I have a big problem with procrastination with my stories. I started writing my book two years ago, and I'm only on chapter 6. Is there any way I can not procrastinate? I'd really like to get this story finished.
"wub wub wub wub. Now Zoidberg is the popular one."
I'm hopeless with procrastination. But while you've got a choice in whether you're going to write or not, you're probably going to procrastinate. So I guess you need to take away that choice. Say your going to write however many words per day or per week or whatever you like, and then threaten yourself with stuff if you don't do it.
Um ... I read somewhere about making scenes further in your story that you can't wait to write, and thus making you want to write through your story to get to them and write them.
Basically though, the only answer is to just grit your teeth, sit down, and write.
Oh, you're angry! Click your pen.
--Music and Lyrics
An idea I've had for a while might work. I haven't tried it, but what you do is give all your money to someone you trust, and tell them to give an amount of it back each time you finish a chapter. It's sort of like getting paid for writing, in that it motivates you, but you don't have to convince someone to use their own money.
Just a suggestion.
Gone, gone from New York City,
where you gonna go with a head that empty?
Gone, gone from New York City,
where you gonna go with a heart that gone?
Get a writing buddy! Or at least a reading buddy. For instance, without the lovely smaur beating me on the head, I would have NEVER written more than 15 thousand words for FREAK. I need somebody to look over my shoulder and say, "This is good!" And, if I start playing Neopets, I need somebody who'll say, "CONTINUE WRITING OR ELSE I'LL STAB YOU WITH A FORK!" And that works for me.
But really. Get someone to push you. Or, if not someone, bribe yourself. It works.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
^ Good point. But who can I find who'll push me? Unfortunately none of my friends are very into my writting...*grumble grumble* Ah well. Might have to settle for bribing myself.
"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring." -Chuck Palahniuk
There are plenty of writing buddies you can team up with who will love to critique your work. All you have to do is ask.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
I would ask for a writing buddy, but I know I won't want to write, even for someone else, lol.
Hey, I've been working on my story for two years, and I'm only on chapter 2. But that's due to several rewrites. I think outlining might help - I plan on trying to outline a bit today. That way it breaks it up into smaller chunks and doesn't seem so intimidating. Then you just slowly make your way through the smaller chunks and piece things together.
As for the writing ahead thing... What you do is you write one line from the scene you can't wait to write. Only one line, because otherwise it won't motivate you. Then you try to write up to that line. Obviously it won't work if you're at the beginning of the story and your line is at the end, but picking something a few scenes ahead usually works for me. That's where outlining comes in handy again - if you know what you want to happen, you can usually think of a brilliant scene to occur there, and that can be your motivation.
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