The Improv Technique For Writing Your First Draft

First drafts are difficult. First drafts suck. First drafts are AMAZING. First drafts are torture. First drafts are super fun.

These things are all true simultaneously. Writing is really simple, but it's also one of the most complex things you can attempt. It's a career path fraught with paradoxes and cognitive dissonance, and we continue to do it because we are all sado-masochistic monsters who desire to inflict as much pain on others as we do on ourselves. Emotionally, because physically that would be illegal.

One of the hardest parts of first drafting is the conflict between needing to think really hard to keep things moving, and having your brain freeze up and refuse to cooperate because it's being overused.

But one of the most advantageous things you can sometimes do with your writing is shut down the critical thinking part of your brain and write, letting words just fall out on the page the way they want without really bothering to think them over, like flicking a switch that causes the thoughts to bypass your frontal lobe and just flow out of your fingers. That is in fact how I am writing this article right here right now, and also how I managed to ace both my college-level English classes in twelfth grade.

Critical thinking is for subsequent drafts, when you go back through to edit; the first draft is for creativity, and somehow, paradoxically (one of our favorite things), creativity sometimes means turning ourselves off.

So as an exercise in turning off our critical thinking, this is the introduction to my 7-step program for using Improv to turn off our inner critics, get those words on the page, and finish that damn first draft as fast as possible.

What is Improv?

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, Improv is short for Improvisational Theatre, a genre of entertainment in which people come together and perform a piece that is written in the moment; there are no scripts, no pre-planned plot points, just whatever each person is bringing to the table.

Sometimes Improv takes the form of a game, like Emotional Elevator (in which each character represents on emotion, and infects the others in the elevator with that emotion until they leave), or just an interaction or story. Sometimes prompts are chosen from a hat, or by submission, or are taken from the audience to help establish the setting, plot, and characters.

Often Improv is comedic; the spontaneity of Improv provides endless opportunities for laughs. Other times, it can be more serious, and Improv bits can last only a few seconds or as much as several hours.

The Setup


-Set your goal; it could be a certain wordcount, number of chapters, whatever
-Set your deadline; how many days/weeks/months are you giving yourself to get this done?
  -Find your writing space; somewhere quiet and private is usually best, but wherever you can turn off your brain is a great place to be


The Rules

1. Yes, And

The cardinal rule of Improv is always say yes; its codependent companion is, then add an "and." In the context of Improv this means that whatever your partner states or proposes immediately becomes the truth; no matter how outlandish, they are always telling the truth, never lying. Even if you don't like what they've proposed--perhaps that you're a greedy fishmonger bitch, or that the sky is made of angel wings and the sea of hellfire--you have to accept it, because if you don't, the audience will stop trusting both of you.

Because Improv is all imaginary, it only works if the audience trusts that you're telling the absolute truth, so you have to roll with everything your partner says, and they have to roll with everything you've said.

Then, once they've brought something to the table, you bring something in the return--the and. Because a story doesn't move forward if something new doesn't happen!

In the context of this game/challenge/whatever you want to call it, Yes, And is a singular activity--you are providing both the Yes and the And.

"What the hell does that mean?" you may be asking, "Isn't that just normal writing?"

Well, yes and no; because for this goal period, I'm challenging you to write whatever comes to mind. No matter how ridiculous, off-topic, or just plain stupid it may seem, if it pops into your head, you write it. Then, once it's written down, you add the next thing that comes to mind.

It's vital that you go with the first idea that pops to mind, because only then can we properly tap into your subconscious and get you thinking without thinking. In Improv the golden rule is that the first idea is the best idea, but we often throw it away because we're insecure, worried that it's too much or not enough. Eschew that now; write the first thing that comes, and if it turns out not to be the best thing? Fix it in post. That's why we edit.

(Side note: After this process is finished, I do assure you that much editing will be necessary. This pursuit is about getting words out on the page, not making them perfect.)

2. No Buts

Another primary rule in Improv is No Buts, (not to be confused with butts, which are often used in Improv). If you add a but, it's an automatic denial; you're saying that the previous idea isn't good enough.

In this pursuit, it's fine for your characters to say but, but if you find yourself thinking, "But that wouldn't work!"/"But that doesn't make sense!"/"But" ANYTHING, then you're denying your own ideas; your confidence is incomplete, and you're letting it get in the way of your creativity.

