You've got a lot of support when it comes to publishing your book: book editors, cover designers, beta readers, and a host people who help you market by word of mouth. But what about during the process of writing the book itself? You may think the writing is a solitary process, but everyone can use a little help sometimes. Those long dry deserts in the middle of a novel and those times when you just can't cobble together enough enthusiasm to get your word count done for the day are prime times for using an accountability partner. Pull each other out of writer's blocks. These are other writers who team up with you, with the goal of helping you both work toward finishing your works in progress. It's really hard to motivate yourself to do something when you're not in the mood, but answering to another person can help, even if it's only in a virtual room. Find your partner to improve your productivity in a big way. 
Where to Find Partners
Social media is the place to go. If you're new to the writing game, you may be following some favorite authors. Other new authors are doing the same thing. Contact them through the social media message system to ask about partnering for accountability. This works in Facebook groups, in private writer's chat rooms, and even in groups about your subject matter. No matter how isolated you feel, you're not the only author out there feeling that way. Make a post in these groups offering to partner and see who answers. Who knows, you may even end up creating your own accountability group.
Goals to Set
Your goals can be as varied as the types of writing you all do. Are you looking to schedule an hour a day to write? Meet together virtually at the beginning and end of that hour to compare notes. Looking to increase your daily word count? Have a virtual contest with each other to see how fast you each finish your current work. Make it a friendly competition with encouragement or one filled with snide remarks and ribbing, depending on your various personalities. The idea is to have fun while you push each other to get more work done and slack off less.
Where to Do It
If you're already all posting in the same forum, see if you can create a sub forum in the same spot. Try creating a separate thread for posting your results each day. If you're not currently on the same group forum, use virtual rooms like Google Hangouts. Try instant message apps to write back and forth. SnapChat can be fun to use for this; take a picture of your word count at the end of the day and post it to each other. Set up a private room at myWriteClub and race with each other each day. Any relatively private way to post to each other will work, as long as you're both comfortable with it.
Keep the Faith and May the Force be With You!
