So, you wanna stay on time, do you? Have problems with keeping a schedule for your fanfiction (or blog, Off My Mind article, essay for school, presentation for the U.N, and even, yes, your status updates)? Do you struggle with getting your lazy butt in gear?
Good news!
I'm here to help you.
One of the major problems many readers have with a fanfiction is that some writers can be weeks in between posts. This is no one's fault, but long delays in writing can make an audience lose interest, especially when dealing with the short doses that fanfiction chapters give. Some writers spend weeks on only a few paragraphs, some can write up sweeping, long-winded chapters in only a few days. It all depends on the writer.Writing takes a lot of time and editing, time that some people don't have. Imagine, you're so committed to this story that you decided to put it out there for the world! But then you realized you had that thing, and that other thing, and a few things after that to deal with? Or maybe you're just lazy. I admit it, I'm lazy too, and the wonders of the internet can really get in your way.
So here are some tips so that you can give the most you your readers, and take the most for yourself.
Tip 1. Schedule
Schedule yourself some time in the morning, afternoon, or night, same time as often as you can, every day. Get up an hour earlier, or go to bed an hour later. Do you really need to watch that show on TV, why not on Hulu instead?
Pencil in a time, just for you, when you can write, and devote yourself entirely to that act alone. I get up earlier than anyone else in my house and have done so for two years. I also am one of the last to go to bed. Now, I'm not saying deprive yourself of sleep. That's bad. But if you live in cramped quarters, and you REALLY need the quiet, that's something to think about.
Work around your school schedule. If you have an iPhone, writing in your notes is a good way to be writing on the bus or during that annoying lecture on the history of the color yellow. No, wait, you need to be listening to that. Notes from iPods or iPhones can be transferred to the computer, or even online programs like Google Docs can be a resource.
Now, I understand scheduling conflicts. I have a five year old sister. Her schedule is sometimes different from mine. If she decided that at seven in the morning, that she wants to come down and watch some freakin' Spongebob, guess what I'm watching? But that's okay. Sometimes you gotta man up and hear Spongebob behind that Rock Me Amadeus theme you were going for.
But have a specific time. And don't think that just because you have decided to start scheduling that the words will magically appear. It can take a few days, or even a week to get used to a new schedule, so bide your time effectively. Use your first few days to establish Tip 2.
Tip 2. Ritual
Your readers should know how often you like to post.
But how often do you like to post? How often do you write? What time do you write at? What do you do while you write, do you have a ritual? What do you eat? What do you drink?
If these things are different for me every day, I know that I'm not writing effectively. Everyone has rituals, some are different from others. I get up and have a sip of water every ten minutes in the morning. I eat strawberry pop tarts and orange soda at work in the evenings. At home at night? I make sure the music playing from my earbuds is loud enough to irritate my sleeping sister without causing hearing loss to myself (shockingly easy).
Rituals aren't just for the Church and Freemasons. The better established your rituals, the easier it will be to sit down and work, because these things will be so natural to you that you won't even think about them. Every writing article I've ever read tells me that rituals are the foundation of a writer's day, and I tend to agree.
Tip 3. Edit as you go.
You've written yourself a good page this morning. But now it's the evening, and you want to edit it because you spelled Lenny Kravitz backwards in your early morning write-fury. Great!
Except you posted it right after you wrote it.
Now don't you feel like an idiot? Darn right you do!
Edit as you go is the most important step you can take when writing under a timeline. Consider each word carefully and weigh it in the golden scale of your mind's eye and all that mystic junk. Writing this way means you can't afford to not like what you write. So say what you mean, and mean what you say in every post.
Tip 4. Deadline
You need one.
I will finish this post on Monday. I will Post it on Sunday.
Put that as your status so that you feel like a total jerk when it's not posted. Now you have a reason to get crackin'. Your reader's time and attention span is short and valuable. Pick a deadline and stick to it.
And that's all I have to say about that.
So have fun with your writing, but remember that just like a doggie or a crocodile, it's a commitment. Chau!
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