000 Words Per Day Writing Challenge
11-12-2017, 04:29 PM
No doubt some of you guys will be interested in this.
I've been reading a lot lately about applying gamification principles to life and work as a way to get more shit done and enjoy the process more. The things that make video games addicting tap into deep human psychology, and we can draw on the same principles to stick with commitments. While doing some searching around, I came across this cool software program called "Write or Die." Check it out here:
https://www.writeordie.com/
You basically set a writing pace, word count, and time you want to write in the program and just start tapping out some words. It depends on which mode you choose, but the basic idea is if you stop writing for a little bit, a loud annoying sound starts going off - great motivation if you take your laptop to a coffee shop or other public location where you'll get dirty looks if your laptop starts blaring at you.
There's an encouraging mode where it'll show you pics of a kitten or something else you choose and make supposedly comforting noises as you pass milestones, but this feature seems a little hokey to me so far - might have to toy with it more.
The "Write or Die" name alludes to a kamikaze mode that will start deleting your vowels if you spend too much time sitting there not writing. I guess in the original version it would delete your entire text if you stalled out too long. That'll keep you moving...
It also has a stats feature that records your word counts, words per minute, etc.
I have only used this twice now, but I see potential in it and am going to continue using it for my writing sessions throughout the day. Not only does it help to keep your fingers moving and not overthinking your work, but I think gamifying the writing process will help a lot for engaging you more in the process, as the rewards of writing are typically so far in the future.
It costs $20, but if you look at the guy's Facebook page, there is a link to a discounted version for $10 that is still valid even though it was from a year ago.
By the way, one issue I see is that the guy doesn't have any activity on his Facebook page for a year or so. For this reason, I wonder if this program will eventually be too outdated, but it's simple enough I can't see it needing a ton of updates, and if you found enough value in it I'm sure something like this wouldn't be too expensive to have programmed.
I'm also thinking of starting a small LINE group if you some of you want to try doing writing sprints together. Writing sprints are basically timed sessions where you write as much as you can, and doing it with other writers and reporting back with word counts can be a good way to stay motivated. Let me know if anyone thinks this would be something they'd like to put together.
Reminder: Next month is National Novel Writing Month. Basically you just commit to busting out a novel in 20 days or something like that (I may be fuzzy on the details as I've never done it). Anyone considering? Here's the link to the official page:
https://nanowrimo.org/
Beyond All Seas
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling