Highlights in a hurry

• new free Chrome extension for the popular gamified writing site 4TheWords counts your writing on (nearly) any website
• extension promises total privacy: only counts the number of words and never the actual content
• take advantage of the writing RPG elements even without an account or create a free account to save your streak progress, loot and progress in quests
• this extension makes both offline and split screen writing with 4TheWords possible for the first time ever
• extends the free plan by giving you a workaround to the document limit

What is 4TheWords?

4TheWords is an RPG-style writing game where you progress in quests, earn loot and defeat monsters all with the words you write. It’s the best option for gameifying writing that I have ever seen and has become an essential part of my routine for keeping myself motivated.

Disclaimer that I am just a long time user who loves the product, NOT in any way a paid employee of 4TW, though I do help them out in a volunteer capacity which sometimes yield perks (ie such as I was part of the beta group for this extension). Though if you do decide to sign up and use my referral link, let me know one you’re set up and I’ll send you a free gift in thanks!

Did you know that 4TheWords now has a free option?

If you haven’t looked at them in a while, 4TheWords recently changed it’s subscription offer to include a free plan that allows users to use most site features completely for free. Need more battles or quest slots? Upgrades are available at both monthly, yearly and lifetime rates.

Even better? With this new extension you can actually start using the site right now without even creating an account, though you’ll need to create one if you want to save your progress or streak.

4TheWords… anywhere!

Previously, to take advantage of all the fun and gamification the site offered, you had to use the on-site editor which was, frankly, bare bones and limited when it came to formatting options.

All of that changes with this new Chrome extension that lets you take the same features that make 4TW great and use them on any website you choose. Simply indicate that you want a site to count, start your monster battle, and everything you write will count towards your progress without spying on what you’re writing.

Emails? Slides presentations? AO3 fanfic comments? Popular web-based processors like Ellipsus or Google Docs? Yup, write in any one of them and the extension will count your words in real time.

Works with all types of monster battles

The site has three main types of battles and you’ll be happy to know the extension works with all three…

• Normal: monsters have a set word count and when you reach that word count, the battle is done
• Endurance: monsters have a set time limit and you write without stopping until that time is up to win the battle
• Multiplayer: team up with other writers in either a public or private room and combine your efforts to take down a big monster together

So whatever kind works for your writing flow, you’re covered!

Most essential features are packed up To Go

While you can’t change your wardrobe, decorate your maps or chat in the forums from the extension, you can do everything else essential for battling monsters. Add monsters to your queue, use potions, toggle loop or auto-start on and off, flee or even hand in quests all without leaving the extension window.

And if you prefer to still use the website, everything syncs instantly so you can set things up on site and continue using the extension and everything will sync.

Shortcut or side panel

By default, the extension is just the little icon which changes as needed to indicate whether a battle is on going or not. I’d recommend pinning it simply because otherwise it’s really easy to forget if you have a monster battle running. This extension shows you the amount of words left in your battle, but NOT the time, so it’s not great for monsters with a really tight timer.

Because of this, I end up leaving the side panel open most of the time, even though I’d rather have that screen real estate back.

Stats

There are also basic optional stats that show you how much you wrote per site over the day, week, month, year and all time.

Biggest Advantages

4TheWords everywhere!

Well, mostly anyway. (We’ll get to that in a minute.) Being able to take advantage of the game without being stuck using the lackluster write screen is a huge improvement!

Use 4TheWords without an account

Just want to try it out? Love the fun of writing your way through a monster, but don’t want to commit by signing up? This is the first time ever there has been the option to play 4TheWords without having to make an account or sign up!

And, even if you do sign up, you can still use the site free if you’re not ready for an upgrade yet.

Extend the free plan

One of the most amazing things about this is how it extends the free plan! The free plan currently limits you to 25 files and two projects on site.

But with this extension, you can have an unlimited number of pages and projects using whatever external site you wish.

That’s huge!

(My daughter is on the free plan and this was life-changing for her!)

Split screen! Split screen!

