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Do you have a routine or schedule?

pmmg

Myth Weaver
There are many who wait for inspiration, and that is one approach, but waiting for inspiration is a lot of waiting.

If you want to get the stories out, you have to write. And writing does not require inspiration. It just requires persistence. Surprisingly enough, the portions of my tale I wrote while inspired are very hard to pick out from the portions I wrote while not feeling like it. Just sayin ;)


I seem to have become a Vala when I was not looking... And nice Avi. A pink wizard did not go with a yellow P.
 

Curatia

Scribe
And writing does not require inspiration. It just requires persistence. Surprisingly enough, the portions of my tale I wrote while inspired are very hard to pick out from the portions I wrote while not feeling like it. Just sayin ;)
So much this. When our team made the transition from part-time to full-time writers, the hardest thing for us to handle at the beginning was what do you do on the days when writing is like pulling teeth? We all have those days when everything is clicking and the words are flying onto the screen, but what to do when every sentence had to be teased out of an uncooperative brain.

What we found was that two months later, we couldn't tell the difference between the sections written in the grip of inspiration and the days when perspiration was the only way to grow the word count.

Writing is often about muscle memory. We write every day because writers are who we are. That kind of overlearning doesn't just help in sports and driving. It is that brain muscle memory that gets us through the tougher days.
 

Pinkwizaard

Dreamer
There are many who wait for inspiration, and that is one approach, but waiting for inspiration is a lot of waiting.

If you want to get the stories out, you have to write. And writing does not require inspiration. It just requires persistence. Surprisingly enough, the portions of my tale I wrote while inspired are very hard to pick out from the portions I wrote while not feeling like it. Just sayin ;)


I seem to have become a Vala when I was not looking... And nice Avi. A pink wizard did not go with a yellow P.
Hehe that do be wisdom you are now writing. I definitely need a bit more persistence in writing, or perhaps a purpose. I tend to feel that I am writing into an empty void sometimes as I am mostly just writing as a hobby currently.

And thank you! I thought I should fix my profile a bit so that I am a proper pink wizard :p
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
That is a good way to see it! I do like writing things as long as I have something going as I might revisit it later at some point.

I tend to use music these days to inspire myself, or other media. Certain anime or manga's have some great moments that give me lots of inspiration at times. Even certain online games have created moments from which I was able to draw inspiration from, but I am most definitely waiting for that "fire" to re-ignite. When you feel so drawn to a story that you want to write so badly, you think about it many times.

That's why I tend to love to get recommendations from others since I think that consuming other media tends to make you more creative and write more. Or maybe that is just me...
I listen to music pretty much nonstop, and when we're working on a project, I'll have dedicated playlists playing that take me from scene to scene and character to character. My wife likes either silence or instrumental music. I listen to songs with words while I draft, which isn't as crazy as listening to audiobooks while drafting (I've met people who do this), but close. In the Chit Chat subforum near the bottom of the list on the Forum page, there is a thread called, "What Are You Listening To?" or something like that. Tons and tons of great music from writers all over the world to find and love.

I usually listen to music with words, but sometimes the muse wants something different, so I made this playlist on YouTube. Wrote half of our third book on just the first two in the list alone. Enjoy! :D

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP2WEUtlmxW3VzfJ3ZTnkQGEPl493aUZq
 

Ben Scotton

Scribe
There are many who wait for inspiration, and that is one approach, but waiting for inspiration is a lot of waiting.

If you want to get the stories out, you have to write. And writing does not require inspiration. It just requires persistence. Surprisingly enough, the portions of my tale I wrote while inspired are very hard to pick out from the portions I wrote while not feeling like it. Just sayin ;)


I seem to have become a Vala when I was not looking... And nice Avi. A pink wizard did not go with a yellow P.
Some words of wisdom and experience there!
I've learned from painful experience that the best way to get inspired is to get writing.
Amazed by all of you who can get busy writing at night after full days. That shows a lot of grit and love for the craft.
 
That shows a lot of grit and love for the craft.
I think it's more to do with being an evening person than anything else. I write 5-6 nights a week for 1-2 hours. I do so by simply not watching (much) TV. So where other people turn on Netflix I just write. There isn't really anything special to it. I'm just an evening person, so I normally have most energy in the afternoon / evening, which fits my writing schedule.

I'm definitely not a morning person. I've tried a couple of times to get up early to write, which results in me staring at a screen for an hour and getting a handful of words down. I could probably train myself to write in the mornings, but it's not worth it for me.

The biggest lesson there is that everyone is different and you need to find your own process. A novel takes something like 200 hours to write (100k words at 500 words an hour) for the first draft. There isn't really much you can do to change that. Yes you can write faster, but that just brings it to 150 or 100 hours. The idea remains the same. You need to be behind a computer (or dictation device or whatever) for this amount of time. Find a way how you do that.

