Still Writing 750 Words Daily — and the Data Proves Why It Works

I’ve been writing 750 words every morning on WriteDaily since March 2013. That’s roughly 1,800 consecutive days, give or take a few missed sessions that I backfilled within the 48-hour grace period.

Last week, I pulled my full stats. Here’s what five years of daily writing looks like in numbers:

Total words: 1,179,000
Total sessions: 1,788
Average words per session: 659
Average completion time: 19 minutes
Longest streak: 847 days
Average sentiment: 64% positive, 36% negative
Most common concern: Achievement (34%), followed by Work (28%)

What the Habit Actually Delivers

The word count is gratifying — over a million words is a satisfying milestone. But the real value isn’t in the volume.

Clarity. The morning pages practice, from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, was designed to clear mental clutter. My data bears this out: entries written before 8am have a higher “analytical thinking” LIWC score than those written later, even when the word count is similar. Morning writing genuinely sharpens my thinking.

Pattern recognition. After five years, I can see seasonal patterns in my own sentiment data. Winters trend more introspective. Summers are more outward-facing. Career transitions show up as spikes in “achievement” and “work” concerns weeks before I consciously register the shift.

Emotional processing. My highest word-count sessions correlate with my most negative sentiment scores. When I have more to process, I write more. The tool gives me a container for that.

The Tool and the Habit

WriteDaily isn’t responsible for the habit — I am. But the tool’s design choices, which I first outlined in the year-one retrospective, supported it:

The 750-word target is achievable but non-trivial
The streak counter creates just enough accountability
The sentiment feedback loop makes me curious about my own patterns
Auto-save removes the fear of losing work

If you’re considering a daily writing practice, try WriteDaily. You don’t need five years of data to start. One week of stats will tell you something about yourself.