One of the biggest drawbacks of writing on 4thewords is that you’ve never really been able to do split screen because it caused sync issues both between docs and word count. Well, now you can! Split screen between the main 4TheWords editor and an Ellipsus doc or your email or Google Docs or whatever you need to jump back and forth between an it will sync both properly and keep track of how many words you wrote in each, no problem!

I’m someone for whom split screen writing is an absolute must and I usually have to make due with the 4TheWords editor and Notepad open at the same time, so this is big one for me!

4TheWords Offline

There has never been a way to play 4TheWords offline before and this extension finally gives it to us!

Keeps track of how much you wrote on each site (optional)

I tested this app out on a big day of doing digital errands and I loved that it was able to tell me how many of my words where on that slideshow vs email vs in my document.

Lets me chaotically jump around from thing to thing and trust that I can look back later and see how many words went where.

(Which really sort of begs the question: why can’t the main site do this? Word count per on-site document just like this has been so long requested!)

Multiplayer minder

One of the most annoying things about co-op mode is waiting around for other players to join you because you can’t really do anything else in the meantime. Because this extension shows you right in the side panel if there is someone in your room or not, it makes it much easier to go off and do other tasks while still keeping an eye on when your battle will start.

Disadvantages

Ugh, but only Chrome?

So far, yeah. Which sucks because I, frankly, am not a Chrome user. Google’s privacy is a nightmare, its is slow and bloated, it’s basically my last choice for browsing. At the end of the day, all the privacy promises in the world from 4TW aren’t worth anything if I can only use this extension in the browser most known for spying on users.

But I agreed to help them test this out in Chrome, because I have faith that now that they have built the thing, they will start to work towards porting it to other more secure and privacy forward browsers.

And, with how slick this thing works, it also hints a 4TheWords anywhere download app that works offline might be in the pipeline too.

As someone who does most of their writing offline in programs like Scrivener and Writality, being able to use 4TheWords while writing directly in those offline programs would completely change the game for me and this extension makes me hope that is on the horizon.

(Edited to add: their news post today indicated that desktop is for sure on the way as well as other Chromium browsers, though no word in Firefox yet!)

Doesn’t work with self-hosted WordPress

One of the main things I was excited about with this was being able to write my blog posts directly into my blog and have it count. We were even promise it could during the beta testing.

But, alas, it doesn’t work with self-hosted WordPress which is what all my blogs are. That significantly reduces the usefulness of it for bloggers, though it does work on other platforms including WordPress.org and Tumblr.

Indicator isn’t very helpful without side panel

My biggest issue with this is that— in minimized mode— the extension shows only how many words are left when it would be far more useful if it also showed how much time is left. Because of this, you can really only use this with a monster with a long timer or in side panel mode so you can see both how much words AND time is left.

And the side panel takes up a more room than it really needs to so it would be preferable if I didn’t need to keep it open.

—

Overall? It’s a really cool little extension. I love that it’s something people can play with without having an account, that it extends the possibilities for not just the free plan but everyone with split screen.

Of course, nifty as it is, I will probably never use it because I’m not a Chrome user. And that really dampens my enthusiasm for it, especially since there has been no announcement about when we’ll get it for other browsers.

That said, this is slick enough that it gives me hope we will see more features like this in the future not just for other browsers but for desktop use and I think that could really extend the functionality for a lot of people.

(For authenticity, I wrote this entire blog post in Ellipsus letting the extension count my words)

Use my referral link for a free gift!

Just to reiterate what I said above, I get a unique ability to send you a free gift if you sign up using my referral link so, please, let me know if you do so I can send you some free loot in thanks!

Here is the official extension text

Track your words across any website. Every word counts toward your 4thewords battles.

Turn any website into a writing RPG.

4thewords makes the writing itself the game. Pick a monster, start typing, and every word you write deals damage. Beat the word count before the timer runs out and the monster falls, dropping loot. Miss it, and the monster wins this round. Pick another and go again. Every word is a weapon.

The Chrome extension brings the game to wherever you already write: Google Docs, Notion, Substack, WordPress, AO3, and any site you choose (even your email drafts). Your writing tools stay exactly the same. The monsters just follow you there. START IN TEN SECONDS, NO ACCOUNT NEEDED Install, open a site where you write, and fight your first monster immediately. Four starter monsters, full word counting, and a local streak work with no signup at all. When you are ready, a free account unlocks the full game: a world of 900+ hand-painted monsters, quests, co-op battles, and a streak that syncs everywhere you write.