For most people, doing a little bit often works best. It's a lot easier to find 15 minutes in a day on each day of the week than finding an uninterupted block of 2 hours once a week. What's more, because you do it each day, it becomes a habit, and you're deeper into your story, which means you can get right back into it instead of needing half an hour to find out where you left things.

However, everyone is different, and everyones life and the demands that brings is different. Which means that for some people it works great to take 2 hours each saturday morning (or 4 or whatever), and write. And some people will be working on a story in their mind for a whole week and write 2000 words an hour for 2 hours once a week (which gives only 50 hours for draft 1). I couldn't do that. But I bet someone can.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
Somedays, I sit down and pretty much write all day. Other days, I don't write at all but, of course, I'm thinking about stories and often jotting down notes and ideas. I don't really have any other responsibilities so I don't have to stick to any schedule for anything (well, maybe meals, but I've been known to forget those). When I did have other work to do, I typically wrote for a couple hours first thing in the morning before the rest of life made demands (it worked for Trollope—3000 words every morning).
 

Nighty_Knight

Troubadour
No. It would help me a whole lot if I did. But between family, my work schedule, and everything else it is hard to have a routine that lasts more than a few weeks. I do best with a routine though. I really just need an hour or so of quiet where I can do it, I can’t really get in the frame of mind in 15 minutes like some people. But usually once I get typing I am moving. My best usually has been at coffee shops for some reason, I guess less distractions and I can’t just get tired and lay down while I am there like I can do at home.

The good thing about my job is there are often times when I have enough downtime I can type at work. (Which is nice since most of my previous jobs that was mostly impossible) Bad thing with that is no way to have a routine with that, just have to take it when I can.
 

GracefulBlue

Acolyte
You know, I really don't and I would love one. I like the idea of writing at least a sentence a day. I have two toddlers and having time to myself is short in supply these days. I usually find myself spontaneously writing at 4am because that's when my brain gets ideas apparently. It's unhealthy for my lifestyle. If I set up a schedule, I'll probably choose those 20 minutes between getting the kids to bed and when I realize I should get myself off the couch and do dishes/laundry.
 

Bundydoc

Acolyte
Right now I’m in revision so I do that each night when I get home from work. I listen to i strumental music like Movie Soundtracks w/ noise cancelling headphones cause everyone in my house thinks headphones are uncomfortable and plays everything through speakers 😭. Also my office is open 😭😭.

On Sat and Sun morning I do my new writing. Usually between 7am and 10am or so. I listen to Ludovico Einaudi’s Seven Days of walking (all 7 albums) on random.
 

pmmg

Myth Weaver
One sentence a day is a reframe. Typically, we look at it as, I know I can pop out 2000 words when I am in the zone, and we approach our craft as, we should be putting out 2000 words in a go, and if we dont reach it, there is disappointment, and even questioning our confidence. We write 500 words and feel defeated. It is a self defeating attitude, we create and end up feeling less than better for it. This eventually leads to, I am not feeling it... i've not done it for days... I will get to it when the inspiration hits... I know I can do better.... and eventually, am I even still a writer?

One sentence a day is the only promise you make. Doing one a day allows you to stop and still feel like you accomplished. The reward system is reversed. You have permission to stop, and dont have to feel bad about it. Further, one a day does not lead to just 10 words a day, cause the one sentence usually becomes a few more. But even if it does not, you have created a strategy over a goal. A goal can be reached or not, but a strategy will produce regardless of the goal.

So....I put that in my rules of writing. Promise yourself only the smallest part. I will do only the smallest thing each day, anything more is just extra, and I get to go to bed each day feeling like I accomplished. Give it a go, and see what happens.

PS: Not just for writing, but for other areas of life as well.
 

GracefulBlue

Acolyte
One sentence a day is a reframe. Typically, we look at it as, I know I can pop out 2000 words when I am in the zone, and we approach our craft as, we should be putting out 2000 words in a go, and if we dont reach it, there is disappointment, and even questioning our confidence. We write 500 words and feel defeated. It is a self defeating attitude, we create and end up feeling less than better for it. This eventually leads to, I am not feeling it... i've not done it for days... I will get to it when the inspiration hits... I know I can do better.... and eventually, am I even still a writer?

One sentence a day is the only promise you make. Doing one a day allows you to stop and still feel like you accomplished. The reward system is reversed. You have permission to stop, and dont have to feel bad about it. Further, one a day does not lead to just 10 words a day, cause the one sentence usually becomes a few more. But even if it does not, you have created a strategy over a goal. A goal can be reached or not, but a strategy will produce regardless of the goal.

So....I put that in my rules of writing. Promise yourself only the smallest part. I will do only the smallest thing each day, anything more is just extra, and I get to go to bed each day feeling like I accomplished. Give it a go, and see what happens.

