Staying focused on writing

[The Raven]

Here is a question for anyone else working on Rifter submissions and for the freelancers. What do other people do to stay focused on finishing a submission? The closer I get to finishing this submission, the harder it is to stay focused on it and get it sent in. Instead, I'm tending to bounce over to a new project which has my attention.

[13eowulf]

... Alcohol

I kid. If I knew the answer to this I would seriously consider submitting works.

[The Galactus Kid]

Here is a question for anyone else working on Rifter submissions and for the freelancers. What do other people do to stay focused on finishing a submission? The closer I get to finishing this submission, the harder it is to stay focused on it and get it sent in. Instead, I'm tending to bounce over to a new project which has my attention.

Time management...at which I am extremely bad. Seriously, set a goal for yourself of when you want to have it done, and then set a goal for when you want to have it edited and have revisions made. Have someone to hold you accountable to it and it should all work out.

[The Dark Elf]

My limited experience tells me to actually get distracted! You're not a professional writer and you dont have deadlines so if you want to write something else do so. When you're ready revisit it, go back. You will be fresh and when when you re-read what you wrote you can review it better and you will be in a better frame of mind to write something great!
Plus, you've written other stuff too and the more you write the better you'll be, even without any feedback. Fact.

[The Raven]

Plus, you've written other stuff too and the more you write the better you'll be, even without any feedback. Fact.

Shawn Merrow and Robyn Stott can both vouch for how much I've written. I've got more projects underway then I can count but most fall victim to me losing focus at the end and starting something new. I just want to get a couple of these submissions done, sent in, and have proof that either I am a semi-decent writer or a producer of drivel.

[zor_prime1]

Don't worry that you have other projects that distract you. It's a good sign of a fertile mind. Take the time to spend on those other ideas. Don't let them die. Document the brainstorms and ideas so you don't forget them. HOWEVER, that last push to polish the article is the most difficult because it's the most tedious. Remember: "Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration".

What I do at this point after I let the article sit for a while and work on other ones, I set a deadline for myself to finish the original and set aside time to do it. During this period I carry around a printed copy of my article folded up in my pocket with a pencil. Any downtime I get, I read it over and mark changes. Life happens of course, but eventually with effort and vigilance, you'll have a good set of corrections to put into the word processing file. It does take time.

I've noticed that reviewing the article in this fashion will reveal weaknesses, inconsistencies, holes and growth areas. In fact, this may sound odd, but is an inspiring time to let your article reach new hights. I've found myself writing whole new sections because I see potential of a certain area. Heck, even filling in the holes and incosistencies can breed new inspiration and fun. This often has become the new distraction that pulled me away from other articles. Trust me, it can seem tedius but it's very useful. Don't be too afraid of new concepts and sections. Push them as far as you can or feel comfortable. Plus make sure they fit.

A deadline is effective. I usually set my dates around holidays, vacations, work travel or other 'special' events where I can set aside the time. I've spent holiday's and weekends reading, noting and typing. The more I work on them, the more I usually obsess.

Once you get a version of the document that you are satisfied with, have another set of eyes read them. Have them be as honest, yet constructive as possible. It may hurt, but it's for the best. At this point, I usually find that others will easily find oddly constructed sentences, repeated information and incomplete sentences.

I can vouch for what others have said, "The more you write, the better you'll be, even without any feedback. Fact."

What I've done for the articles I've submitted is noticed these stages in the article writing process:
Stage 1) Brainstorming and inspirational stage. Document all ideas, big and small and don't discriminate any of them. Some that don't fit may spawn into their own ideas and articles. It's happened to me more than once.
Stage 2) Solidifying of concept and parameters. Review the ideas you've got, organize them and group them together in organized sections.
Stage 3) Distractions of other ideas and life sprinkled intermittently
Stage 4) Fleshing out ideas and information that the GM and Players would need to know. Too much fluff detail will lose your readers. If you want to put those details in their own section at the end with a title stating it's historical or additional is a good option. It won't detract from the heart of the article. Put enough to make it useful and explain it so that it makes sense. In my latest article, The Kezel, I had a ton of back history that I omitted. Infact, it left the question open, "Are they human?" which is a reason to encourage the reader to explore them more to decide for themselves.
Stage 5) Consolidating sections of detail with titles. Group the information in an organized and logical fashion. If you need to mention an idea that hasn't been detailed yet, you can refer to that section later in the article.
Stage 6) Next, let the article rest and age. Work on other things, read books, role-play, and other creative verbs. Take a few weeks at least. If you have other brainstorms during this time, write them down and go to stage 5.
Stage 7) Print the article and make it portable. The margins and parenthesis breaks are necissary. Re-read it. Look for the weaknesses, questions, inconsistencies, holes and growth areas. As stated before, these are rich areas to add more detail and ideas. You can do this is multiple fashions: review sections at a time and put them in your file as you can or the whole article before entering the changes into your file. I've done both.
Stage 8 ) After running through stage 7 several times until I'm satisfied, have a second or third pair of eyes read it. Make sure they can understand the concept, that the order flows and that it's detailed enough to let someone that doesn't know the concept learn it. Check for good flow of the sections, paragraphs and sentences.
Stage 9) Make corrections from the auditors. Do one last read for yourself.
Stage 10) Submit it using the guidlines provided by Wayne.
Stage 11) Work on your other ideas and articles to help you wait.