KEY FEATURES

• Fight monsters while you write, on the sites you choose
• Hundreds of hand-painted monsters with different word counts and time limits (4 starters with no account)
• Build your daily writing streak, 444 words at a time
• Battle queue: line up monsters and auto-start the next one when the first falls
• Endurance mode: the monster attacks, and your words are the defense
• Co-op battles: fight alongside other writers in shared battle rooms
• Quests with multi-battle storylines
• Earn loot, XP, and Coins for every battle won
• See where your words go: per-site stats by day, week, month, year, or all time
• A side panel companion that keeps score while you write
• 7 color themes, from Pearl light to Obsidian dark
• Offline mode: keep playing entirely on your own device
• Syncs with your full 4thewords account

YOU CHOOSE WHERE IT COUNTS

The extension counts words only on sites you allow. Nineteen writing-first sites are on by default, including Google Docs, Notion, Substack, Medium, WordPress, AO3, Overleaf, Word on the web, Scrivener-style tools like Novlr and NovelPad, Reedsy, Evernote, Coda, and World Anvil. Adding any other site takes one click. Everywhere else, it counts nothing.

YOUR WORDS STAY YOURS

• It never reads, stores, or transmits the text you write. Counting works on word boundaries, not content.
• Password fields, one-time codes, card numbers, and other sensitive inputs are excluded at four independent layers.
• Site names and document titles stay on your device unless you switch on “Word counting by site”, which is off by default and reversible at any time.
• Zero analytics libraries, no ads, no trackers. Fonts ship inside the extension, so the popup and side panel open with no third-party requests. One exception, and it is the only one: the “Words by site” list fetches site icons from Google’s favicon service, cached on your device.
• We never train AI on your words or your writing data. Our monsters are painted by humans, and your words are written by you.

WHO IT’S FOR

• Novelists chasing daily word counts
• Students and academics with papers that will not write themselves
• Journalers and bloggers building a daily habit – Anyone whose blank page keeps winning
• Former NaNoWriMo participants who want the challenge year-round

HOW IT WORKS

1. Install. No account needed to start.

2. Open a site where you write.

3. Click the 4thewords icon and pick a monster.

4. Write. Every word deals damage.

5. Win the battle, claim the loot, keep the streak alive.

FREE TO START

Start free with no card, ever. Bring the monsters to where you write, and see what you finish. Questions or feedback? help.4thewords.com

Download 4TheWords Chrome Extension

And here is the official announcement they made on site, along with a special event!

4thewords Chrome Extension: Everywhere, All at Once! 

Dust Warriors, 

We’ve been crafting something amazing behind the scenes, a new way to use 4thewords, and it’s ready for launch! Welcome to a new age of monster battles and word counting with… 

Our 4thewords Chrome Extension!

Fight monsters from anywhere on the internet! Yes, this means exactly what you think it means: you no longer have to write in the 4thewords editor or copy/paste for credit.

Think about the freedom!

• Brainstorming or planning on Google Docs?
• Worldbuilding on World Anvil or Campfire? 
• Fixing fanfiction in A03 or Fanfiction.net?
• Getting word credits for finally answering emails?

No matter where you are, as long as you enable tracking by site (more on that below), it’ll count your words and sync your progress back to 4thewords.

Install the 4thewords: Fight Monsters While You Write extension from the Chrome Web Store, connect it to your account, and it’ll start counting immediately.

Its lightweight, but powerful:

• Counts your words & syncs back to 4TW
• Fights monsters from all three battle modes (regular, endurance, & co-op)
• Manages your battle queue & adds new monsters
• Sees progress for Streaks and daily challenges
• Tracks & delivers Quests
• Sees where you’re writing (enable “Tracking by site,” which is off by default)
• & much more

The extension is free, available on all plans, and we’ve even made it work without a 4TW account (for any friends who might want to try it out)! 

Install it today for free from the Chrome Web Store.