Smash that But to smithereens and save it for the editing process! You have more important things to do right now! Namely, Write Write Write!!!

3. Justify

Sometimes when you find yourself wanting to add a "But" it's because something doesn't seem to make sense. It happens! But instead of denying this weird thing that doesn't make sense, we need to justify it instead. Slash that but and stick in a because instead, and give the context, to yourself or your readers!

Ex: "The sky is pink! But that doesn't make sense!" Becomes "The sky is pink! Because there's a thinner atmosphere and lots of red suspended dust in the air, like on Mars!"

This helps makes sense of that which is confusing, moves you along a path that makes sense to you, and keeps that dreaded But as far out of the equation as possible.

4. Quickly Establish Setting, Relationship, Plot

In Improv it's important to establish the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How as soon as you can; this is intertwined with your justifications above to some degree, but here we're largely talking about your scenework and character interactions. Sometimes we spend a long time meandering around things in real life, spiraling closer and closer to the point the longer we spend time in a place or with another person, but this often doesn't make for great fiction (unless done very well, with the intention of adding tension) so try cutting straight to the point:

Where are you? When is it and What is everyone doing? Who's there? What do your characters want, and Why? How are they planning to get what they want?

Establish these things fast so that the audience understands what's going on and can imagine the scene easily, then get into the juicy bits, the exciting stuff they came to see. As Chuck Wendig is fond of saying, skip the boring bits. If you're not having fun writing it, they're not having fun reading it, I can almost guarantee.

5. Give Yourself Gifts

In Improv, Gifts are the little tidbits of seemingly throw-away information that you and your Improv partners sprinkle throughout a conversation--the mention of your wife being pregnant, you have a blue ribbon in the National Scrap-Parts Bike-Making League Championships, you're an active member of an underground BDSM club exclusively for short doms and tall subs.

Whatever it is, the more information you give earlier on, the better it'll be for you later on, because you'll have more to pull from, and you get a better and better feel for your character as these details come out. And then, when something happens, you can pull on those Gifts to improve the story later on--maybe your characters need to get somewhere fast, so you build a bike out of the garbage in your apartment, or you need to abscond the scene so you get a text from your wife telling you she's having the baby, or someone says they recognize you from somewhere and you can be like, "You were my best mate's tall sub last weekend!"

We do this all the time in our writing and never think about it--little details that we give our characters "just because" become a big deal later on, and can even explode into entire character or plot arcs, or be the secret key to defeating the Ultimate Badass at his own game.

So in this exercise, give yourself gifts--give yourself lots of Gifts, don't be afraid to dig down into the depths of who your character really is, get all UP in those guts, sprinkle the breadcrumbs and then follow them home! It may just get your characters out of tight corners later, and having already established things as truth, it will feel much less like a Deus Ex Machina.

6. No Mistakes Only Happy Accidents

My first Improv teacher at AMDA, Katie Muchlin, was very fond of saying that "There are no mistakes, only happy accidents."

You are bound to make mistakes, in writing as in Improv as in life; when that happens, don't dwell on them. Justify what you have to justify and move on--and maybe that happy accident will turn out to be the single best thing that's ever happened in your story, you don't know!

Follow the breadcrumbs, Hansel, and when the bird eats them out from under you, take a deep breath, count to ten, and fumble through the dark because damn it you need to get Gretel the fuck home already, it's midnight and it's dark and you're like eight, literally anything could eat you. There is no time for tomfuckery and self-pity when you're mired in the depths of Creepy Forest Number Nine, Han. Just push through and everything will turn out alright.

7. Find A Button

You find a button at the end of a scene, both in Improv and in normal acting, but also in writing; the button is difficult to define, but you know it when you see it. It's the point at which it makes perfect sense to end the scene; everything that needs to be resolved is resolved, and all the questions that need to be raised have been raised. This is often the "oh snap" moment, or the witty oneliner.

Once my class played a game in which members of the audience would enter as members of a family with a unified theme; this theme was "criminal," and one after another children and parents and the like were revealed who were all terrible. A comment ("Gift") was made that one of the children was supposed to be watching the person they were keeping prisoner in the basement. So when the conflict was rising to a din and things were starting to get out of hand, I ran across the stage and screamed, "I'M FREEEEEEEEEE!"

