I’ve learned a few things so far on Wolfbreed #2, a number of which relate to getting the thing done.  As you can see by the rather swift progress I’ve made on the meter below.  I’ve had creative spurts before, but oft-times they’re short-lived affairs that burn out after a week or so, often leaving me burnt out and less productive afterward.  This time I’ve managed something that seems sustainable, and here’re some bullet points on how I got here.

  • First off, deadline.  Man how that can sharpen the mind and give you focus.
  • Second, outlines do help, I’ve been a seat of the pants guy for a long time, but that meant that about half my time was writing, the other half figuring out where the hell I was going.
  • Even if you don’t outline, if the last thing you do each writing session is figure out what’s happening next, the next session starts off smoother. Leave off in the middle of a scene, even the middle of dialog, and you can pick up without much hsitation when you come back.
  • Break it up into manageable bits.  Especially if you’re working around other things. (like a day job.)  500 words three times a day can really be less intimidating than 1500 all in one sitting.

1 Comment

Steve Buchheit · April 4, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Strangely enough I’ve just learned these as well with the latest project. Although my outline is a basic text file with chapter numbers, word count (when done) and what I think might happen there (I’ve changed it twice, mostly pushing back events to allow a better setup).

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