PS: Not just for writing, but for other areas of life as well.
Thanks! How would you implement this strategy to planning and world building? I have so many details to work out, but it seems overwhelming.
 

Nighty_Knight

Troubadour
One sentence a day is a reframe. Typically, we look at it as, I know I can pop out 2000 words when I am in the zone, and we approach our craft as, we should be putting out 2000 words in a go, and if we dont reach it, there is disappointment, and even questioning our confidence. We write 500 words and feel defeated. It is a self defeating attitude, we create and end up feeling less than better for it. This eventually leads to, I am not feeling it... i've not done it for days... I will get to it when the inspiration hits... I know I can do better.... and eventually, am I even still a writer?

One sentence a day is the only promise you make. Doing one a day allows you to stop and still feel like you accomplished. The reward system is reversed. You have permission to stop, and dont have to feel bad about it. Further, one a day does not lead to just 10 words a day, cause the one sentence usually becomes a few more. But even if it does not, you have created a strategy over a goal. A goal can be reached or not, but a strategy will produce regardless of the goal.

So....I put that in my rules of writing. Promise yourself only the smallest part. I will do only the smallest thing each day, anything more is just extra, and I get to go to bed each day feeling like I accomplished. Give it a go, and see what happens.

PS: Not just for writing, but for other areas of life as well.
I agree totally. The days where I just tell myself I need to write anything, even just a few words, has often pushed me to write a lot more than I thought I would. I need to start doing that regularly like you said.
 

pmmg

Myth Weaver
Howdy Blue,

I am not sure I can speak to your process, but I can share my own.

The story world I have created is not my first fantasy world that I have built. I had three prior that were more for RGP's, but the process was kind of the same.

For my fourth go, there was a bit less definition to it as I started. I did not initially draw out a map, as I had for game worlds, and only had in my mind the lands local to the first story in it. Over time, stuff got added. As the story expanded so did the world. And eventually it reached a place where it needed more definition. Over this period of expanding, aspects of the world building began to appear in what I would only say is an organic process. Gods that people worshipped, races that appeared, where they came from, the types of economies, the level of technology, the conflicts...it all appeared in small pieces on an as needed basis.

When I wrote my first novel in this world, I had an idea of one area of land, probably roughly the size of Scandinavia. The rest of the world was there, but undefined. I later came to envision an area of desert, an area with volcanoes, an area like the amazon, and an idea of what I wanted the land to kind of be shaped like (much more defined in the west and south, than in the east.)

All the while the stuff began to appear as needed, and sometimes with a need to repair the backstory to keep it consistent. Religions expanded. Magic systems expanded. Materials expanded, peoples expanded....on and on...

I eventually drew out the map by hand. But I wanted a digital copy. My first effort was sufficient, but not any more. I can show you the map making process I used on Inkarnate, but that actually came after years of previous world building.

Along the way, and for story continuity, I made lists and spreadsheets of world based things, such as names of peoples and places, currencies, religions, items, even in some food sources. It sounds impressive, but if I showed it to you, you would see its still rather simple.

Most recently, I have been creating marketing tools, so I came up with a time line, a story line, and more formally written out descriptions of characters and places.

The world continues to grow, but mostly from the same process that created it. I think on it when I am not writing, every now and then, go...'oh that would be cool', keep it in my head till it comes out in the writing. And always with a greater understanding of the world beyond what any of the characters know. And more recently, formally writing it down.


So...the process above, of do a little every day, would work for the produced material, like drawing the map, but not for the actual creation, which happens mostly during the course to writing the story and thinking on the story away from the keyboard.

Sadly, my characters do not know much about the world, and dont have the time to be curious, so the world building shows up at a slow pace. I am in book 3, and it bit more of it is coming out now, but only because there is a character who would know it. Otherwise, it would still be a mystery to most.

I hope that makes sense.

Inkarnate process below, that kind of shows doing it a little at a time ;) but acutally, I enjoyed it. I did it in larger chunks.


full


full



PS: If a site creator is looking, I would like to be able to upload media without it showing up in the latest activity feed. I junks things up the way it currently works.
 
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GracefulBlue

Acolyte
Howdy Blue,

I am not sure I can speak to your process, but I can share my own.

The story world I have created is not my first fantasy world that I have built. I had three prior that were more for RGP's, but the process was kind of the same.

For my fourth go, there was a bit less definition to it as I started. I did not initially draw out a map, as I had for game worlds, and only had in my mind the lands local to the first story in it. Over time, stuff got added. As the story expanded so did the world. And eventually it reached a place where it needed more definition. Over this period of expanding, aspects of the world building began to appear in what I would only say is an organic process. Gods that people worshipped, races that appeared, where they came from, the types of economies, the level of technology, the conflicts...it all appeared in small pieces on an as needed basis.