That was an immediate button; at that point the class was in tears, nothing more could be said, any conflict that was going to be raised or absolved had been raised or absolved, and no one would miss the scene for its ending--and neither would anyone resent it its length.

We've all been in situations where we read a story or watch a show and a scene just goes on and on and on when it doesn't have to. Even if it's just a few lines too long, you can tell that whoever was writing the piece didn't know how to press the button, one they sometimes give to themselves. Next time that happens, keep an eye or ear or finger out for a place that seems like a natural ending point, where the scene could end and it wouldn't negatively impact the rest of the story at all.

The difficulty in Improv is finding that moment yourself, because it's all happening so quickly and there's so much going on at once. But we have to try.

So as you write your scenes, if you ever find yourself getting bored or stuck, find a button; think of it as an escape hatch, the big red button that says DO NOT PRESS and yet resolves all your problems; then pound that thing into the ground and keep moving. You have to keep that momentum under you or you'll stop to second-guess yourself.

8. Keep The Story Moving Forward

Speaking of keeping moving, did I mention you should keep moving?

Don't look back. Don't stop to tie your shoes or smell the flowers or roll in the grass; go, motherfucker, go go go, we're opening our parachutes in t-minus ten, and one's got your name on it!

Don't let this baby stall out, friend, you can do it, I believe in you! Just focus on the "And;" what is the next logical happening after the last happening? Or the next illogical happening, whichever comes to mind first. Do you know where this is all headed, where you plan to end up? If yes, aim that fucker and blast it. If not, then just run, dude, and you will find that path through the forest, even if you have to cook ten witches to do it.


9. Don’t Ask Questions


Another rule in Improv; don't ask questions. Why? Because questions are not information. Questions are, in fact, an admission of ignorance; you don't know this thing, the audience says? Why don't you know this thing? Aren't you supposed to be real?

And then they remember that they're paying to watch people pretend on an empty stage and their minds explode. Don't make your audience's mind explode; make statements, not questions.

Of course, you want your audience to ask questions, to keep them interested, but for this pursuit try focusing on making them ask "what's going to happen next" instead of "What's happening now?"

Don't ask questions of your audience; you are in control, you know everything for all intents and purposes (until we get to the editing stage at least), and that's what they need to believe. Try to steer away from characters asking questions when you can, too, because again, it provides no new information; it is an admission of, and often even a repetition of an admission of, ignorance. Sometimes that's necessary, sometimes it's not.

Don't worry, you'll get a feel for it eventually.

Really what this means in regards to your writing is BE CONFIDENT. You know your world, you know what's going on, don't waffle. This is your time to shine, and the more confident you are, the more your audience will believe in you.

10. End The Story In A Different Place Than It Began

     This seems obvious, and it kind of is; what's less obvious is that every scene is a story in and of itself.  This is a throwback to number seven, really; you want to end the story as a whole, but also every individual scene in a different place than the one in which it began.  Your characters are different people, or have a different relationship, or have changed their goals.

     This can help you find the button on every scene (and your story as a whole if you're kind of in the dark about where it needs to end).  Whenever you're unsure about where a scene should end, ask yourself if things are different now; do people know things they didn't know before?  Important things, not just baseball stats or the names of the cloud formations (unless those things are important to your plot of course)?  Have their plans changed?  Are they in a different place mentally, emotionally, physically?

     Make sure things are changing; if everything stays the same, the story is going nowhere.  Pretend you're a Robinson and Keep Moving Forward!

Conclusion

     And that's about it, really!  Hopefully, using these techniques, you'll be able to turn off that brain and bang out a great first draft.  Just remember:  Any first draft is a great first draft, no matter how patchwork or illegible; it is a first step, a very long, very hard first step, and you made it.

     Learning to run will be so much easier now that you've learned to walk.

Cheating Your Way To A NaNo Win, Part 2

     The other day I wrote a post about how to cheat your way through NaNoWriMo.
     Keeping in mind that these things will not necessarily make you a good NaNo novel, or even a finished NaNo novel, just a longer NaNo novel, here's some more cheat codes!


