Productivity Tips & Tricks

So, in my last blog I talked about how I finally finished editing this chapter after more than a year. Well, I have some great news to tack onto that as well! I just finished editing the second chapter and I've started the third! God, I feel like I'm in a really good groove right now. I'm beyond belief excited about resuming this WIP at a good pace. I'm working out the kinks, I finally know where I want to go, and my body is SO ready.

I've radically changed my writing habits recently though. There's a ton of new things I've been doing to keep myself more productive and to keep up the pace. I figured that since they helped me get out of a year-and-a-half long spell of writer's block, I'll share some of the things I've been doing!

Join a Writing Community

Outside of Mibba, that is. I'm not saying this site isn't great--because it is. We're all just awesome. But, probably due to the decrease in traffic Mibba's been getting lately, I haven't felt too encouraged by it. Of course, I'm trying to help revive the community, but I've also branched out. I've started being active in the Writing Subreddit, where I've also found a critique group! We meet once a week and take turns critiquing one-another's excerpts. This has kept me in the mind of literary analysis and it's kept me obligated to write an excerpt to have for when my turn comes around. Accountability is important.

I personally think that a tight-knit circle such as this is the best way (so far) I've found to keep my writing juices flowing. Outside of Mibba, we have a discord chat! Come talk to us! It's so lonely in there!

Write Every Day. No Excuses

Seriously. I've been pouring over my novel at least for an hour or so every day. This is a tip mostly for people who might be seeking a career in writing (like me), but any hobby writer can still take to heart. I used to write a little bit, then not feel it, and so I'd stop and I wouldn't hold myself accountable for picking it up again the next day. Even if I'm not feeling it, I write. It's not every time, but often making me do it will put me in a groove. I've been writing on break at work, I've been writing while my boyfriend and I watch TV, hell, I even wrote in the car for an hour while I waited for my friend to get out of class because he needed a ride home. Don't have time? Make it!

Writing Music

I used to just listen to my normal music library, which works. Its music I like and it fills the silence. But have y'all ever written to video game soundtracks? I hadn't until just recently and lemme tell you--it works so well. Video game music is designed to keep you focused. I always wondered why I could go HOURS playing games without interruption; I would get a text message and tell myself "I'll respond once I finish this," and then all of the sudden it would be two hours later and my boyfriend is calling me to make sure I'm alive. So I started making a video game soundtrack playlist that I turn on whenever I'm writing.

Right now, it's mostly Elder Scrolls soundtracks because they fit the theme of my novel. But, really, any video game music can work, as, again, they're designed to help you keep focus. I personally wouldn't mind listening to the Pokemon soundtracks or the ones for Final Fantasy.

Seriously though. If you're looking to sit down and just have one real good writing session, pop on a pair of earphones and listen to some video game music. This has improved my focus TREMENDOUSLY. And I no longer find myself opening up the internet to procrastinate. My personal fave is ten hours of Skyrim's soundtrack with rain ambiance. There's also a fuckin' awesome website called Rainymood that just plays a storm ambiance. I'll sometimes pop this on and listen to my own music. (Fact: music is 10x better when there's rain in the background.)

Aaaaand that's really all I had to share! Another fun fact: I wrote this blog in procrastination of getting ready for work, so am I really that productive?
September 11th, 2018 at 05:13pm