When I wrote my first novel in this world, I had an idea of one area of land, probably roughly the size of Scandinavia. The rest of the world was there, but undefined. I later came to envision an area of desert, an area with volcanoes, an area like the amazon, and an idea of what I wanted the land to kind of be shaped like (much more defined in the west and south, than in the east.)

All the while the stuff began to appear as needed, and sometimes with a need to repair the backstory to keep it consistent. Religions expanded. Magic systems expanded. Materials expanded, peoples expanded....on and on...

I eventually drew out the map by hand. But I wanted a digital copy. My first effort was sufficient, but not any more. I can show you the map making process I used on Inkarnate, but that actually came after years of previous world building.

Along the way, and for story continuity, I made lists and spreadsheets of world based things, such as names of peoples and places, currencies, religions, items, even in some food sources. It sounds impressive, but if I showed it to you, you would see its still rather simple.

Most recently, I have been creating marketing tools, so I came up with a time line, a story line, and more formally written out descriptions of characters and places.

The world continues to grow, but mostly from the same process that created it. I think on it when I am not writing, every now and then, go...'oh that would be cool', keep it in my head till it comes out in the writing. And always with a greater understanding of the world beyond what any of the characters know. And more recently, formally writing it down.


So...the process above, of do a little every day, would work for the produced material, like drawing the map, but not for the actual creation, which happens mostly during the course to writing the story and thinking on the story away from the keyboard.

Sadly, my characters do not know much about the world, and dont have the time to be curious, so the world building shows up at a slow pace. I am in book 3, and it bit more of it is coming out now, but only because there is a character who would know it. Otherwise, it would still be a mystery to most.

I hope that makes sense.

Inkarnate process below, that kind of shows doing it a little at a time ;) but acutally, I enjoyed it. I did it in larger chunks.


full


full



PS: If a site creator is looking, I would like to be able to upload media without it showing up in the latest activity feed. I junks things up the way it currently works.

Howdy Blue,

I am not sure I can speak to your process, but I can share my own.

The story world I have created is not my first fantasy world that I have built. I had three prior that were more for RGP's, but the process was kind of the same.

For my fourth go, there was a bit less definition to it as I started. I did not initially draw out a map, as I had for game worlds, and only had in my mind the lands local to the first story in it. Over time, stuff got added. As the story expanded so did the world. And eventually it reached a place where it needed more definition. Over this period of expanding, aspects of the world building began to appear in what I would only say is an organic process. Gods that people worshipped, races that appeared, where they came from, the types of economies, the level of technology, the conflicts...it all appeared in small pieces on an as needed basis.

When I wrote my first novel in this world, I had an idea of one area of land, probably roughly the size of Scandinavia. The rest of the world was there, but undefined. I later came to envision an area of desert, an area with volcanoes, an area like the amazon, and an idea of what I wanted the land to kind of be shaped like (much more defined in the west and south, than in the east.)

All the while the stuff began to appear as needed, and sometimes with a need to repair the backstory to keep it consistent. Religions expanded. Magic systems expanded. Materials expanded, peoples expanded....on and on...

I eventually drew out the map by hand. But I wanted a digital copy. My first effort was sufficient, but not any more. I can show you the map making process I used on Inkarnate, but that actually came after years of previous world building.

Along the way, and for story continuity, I made lists and spreadsheets of world based things, such as names of peoples and places, currencies, religions, items, even in some food sources. It sounds impressive, but if I showed it to you, you would see its still rather simple.

Most recently, I have been creating marketing tools, so I came up with a time line, a story line, and more formally written out descriptions of characters and places.

The world continues to grow, but mostly from the same process that created it. I think on it when I am not writing, every now and then, go...'oh that would be cool', keep it in my head till it comes out in the writing. And always with a greater understanding of the world beyond what any of the characters know. And more recently, formally writing it down.


So...the process above, of do a little every day, would work for the produced material, like drawing the map, but not for the actual creation, which happens mostly during the course to writing the story and thinking on the story away from the keyboard.

Sadly, my characters do not know much about the world, and dont have the time to be curious, so the world building shows up at a slow pace. I am in book 3, and it bit more of it is coming out now, but only because there is a character who would know it. Otherwise, it would still be a mystery to most.

I hope that makes sense.

Inkarnate process below, that kind of shows doing it a little at a time ;) but acutally, I enjoyed it. I did it in larger chunks.


full


full



PS: If a site creator is looking, I would like to be able to upload media without it showing up in the latest activity feed. I junks things up the way it currently works.
Thank you, Pmmg, for sharing your process. Gives me something to think on. Due to my limited time to work on my world, I have to think of a way to create a little bit at a time consistently. In the past I've done an "all in" approach where I work on details for days, then don't touch it for months.
 
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