6.  What is your character thinking?

     That long bit of narration and headwork that you know is bad writing, and if ever published would rival the likes of even Twilight?  You know the one.  Where your character goes off on a long rant about how pretty it is out, and how much he likes flowers, or whether he's really in love with Billy the Cheerleader or Mandy the Jock, or if he's going to risk buying some edibles from Cynthia and Harlan Mayweather, because yeah, obviously they make the best stuff in town, but their mother is sort of the evil overlord of earth and she has this really strict policy against drugs that Cynthia and Harlan probably only get away with because of nepotism....
     That one?  It goes nowhere, it's not entertaining, it contributes nothing, you could more concisely convey the same information in like two sentences tops?
     Slap that bad boy down as drawn-out and useless as you like, my friend.  First drafts are for play, final drafts are for serious work.  Treat it like a free-write, like I just did up there; just set your fingers to the keyboard and let 'em fly!  No one will know the difference.
     Except for you, you dirty, dirty cheater.

7.  Lavish description

     Explain to me what the set looks like in vivid detail, tell me the exact shade of every single hair on the hero's head, and name every solitary scent in the princess's perfume; leave nothing unsaid, and employ every single last sense, even the extra ones!  Come on, it'll be fun!
     .... for you.
     Look, description for the sake of description?  As a reader, not my cup of tea.  But because it's not my cup of tea, as a writer I tend to under-dress my sets, which is great for the stage, where creative directors want to have all the leeway they can get, but for novels that makes it difficult to keep the reader interested--you risk having talking heads and bland settings.
     It's just so damn easy to overdo it, though--so don't even worry about it.  Just overdo it right from the start, all the words you want, all the description you like.  Then deal with the merciless cutting and hacking later, like with everything else on this list.

8.  Long dialogue

     Now, it helps if your characters are witty.  I know my characters having humorous back-and-forths about innocuous things (at least, innocuous to them) had to have made up at least a third of my NaNo Novel last year--my characters were funny, and if they wanted to show it off, who was I to stop them?
     I also delivered a lot of exposition through dialogue, which can also boost word count depending on how it's done, but witty dialogue is probably the best for boosting word count--even if it's just the characters thinking that they're witty.  Sometimes the more so, even, because people thinking they're witty tend to stumble and need correcting more often than others.
     You can also employ speech patterns to your advantage--in one of my WIPs from a while back a few of my characters have a habit of saying one another's names as a method of establishing dominance in a conversation, and I've had a character or two who liked to loop themselves around in webs of metaphor or simile, or who just plain liked run-on sentences (for whatever weird, totally not based-on-a-real-person reasons).
     As long as you keep those characters talking, your word count will keep climbing.  BUT....

9.  Try to avoid floating heads, but don't bite yourself if you can't

     Talking heads are terrible for a whole host of reasons I'll probably get into at some other time, but for now just know that a talking head occurs in a story when a character, or several characters, talks for an extended length of time with very few or no dialogue or action tags--so for six pages on end, there's just talk talk talk blather blather blather.
     And I get why--I've certainly done it before, it's easy, it just keeps flowing and flowing and flowing, and once you hit that speech rhythm it's hard to stop!--but talking heads are secretly killing your word count.  For every three spoken words you could be piling up a fourth outside of the quotation marks, just hanging out, relaxing, maxing all cool and the like; having your character perform actions as they speak will not only make your scene a million times more relevant/interesting, but it will also make that word count skyrocket, and, my good man or woman or nonbinary or genderless individual, I do believe that is why you are here.
     And this one's not even a cheat!  Totally legal.

10.  Include needless scenes if need be

     Much like those rambling headspace dealies, if there's a scene you know will never, ever make it into your finished novel, but you're running out of options?  Toss it in there.  Is it an AU fanfic of the story?  In fact, is it a fanfic of any type?  Did you write a poem or a short story?  Do you have less respect for the novel in and of itself than for the creativity upon which NaNo was founded?  Then toss it the fuck in, my friend!
     Tons of people do this--rather than attempt to write a novel this upcoming NaNo, a lot of people will attempt to slap down 50k in blog posts, in short stories, in poems, in paperwork, in scattered bits and pieces of whatever they can write in a month, because to a lot of people, NaNoWriMo is less about the novels than it is about the creativity and the community and the kinship you find within those thirty days.  NaNoWriMo is about more than writing novels, guys; it's about using the constraints of time to accomplish a creative goal, with an army of like-minded individuals to back you up.
     So maybe finishing your novel isn't going to be what's up this NaNo, but creativity will be, and part of creativity is knowing when to adapt your goals and the methods you use to get to them.
     Maybe that means using this list of technically-not-really-cheats to flesh out your word count for your novel; maybe that means writing at certain times of the day when you know you're at your creative peak.
     Or maybe it means deciding that a novel was never the real goal in the first place.