A Note On Privacy

We count words. We don’t read them, and we absolutely do not train AI on anything you write. That doesn’t change with the extension. It still counts, and it still doesn’t read.

These words are still yours, and will stay yours.

Extension Guide

If you need help or have questions, we have a new Extension section in our Help Center. 

The extension is pretty new, and although we had help testing (thank you wonderful Beta testers), there can still be a few things to iron out. If you notice anything please help us by reporting it here.

What If I Don’t Use Chrome? What’s Next!

The Chrome extension is the first in a series of apps we’re planning on releasing so we can continue to expand the borders of 4thewords.

We’ll be working on improving compatibility with other Chromium based browsers (Opera, Brave, Edge, etc). We hope to have this same extension working on many of those browsers in the next few weeks.

Later this year we’re planning to release light-weight desktop apps for Windows & Mac computers. These apps will allow us to cover other browsers (Firefox, Safari, etc) as well as native apps that live outside the browser (Scrivener, Word, notepad, etc). We’ll share more on this in the next few months.

While we’ll continue to improve our own writing editor (big update in the next month), our goal is to meet you where you prefer to write, rather than force you to write with us.

Wherever you write, as long as you are writing, you can track and earn credit with 4thewords.

We’re reaching out to writing, world-building, tracking apps, and communities so we can ensure we’re counting words and progress correctly wherever you are. If you have ideas for who we can reach out to, or places where we’re not counting that we should, please have them reach out or let us know by email at: developer@4thewords.com. 

Install it today for free from the Chrome Web Store, we hope you enjoy it!

The post Use 4TheWords to count your writing anywhere on the web with the new Chrome browser extension! appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

Aug 3- Aug 14, 2026

Hearts Through History [Forum Workshop]

Beginner writers all suffer the same challenges: passive characters, uneven pacing, meandering plot and the dreaded “Happy People in Happyland.” Readers crave active protagonists, characters who chase their goals and drive the story forward with the choices they make in the face of adversity. Non-stop action can be just as boring as a story where nothing happens. Finding that balance between action and reaction is the key to writing a character driven story that’s full of delicious page turning tension.

In this workshop, we’ll delve into scene structure and how understanding the cause-and-effect trajectory of your character’s journey not only strengthens your novel’s conflict and internal story logic, but also means richer, more three-dimensional characters. Whether you’re a discovery writer letting your characters take the reins or hardcore plotter writing to narrative goalposts, you’ll find that understanding scene structure can be a key part of your prep process, the secret to better flashlight drafting, a gut check to guide your revision, or a tool for diagnosing story issues and beating writer’s block.

The post Unlock the Power of Action and Reaction (Understanding Scene and Sequel): Aug 3- Aug 14, 2026 [Forum Workshop] appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

The post Sorry about that, Jetpack is freaking out appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

The Master Class writing workshop I was meant to be teaching at WriterUniv starting on June 15th has been cancelled. A bummer, but I think ultimately for the best because a) I severely injured myself (more on that in a minute) and should probably be doing less and b) I’m teaching an abbreviated form of this same material in a Zoom Workshop at RWO in October which is only $15 which, less than the original workshop would have been so yay savings! 

The August workshop on Advanced Self-Publishing has changed to Scene and Sequel. That Action and Reaction workshop has quickly become one of my most popular and Hearts Through History originally wanted that one, but I couldn’t offer it at the time because it was scheduled elsewhere. But schedules moved around, that slot became available again, so they decided to switch things around and snag it now and move Advanced Self-Publishing to next year. But that one is also just $15 for a 2-Week Workshop so I highly recommend snagging it as that’s great value for what I think you’ll find a very valuable workshop. 

Writing ergonomics post delayed until I heal. The continued saga of trying to upgrade my writing set-up to be more ergonomic has hit a new wrinkle in that I am in so much pain already from my injuries and pain meds are masking all the smaller issues, I have NO idea which parts of my set-up are working or not anymore. Which is at once depressing and honestly kind of hilarious. So that big breakdown will have to wait a few months until I can actually pinpoint what is actually helping vs hurting vs completely unrelated to my writing set up whatsoever. 

