A goal describes direction. Session history describes the path you are taking.
A goal gives scale, not a command
An 80,000-word target can tell you whether a book is still near the beginning or approaching its expected size. A chapter target can expose a section that remains unusually thin. Neither number should become a quality score.
Sessions explain progress that word count cannot
A day spent removing 1,500 weak words may be more productive than a day that adds 1,500 new ones. Session history shows that work happened even when the manuscript did not simply grow.
Why keep this inside the writing project?
Because a separate habit tracker knows that you worked for an hour, but not which book or chapter that work belonged to. Keeping the signal near the manuscript reduces another layer of reporting.
When to ignore it
If the project is small and progress is obvious, you do not need metrics. Goals and sessions become useful when the manuscript is long enough that movement is difficult to feel.