     Happy NaNoing my friends!  ... Even if it is February....

How to Cheat Your Way to a NaNoWriMo Win

     *GASP!*  Cheat on NaNoWriMo!?
     Now before I launch into this bad boy saddles a-burning, let me just say that the use of these tactics is not going to necessarily net you a good NaNo novel, or even a finished NaNo novel, but it will help you up your word count, and who knows, using some of these tactics might help you flesh out the story in your own mind, if nothing else.
     Just remember that once all is said and done and you have a finished novel in your hands, you're going to want to litter the cutting-room floor, probably in a pretty major way.
     SO, now that that's out of the way.....

1.  Adverbs and adjectives

     Adverbs are the little things that modify verbs, which everyone and her sister will tell you is Bad Writing™.  Usually they're words with "ly" at the end, like "clearly" or "slowly."  Adjectives are the same thing, but with nouns, and are usually referred to as descriptor words, ie, "beautiful," "deadly," "shiny," etc.
     Lots of writers will tell you that adverbs and adjectives (but mostly adverbs) are to be cut out of your writing at any and all costs; that's silly, of course.  But it's important not to overuse adverbs or adjectives in your writing, or things can get clunky.  Clunky is what first drafts are all about, though, so if you're looking to bump word count, these guys can help you out, at least temporarily.

2.  Use needlessly complicated sentences

     *sucks breath through teeth*  I really don't recommend this one, I mean... hhhhhh, there's no need to needlessly complicate things, but hey, if Occam's Razer isn't for you, who am I to judge?  Just make sure you simplify things down the road.  And that you do not don't not forget what it was that in the first place you were attempting to try to accomplish.
     (it's your funeral)

3.  Write parts that haven't happened yet

     This one I really do recommend--it's what I do.  When I have an idea for an upcoming scene, instead of risking its loss by waiting until the "appropriate" time to write it, I just type it up right in the document--usually at the top--then later I can copy and paste it into place no problem, and it's not even technically cheating since it was supposed to be in your story all along.


4.  Write parts that won't make it into the final cut

     This gets us back into the pseudo-cheat territory, but it's also something that I do so *applies the fuck-it adjustment* why not share it with the world.
     That scene where those two characters do nothing but banter and chat about stuff that has nothing to do with the story?  The one that you know, just know, even as you write it, is going to end up on the chopping block as soon as you go back to edit?
     Steer into the train crash my friend.  Play chicken with that sucker and watch from an out-of-body experience as you and your car are totally mangled by its twenty-ton onslaught.
     Okay, so that's a bit melodramatic; you aren't going to die.  Not from this, at least.  Probably.  I mean, I'm not a doctor or a lawyer or anything, so anything's possible.  Probably you'll just have some extra words to cut later--maybe a few extra darlings to murder.
     I know you're capable of it, though, you have big, strong arms, and what else would those garden shears be for, we're in the middle of LA for crying out loud!  I'm sure you've done it before.
     Wow, my metaphors are really just running away from me tonight.
     My point is, this is a harmless crime, and can in fact be helpful--sometimes the most telling moments we have are the ones that occur when nothing big or life-altering is happening, the little things we do in the dark that no one will ever know we did.  Sometimes the audience needs to see scenes like that, but a lot of the time it fucks with the pacing or doesn't move anything along, etc, etc, and will ultimately need to be cut; but if it's informed your work on the character, then even being cut out, it has served a very valuable purpose.

5.  When you're stuck, skip ahead and come back later

     Tied into the two above is the age old, "Do It Later" approach.  Which, contrary to what you may suspect, especially since this article is supposed to be all about cheating, is a really solid method; sometimes something with the current portion of the plot or dialogue or what have you is tripping you up, and you just need a breather.  That's life!  Sometimes you just don't have the tools to deal with something in that moment.
     What do you do when that happens?  Well, if you had all the time in the world you might get up, go someplace new, do some research, have an adventure!  But since you're a Writer and are both slave to the written word and to the sacrificial blood oath you made upon avowing to write 50k in 30 days, you don't have time for that.  Probably not the energy, either.  Plus it's cold in November, and it's probably raining today, and all your good coats are still in storage because you don't really want to admit it's winter yet, and....
     You get the picture.
     So one of the best ways to shake it up is to just skip ahead.  Narrow down what's causing the issue and bypass it completely.  Maybe writing a little will shake that crud loose for later, and if not, you can write it during the editing phase, when taking long breaks to stare at your manuscript and scream is considered healthy and reasonable.
     Sometimes you just need to work on something else for a whi


     And then the dreaded corkscrew blunderbussss threw down its MIGHTY HAMMER, and...

