Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hello!

Here is where members can post their tips and suggestions for getting their rear in gear to create and actually attain reachable goals.

Tips posted will be compiled into one long list, so suggest away!

• Find a certain time of day (or night) that gets your creative juices flowing. Whether it be late at night after school or work, or in the wee hours of the morning, or heck, whenever you can possibly find the time, find what works and then STICK TO IT.
  
  
• Don't go a single day without writing SOMETHING down. Be it five pages or five words or ONE word, just write something. Anything.
  
  
• What I find works is if for some reason you've stopped writing your story (i.e. lost interest, writer's block, etc...) try re-reading the entire thing. Not from the most interesting part or from where you've left off, but from the very beginning. Usually you'll pick up little strings that you can elaborate on, or it'll jog your memory up a bit, but hopefully your work will inspire you and encourage you to complete your goal. (This works best with novels, as one does not regularly re-read 30,000 words or so every time they write.)
  
  
• Keep track of how much you've done. Oh, you're in the right place for the latter part. But, counting down how much you have left is fun and encouraging too.
  
  
• It's also important not to write too much at once! If you burn yourself out trying to do 10K words a night for week after week, your brain will turn crispy and delicious. You don't want that! ...your own word mileage may vary, but it will go up the more you write.
  
  
• Try to keep your mind stimulated in other ways. Read with genres or topics not pertaining to your book (Ray Bradbury said that, not me). Take an arts and crafts break. Dance, pace or go for a walk. Have a conversation with someone strange and new.
  
  
• Remember that it's OK to write mediocre things. You can fix them later.
  
  
• Eat things that help you think! Every person thinks better on different foods, so it's important to recognize what works for you. Feel sleepy and untalented after Twinkies? Don't eat Twinkies if you're going to write. I know peanut butter sandwiches and roast turkey do my muse in like nothing else... don't be too enthusiastic about cutting fat and carbs though. Your brain needs those to run.
  
  
• And, seriously, try coffee! Real coffee is neither good for you nor bad for you as long as you don't overdo it. Don't care much for coffee? Try making/having it made a different way. Or a different roast or temperature.

Looking forward to your tips!

Keep track of how much you've done. Oh, you're in the right place for that.

It's also important not to write too much at once! If you burn yourself out trying to do 10K words a night for week after week, your brain will turn crispy and delicious. You don't want that! ...your own word mileage may vary, but it will go up the more you write.

Try to keep your mind stimulated in other ways. Read with genres or topics not pertaining to your book (Ray Bradbury said that, not me). Take an arts and crafts break. Dance, pace or go for a walk. Have a conversation with someone strange and new.

Remember that it's OK to write mediocre things. You can fix them later.

Eat things that help you think! Every person thinks better on different foods, so it's important to recognize what works for you. Feel sleepy and untalented after Twinkies? Don't eat Twinkies if you're going to write. I know peanut butter sandwiches and roast turkey do my muse in like nothing else... don't be too enthusiastic about cutting fat and carbs though. Your brain needs those to run.

And, seriously, try coffee! Real coffee is neither good for you nor bad for you as long as you don't overdo it. Don't care much for coffee? Try making/having it made a different way. Or a different roast or temperature.