I’m much more go with the flow than planning. I think it’s because I’m trying to write every day, and I don’t treat the challenge articles as much different than my other work; I pick an idea, let it sit in my head for a day or two, then write somewhere between 700 and 1500 words about it. My next step for any particular article is crap for competitions; I wait six months and come back to the article for a revision. It might be a minor thing I change; sometimes it’s a full rewrite. But I need that space between the initial draft and the next to clear my head and come at the idea fresh.
Thanks! I started doing as a mental health thing after my kids were born (right at the beginning of the pandemic) and I needed something to help me stay sane. Doing it every day was the only way for me to keep going, and I needed to keep going. I had to shed some perfectionist tendencies to do it, and that helped me a lot; I know not everything I write is great, but the important thing is that I wrote something. And over time, the practice is helping on the quality front.
I love seeing writing and worldbuilding helping people's mental health. When I try doing daily things, I often struggle to follow it and it's incredibly easy to drop out as soon as I skip one day. But trying to do stuff in some sort of schedule with a bit of wiggle run seems to be working with me (tested with these articles and swordtember!).
You put your finger right on why I don’t skip a day; if I skip one day, I am very likely to skip another, and another, and it all falls apart. But the important thing is to find what works for you; it sounds like you have found the right balance for you!
I’m much more go with the flow than planning. I think it’s because I’m trying to write every day, and I don’t treat the challenge articles as much different than my other work; I pick an idea, let it sit in my head for a day or two, then write somewhere between 700 and 1500 words about it. My next step for any particular article is crap for competitions; I wait six months and come back to the article for a revision. It might be a minor thing I change; sometimes it’s a full rewrite. But I need that space between the initial draft and the next to clear my head and come at the idea fresh.
That's a lovely "schedule"! I doubt I could commit to writing/editing an article a day, so it's impressive what you do!
Thanks! I started doing as a mental health thing after my kids were born (right at the beginning of the pandemic) and I needed something to help me stay sane. Doing it every day was the only way for me to keep going, and I needed to keep going. I had to shed some perfectionist tendencies to do it, and that helped me a lot; I know not everything I write is great, but the important thing is that I wrote something. And over time, the practice is helping on the quality front.
I love seeing writing and worldbuilding helping people's mental health. When I try doing daily things, I often struggle to follow it and it's incredibly easy to drop out as soon as I skip one day. But trying to do stuff in some sort of schedule with a bit of wiggle run seems to be working with me (tested with these articles and swordtember!).
You put your finger right on why I don’t skip a day; if I skip one day, I am very likely to skip another, and another, and it all falls apart. But the important thing is to find what works for you; it sounds like you have found the right balance for you!