3 Strategies To Keep You Writing

     Writing is work, and as with any type of work, different routines work differently for different people--but over the years I've found a number that work for me, and may work for you as well.  These 3 strategies are good for generating ideas, developing your characters, and increasing your word count and quality.

1.  Write in the mornings

     Generally, the later in the day it is the harder it is for us to get our write on.  There's a certain amount of energy we have each day that is expended in every activity, and our creativity sometimes corresponds to this energy--in the morning, we theoretically have the most energy.  Whether this is practically true or not, it generally is true that our minds are clearest in the morning, before we have time to clutter our consciousness with worries and concerns and problems galore.
     If you develop a morning routine in which writing is one of the first things you do, you'll find that you make more progress--you're able to write more words quicker, and the stuff you come up with isn't terrible.  You don't have to spend the rest of the day worrying about it, either--if you accomplish your daily writing goal earlier on it's done and over with, and you can put your mind to other things.  Plus, there's less chance that you'll be too tired by day's end to even get started, which is always at risk; it's really easy to get tired and say "I'll do it tomorrow" (which is, of course, where creativity goes to die).


2.  Tell yourself the story

     When I say "tell yourself the story," I mean out loud--talk to yourself!  Narrate dramatically while you're in the garden or practice dialogue in the shower, act out all the parts if it feels right!  Speaking out loud is how we organize our thoughts.  It helps clear things up and gives a sound and feeling to the language you use.  It also engages a different set of creative pieces in your brain, since you're focused on sound and flow rather than visual appearance; it's like slam poetry, only with prose.
     And don't worry about other people thinking you're crazy.  Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

3.  When you're stuck, write the easy scenes

     I like to write in chronological order.  I usually know about how my endings will turn out, but holding myself back from working on it gives me something to look forward to--an incentive, if you will ("come on, Coates, two hundred more pages and we can write that silky smooth fun part, you can do it!")--but when I get stuck, really, truly stuck, I find it can help to skip around and write the parts of the novel you know will happen, but haven't gotten to yet.  It helps to get the creative juices flowing, and can sometimes reignite your passion for a project you've grown a bit cold for.
     It doesn't have to be perfect or line up with where the story eventually ends up exactly since nothing is perfect in your first draft, but it gets the thoughts out and leaves room for new ones.  They say that while you're working on something your subconscious mind is always trying to solve problems in the background, so this lets you act productive while giving yourself some problem-solving time.
     Plus if tomorrow you come down with amnesia, you'll know what general direction your story is headed in!

     There are millions of writing strategies you can take advantage of, and I encourage you to try as many as possible--what you're doing now may work best, but how will you know until you compare it to what else is out there?  Maybe your current methods actually suck ass, or maybe they've done great for you--but you might still be able to do better!
     What strategies work best for you?

Word Count Hangman

     It can be hard to meet your word count goal.  Whether you're writing a novel, a poem, or a short story, sometimes we get hung up or frustrated, or (most insidious of all) we convince ourselves that we can "just do it tomorrow," which as many writers know is how books end up six feet under.
     To help with this process, you can check out a tricks-and-tips article here OR you can play this nifty little game I made up called Word Count Hangman.  It's like regular Hangman, only word count-ier

The Set Up:

     Print out a picture of one of the following:

          ~You
          ~Someone you love
          ~A beloved character from your current project

     I recommend option three if you're dealing in fiction, but they all work.  Just make sure that it's a full-body image, and not the original.  Cut off each of the limbs and set up a piece of cork board (or a piece of construction paper, etc.) above your writing space and get some tape or tacks together; set up the gallows, decide on your word count, and get to work!