New Donation Button. I mentioned in this post that I had no intention of making a paid newsletter in the immediate future and that is still true, but some people were interested in tossing some coins my way anyway so I added a donation button on the sidebar just in case you found value in my posts and wanted to keep me in tea.  

I broke myself. So, yeah, I was in an accident and got seriously hurt. First time riding in an ambulance so there’s a milestone, I guess. I don’t really want to go into it because the events surrounding it were very traumatizing and I’m still shaken up about it, but basically everything is very difficult right now and recovery is looking like months not weeks. 

I’m trying to gaslight myself that this is fine. 

Anyway, while I’m a busted excuse for a human being, I wanted to take this moment to open up the floor to all of you and make sure some of the first posts in this newsletter are exactly what you want to see. 

What’s on your mind?

It’s funny to me that Tumblr and WordPress are owned by the same company because Tumblr has two features this platform badly needs.

The first is the post queue so I could just throw finished posts into a queue and trust they would automatically update on a schedule I set and only if I didn’t have a post already scheduled for that week. (I have even tried to hire someone to build me this as a plugin, because it would fit my work flow soooo well, but alas.)

The second is Tumblr’s ask feature that makes it easy for people to submit questions and comments (even anonymously!) so I can easily reply via blog post for everyone to see the answer. I would love that for this site because it would enable me to easily bring back the mailbag feature without people feeling put on the spot because they have to ask under their real name. The search for a good plugin that can give me this continues. Mailbag posts are basically the easiest thing for me right now because I can answer them with my dear friend voice-to-text. 

In the meantime, however, we at least have the comment box below! 

So please take a moment to ask a question or request a topic let me know what kind of content you’d like to see from this new and improved version of Unpublishable Pennings and I’d be happy to make your question the topic of a future newsletter so we can all learn from the answer! 

The post Teaching schedule changes and I broke myself appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

To celebrate, I’ve included the entire first chapter below so you can start to read it right here. Like what you see? Please consider purchasing a copy and leaving a review!

I’m so excited to share this guide because it’s exactly what I needed before I started my first major writing project and I’m hoping other writers will find it just as helpful.

Start reading below…

The post Start reading Make Ready to Write here now! appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

Free Book Offer as part of the Reach Your Full Potential Nonfiction Books bundle !

Grab a copy of Building a Writing Life

Building a Writing Life, is part of a great group bundle offer where you can claim my ultimate beginner writers guide along with lots of other great books for free! You can check that out here.

Now that we’ve gotten that business out of the way…

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the new Unpublishable Pennings newsletter!

That’s it for now, but I’m excited to start our new newsletter journey together and all the ways this new format will let us stay better connected!

The post Grab a free copy of Building a Writing Life (and welcome to the new newsletter!) appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

Hosted by Hearts Through History

USD Fee: $10 HHRW Members/$15 Non-Members

The post Hands Free Writing with Dictation and Voice-to-Text on May 16, 2026 11 AM (EST) [Zoom Workshop] appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

(You know because it’s… 6/7…)

I’ve gotten a ton of positive comments on this book and I’m so excited for it to finally be out there where everyone can read it! 

One of the big reasons I wanted to write this book was that I had never seen a “pantser friendly” guide to prepping a writing project that felt like what I personally needed and my hope is that this will really fill that niche for people who want to do a little prep work to make the drafting process easier without having to know the plot ahead of time.

Make Ready to Write

the ultimate writing prep guide for both plotters and discovery writers

This is it! It’s finally time to start that story you know you have inside you. But where do you begin?

Whether it’s a novel, script or even a non-fiction book, this is your ultimate guide to prepping a major writing project even if you’re an outline-allergic discovery writer.

From research and character development to story bible organization and prepping your life for the creative challenges ahead, this guide is full of simple, actionable steps you can take right now to make the drafting process easier even if you prefer to “pants” your way to the end. And if you are a plotter, you’ll find an overview on common story structures and character arcs to give you a roadmap for the narrative journey ahead.

There’s a long, hard campaign between now and when you type The End. But don’t despair! With the right plan of attack, you’ll be ready to fight your way through whatever this story throws at you and see this through to victory.

So strap in. Rally the troops. And get set to do this thing because it’s time to Make Ready to Write!

Coming June 7th in paperback and eBook!

Free copy, anyone? 

I have a limited number of digital ARC for readers willing to read the book and leave an honest review, but I’m limiting that offer to blog members for security so you need to login or sign up (free) to see the request form below. A free copy in exchange for a few minutes of your time helping me spread the word? You know you want it. 

Behind the scenes

This book was supposed to come out back in 2020 and then, of course, everything went to heck and it became This Whole Thing. Every time I picked it back up to try to get it out there, I took the psychological damage of having to re-enter my pre-pandemic headspace. 

What helped, though, was all these writing workshops I’ve been teaching. Meeting all of you in these classes who were so appreciative of my advice and eager for more lit a fire under me. I totally rewrote the whole thing earlier this year to dust off the lockdown stink and I think the result is better than ever. 

I hope you’ll love it!

The post Make Ready to Write is available for pre-order! appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

Making the most out of your author website, blog, mailing list, social media and more

Contemporary Romance Writers

April 1 – April 30

4-Week Online Workshop

You’re a real wizard with words but computer stuff? Not so much. Whether you’ve got a long neglected website or never really set up a proper web presence, author, e-commerce expert and big honkin’ nerd Hillary DePiano is here to show you easy ways to get more out of the tools you’ve already got… even if you’re not even remotely tech savvy. From marketing essentials like building a website to tips for turning blog readers and social media followers into lifetime fans, we’ll demystify the tech stuff and help take your writing career out of the dark ages!

This workshop is for CWR Members ONLY, but membership is $40 and will include both this and September 2026’s Unlock the Power of Action and Reaction (Understanding Scene and Sequel)

August 2026

Aug 03

Aug 03, 2026All Day

Unlock the Power of Action and Reaction (Understanding Scene and Sequel)

Hearts Through History,

Unlock the Power of Action and Reaction (Understanding Scene and Sequel) Aug 3- Aug 14, 2026 2 Week Online Workshop Beginner writers all suffer the same challenges: passive characters, uneven pacing, meandering plot and the dreaded “Happy People in Happyland.” Readers crave active protagonists, characters who chase their goals and drive the story forward with[…]

$15

Find out More

October 2026

Oct 10

Oct 10, 20262:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Save the Book: A Novel Approach to Writing Cinematically [Zoom Workshop]

Romance Writers Online,

Save the Book: A Novel Approach to Writing Cinematically Presenter: Hillary DePiano October 10, 2026 2 pm EST 90 minutes $15 (Free for RWO General Members) Unlock your creativity and conquer writer’s block in this Zoom workshop on using scriptwriting tricks to take your novel to the next level! Draw on techniques used in theatre,[…]

Find out More

The post Online Writing Workshop: Revitalize Your Author Platform at CRW on April 1 – April 30 appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

GSRW members FREE / non-members $25

10:30 – 11:30AM (Pacific Time) / 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm (EST)

August 2026

Aug 03

Aug 03, 2026All Day

Unlock the Power of Action and Reaction (Understanding Scene and Sequel)

Hearts Through History,

Unlock the Power of Action and Reaction (Understanding Scene and Sequel) Aug 3- Aug 14, 2026 2 Week Online Workshop Beginner writers all suffer the same challenges: passive characters, uneven pacing, meandering plot and the dreaded “Happy People in Happyland.” Readers crave active protagonists, characters who chase their goals and drive the story forward with[…]

$15

Find out More

October 2026

Oct 10

Oct 10, 20262:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Save the Book: A Novel Approach to Writing Cinematically [Zoom Workshop]

Romance Writers Online,

Save the Book: A Novel Approach to Writing Cinematically Presenter: Hillary DePiano October 10, 2026 2 pm EST 90 minutes $15 (Free for RWO General Members) Unlock your creativity and conquer writer’s block in this Zoom workshop on using scriptwriting tricks to take your novel to the next level! Draw on techniques used in theatre,[…]

Find out More

The post Setting Better Creative Goals [Zoom Writing Workshop] at GSRW on March 28 @ 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm EST appeared first on Hillary DePiano.