed for quantity, without sacrificing quality. I aim to do the same.


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Hey Chris.

I just bought your eBook, but alas, I am anti-Apple/Mac. Will the app ever be available in the Google Play store? I'd love to purchase it! Thanks!


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## L.B (Apr 15, 2015)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Hey Chris.
> 
> I just bought your eBook, but alas, I am anti-Apple/Mac. Will the app ever be available in the Google Play store? I'd love to purchase it! Thanks!


I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


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## Brevoort (Jan 27, 2014)

A.Barnett said:


> I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


Thanks very much for this. I cannot run Chris' app because I don't use an iPhone and I couldn't find anything suitable on Google Play until your note.

However, the app is called Writeometer, a fact I discovered after being unable to find Writometer and being greatly puzzled by the failure. All is good and thanks again for mentioning the app because I think it just might be what lI've been looking for.


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

A.Barnett said:


> I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


Thank you!


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## Nathalie Aynie (Nov 24, 2013)

Chris Fox said:


> Hit purchase again. It will tell you that you've already bought it, and won't charge you a second time. That will trigger the restore.
> 
> Let me know if it doesn't work =)


Thank you so much, Chris! It worked. 

Little bug report: I input my password again and it sent a message that the features where unlocked, so when it asked again if I wanted to buy it I cancelled. Then I got a ton of messages saying that everything was unlocked, over and over again, so I just closed the app and started it again and it works.


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## blemmet (Jun 30, 2013)

A.Barnett said:


> I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


Thank you! This is just what I was looking for and what I needed.


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## Veronica Sicoe (Jun 21, 2015)

A.Barnett said:


> I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


Thanks for mentioning this app!


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

A.Barnett said:


> I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


Thank you so much for posting about this. I get asked all the time about an Android version. Now I have something to tell people =)

I am releasing a Windows and Mac version, but after brainstorming with my fiancee it looks like it won't be out until October.


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## L.B (Apr 15, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> Thank you so much for posting about this. I get asked all the time about an Android version. Now I have something to tell people =)
> 
> I am releasing a Windows and Mac version, but after brainstorming with my fiancee it looks like it won't be out until October.


No problem Chris!

By the way, love your latest challenge.
As the old saying goes... Keep on keeping on!


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## Veronica Sicoe (Jun 21, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> Thank you so much for posting about this. I get asked all the time about an Android version. Now I have something to tell people =)
> 
> I am releasing a Windows and Mac version, but after brainstorming with my fiancee it looks like it won't be out until October.


Wheee! I'm offering to alpha &/ beta test the Windows version. You know I work in IT. Don't forget to ping me when it's time.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

A.Barnett said:


> I hope Chris doesn't mind me saying this, but Writometer on Android does word count tracking, sprints etc and gives you loads of data.


Thanks for this! I really like the little reward things it gives out. Guavas for the win.

Sent from my GT-S7390 using Tapatalk


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