The Game Play:

     If you miss your word count for the day, a body part goes up.  If all the body parts go up, you lose and your character/loved one is dead!  You can add your own consequences for a loss, or go up against another writing buddy to see who is the last to miss all X# of writing days (or hang the other one first, if that's what gets those fingers tapping!).
     If you have no one to compete against and want to make the game a little more interesting, add a second board; one for heroes and one for villains.  For every word count goal you MISS, your protagonist comes one step closer to their untimely demise, but for every goal met your ANTAGONIST comes another step closer to death.
     The game resets every so often, depending on your expertise: once a week for beginners, once a month for experts, and once a year for those of you who really want to murder something you love.

The Rules:

1.  Be honest.  The only person you hurt by giving yourself slack is you; if this isn't motivating enough a game for you, maybe you should give something else a try.
2.  If you're competing with someone else, make sure to discuss things like resets and limb numbers beforehand to level the playing field.
4. Possibly the most important rule of all, have fun!  What is the purpose of writing if not to enjoy oneself?

If you have any suggestions to spice up the game, just let me know!  Maybe they'll make it into version 2.0 ;)

A Few Ways To Elevate Wordcount

     Camp NaNoWriMo has come, and if you're anything like me, you may be throwing yourself whole-heartedly into the fray.  Also like me, you may, at any time of the year, have some trouble meeting your daily word count goals.  But never fear!  TheSpiderWriter is here, and with a few different methods to help you reach them!


1. Hold yourself accountable.

     Yes, yes, this seems fairly self-evident, but for some people it works really well!  Just set a goal for yourself, and take something you enjoy doing, then don't allow yourself to do it until you finish.        Conversely, you can take something you dislike doing, and force yourself to do it if you don't meet your goal--like drinking straight vinegar or (if you're a vinegar-loving freak like me) playing the game you most hate with your most insufferable family member at least once through.
     But if that doesn't work, you can always....


2. Have someone ELSE hold you accountable.

    Sometimes asking yourself to not give in to temptation is just too much; how can you resist the siren song of white chocolate chip cookies?  How can you say no to a dip in your jacuzzi (u successful author superhero u)?  Why would you stick your paper-cut hand into a vat of lemon juice?  In cases like this, sometimes a little external motivation is necessary, which means that it's time to bring in a partner in crime.  Ask someone close to you to do the "holding accountable" for you--give them the key to your DVD chest and ask them never to allow you into it if you can't show them a verified word count first, or have them wake you by dousing you in ice cold water if you didn't meet your goal the night before.
     As long as it gets you working, then it's a success!


3. Pit yourself against someone

     For some people, rewards and punishments just don't work.  Maybe you don't have the resources available to you to make the reward/punishment system feasible, or perhaps you find the rules a little too arbitrary to follow.  Whatever the case, there are alternatives.
     Competition is part of nature, and some of us are more competitive than others; writers are usually very self-competitive, so you could do something like try to beat your record for most words in a month; to make it real, set up a winner's wall where you record your score every time you push the envelope, or a shame space where you record each new low.
     If that doesn't work, ask your friends and family.  There are bound to be other writers in the thick of the it who are looking for the same upper you are.  If there's no one around, hit up Twitter or Tumblr or (spirit of the season!) sign up for Camp NaNoWriMo and spend time competing with strangers.  You never know who might turn out to be a true fiend at the end of the experience, either.
     It's worth a shot!

4. Stay in your lane

     It seems like a silly thing, but make sure you stay within your range.  I mean, it seems obvious if you tend toward high counts not to pick a battle with someone too low, but don't reach too high, either.  Yes, you want someone who's going to challenge you, but not someone who's going to smother you!  I've been the person leagues ahead of another, and as much as I try to encourage my friends, it only seems to hurt them.  You become daunted by the task ahead and give up, feeling that you'll never catch up to the giants around you.
     If your nightly word count is 150, you might want to try to befriend someone whose count is around 200; the competition is more fair and the two of you will be more able to help each other grow and pick up speed.  The same is true of the 4.5--6k range, or the 1--2.5k range; the more equally skilled the players, the fiercer and more beneficial the competition.

     But above all, my wonderful witticising writers, don't forget to keep your expectations of yourself realistic.  You can set all the 100,000 words-a-night goals you want, with all the rewards and punishments and support systems you think appropriate, but all you're going to do is kill yourself.
     Unless that goal is somehow realistic for you, in which case please share with me your secrets, as I, too, would like to exchange this mortal coil for the eternal rewards of deification, and would be happy to offer my companionship as compensation.
     And the rest of you mortals out there, let me know about all your down-and-dirty tricks--it's bound to help someone!