Do you have any advice on writing fast? How do you get chapters out every month š
To be honest, I can't really give you a proper answer on that! What works for me might now work for you, and "just get really into it" means pretty much nothing lol
I type very quickly, so that'll definitely help me to get stuff done and sorted faster. If I'm wanting to get a chapter out sooner rather than later, I'll also keep my phone away from me and also face-down!
My biggest issue personally is becoming distracted. Sometimes I'll get bored or just crave something else and will start watching YouTube or scrolling on social media instead of writing (partially the reason I have a <1 hour limit on my most used apps).
Something that helps me a lot that I recommend is Writer-bot on Discord! It's a bot that you invite to servers, private, solo, or otherwise. You start these writing sprints where you decide how long you get to write, and once your time is up, you give the bot your current word count and it'll give you how many words you wrote during the sprints and how many words you write a minute. How long you do them for is entirely up to you.
For me, having a strict time limit seriously helps me focus. Rather than getting bored and sitting on Discord, or scrolling on my phone, I put my full attention onto writing. It doesn't necessarily make me write faster, as that would mess with the quality of my work, but it stops me from wandering off or getting distracted by anything else. Sometimes, I'll do writing sprints for an hour, other times I just settle for 10-15 minutes. Any progress is still progress!
Having an outline or notes for each chapter does help, even if it's just your aims rather than a full plan. Such as "Reader goes to [place], reader learns more about [plot point], reader and [character] conflicts rise because of [action]."
If you're struggling to think of something for your plan, I recommend staying away from screens. I write on my PC, so if I'm struggling, I might go and stand outside or pace in a different room. If I sit in my chair, I'll either just stare at the wall, or pick up my phone. Even just hopping in the shower or something helps. Any change of scenery that doesn't involve a screen.
I like listening to music when I draw or write, but if I'm writing, I'll struggle if the music I'm listening to has words in it. So I'll usually pick music or ambience on YouTube, or listen to music from Skyrim or something like that!
But know that how fast you write, or how many chapters you post/finish doesn't discredit your work or how 'good' of an author you are. Don't force yourself if you can't write a chapter a month! You'll just get burnt out or start seeing writing as a miserable chore.
If you want to try and write more or write faster, start slow. Maybe place other devices away from you where you can't see their screens and use writer-bot or a timer and set small limits. Maybe every day, every few days, or even just once a week or two, set aside 20 minutes and write as much as you can. Any new words is progress!
There are times when I've started a sprint and just stared at my screen because I've lost my train of thought, then there are other times where I didn't feel motivated at all but seta sprint anyway, and came up with 800 words in 20 minutes! You've just gotta figure out what works for you :D take your time!