That's my process anyway.

In any case don't let those great ideas go unfinished. You'll be glad you got them done. After a few, you'll find that it's not so aweful to get through the last stages. It is difficult to get motivated sometimes. When you do, I find that walks and excercise, setting aside the time and laughably procrastinating something else (that's not overly important) help motivate me. As long as it doesn't cause problems, taking the time for yourself, not just waiting for the convenient time, seems to work well for me. Convenient times seem to end up as 'boring' time.

Sorry for the LONG post.

Best of luck! Let us know if you have any other questions. There are plenty of people here to offer advice.

[Ravenwing]

Plus, you've written other stuff too and the more you write the better you'll be, even without any feedback. Fact.

Shawn Merrow and Robyn Stott can both vouch for how much I've written. I've got more projects underway then I can count but most fall victim to me losing focus at the end and starting something new. I just want to get a couple of these submissions done, sent in, and have proof that either I am a semi-decent writer or a producer of drivel.

I have this exact problem to!

At anyone time I have half a dozen novels I'm working on, Rifter Articles, Sourcebooks, and Games. Yeah, they'll probably never see print, primarily because I can't ever seem to finish them. Its weird. When I start a new one, I get so fixated on it that I can't think of anything else. Then all of a sudden, like a dog seeing a squirrel, I suddenly get a new idea, completely unrelated to what I'm working on and then BAM! I've lost focus on the first project and moved on to another, and I can't for the life of me get back to the first project until I get through the second.

But it never works out, because a forth, and fifth, and sixth, and..well you get the idea, pops into me head and I'm off again. After a few months I get back to the first project, and suddenly it starts again, but only after I've revised a lot of the original work.

[Kovoston]

My assitant helps me keep on track and get moving, and my 'play-testers' do too!!

[Spinachcat]

Commit to finishing the project.

Not some namby pampy "I'll do it soon", but a hardcore commitment to yourself that by Date XYZ, your draft will be completed and hammer it into your mind that this date must be obeyed.

Hitting deadlines, especially self-imposed ones, is a muscle. It only gets stronger with sweat and blood exercise. It ain't easy and can be gut-wrenching, but finishing projects rocks so hard.

[Juce734]

I do the same thing as others have stated. I get an idea that I think is really good and then a little bit into it I get a new idea. On top of that I just have too many hobbies as well that pull me away from writing. Meh maybe one day I will just man up and do a project to finish.

[Warwolf]

I was just having this discussion with one of my artist-friends today. I often limit the media I consume in my leisure time to that which is similar to what I'm working on. I find that if I'm doing Nightbane I need to avoid fantasy, sci-fi, etc. and stick with darker, horror-type stuff. Otherwise, I find myself inspired to work on projects in other genres and leave the current one high and dry.

Other than that, accountability is the key. Specifically, I found it really easy to stay on-task when I co-wrote with Irvin. Knowing that something HE was investing his time into would be delayed if I didn't make my deadlines kept me pretty motivated to get things finished. Now, knowing that the Nightbane fans haven't gotten a new book in going over two years is spurring me to complete Dark Designs. So contract with someone that will keep you honest.

[The Galactus Kid]

I was just having this discussion with one of my artist-friends today. I often limit the media I consume in my leisure time to that which is similar to what I'm working on. I find that if I'm doing Nightbane I need to avoid fantasy, sci-fi, etc. and stick with darker, horror-type stuff. Otherwise, I find myself inspired to work on projects in other genres and leave the current one high and dry.

Other than that, accountability is the key. Specifically, I found it really easy to stay on-task when I co-wrote with Irvin. Knowing that something HE was investing his time into would be delayed if I didn't make my deadlines kept me pretty motivated to get things finished. Now, knowing that the Nightbane fans haven't gotten a new book in going over two years is spurring me to complete Dark Designs. So contract with someone that will keep you honest.

These are really good points. I've never tried the first, and probably should. As for accountability, it is probably the most important element when worrking with a partner.