Wattpad India Awards 2021

Learn: Writing Plan

So, you've decided to write a new story for Wattpad India Awards 2021. 

You will most probably think of a plot, come up with some nice names for your characters, start to write the story and then go through many phases during that as well. But, the question we ask today is - how much time do you spend during all these stages? 

What if you spend too much time in planning and plotting that there's very little left for writing? What if you get so engrossed in writing that by the time the submissions start, there's no time left for editing? 

Well, that's our topic of Fun n' Learn today. 

By our math, if you write about 500 words a week, you'll have enough of a story to be eligible for the Wattpad India Awards 2021 by the time submissions open in October. If you wish for your story to be considered for the SuperWinner prize, you'd need to write about 2,000 words a week to finish it before the submissions start. Then you could sit calmly and edit your story during the submission period (that gives you about 30 days of editing).

[NOTE: You can read all the eligibility criteria for Wattpad India Awards 2021 here.]

Remember, there's no maximum word count limit for your story, so writing 500 words a week is a pretty feasible goal. It probably seems small, and you're even thinking you could go for 1,000 words a week, or 3,000 or even 5,000. If you feel confident, by all means, go for it!

But, remember we all struggle in engaging with writing for an extended period and you can't beat it with willpower. Here are some things to keep in mind when you're planning out your writing:

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Plan to work for 30-60 minutes at a time and then change to a completely different task for 15-30 minutes that engages your mind in a different way (go for a walk, cook a snack, watch a your favorite YouTuber, read a book, call a friend, or just watch a daily soap).

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Aim for small, achievable goals that you can celebrate and reward. It's very difficult for people to work on something and not feel rewarded for their efforts along the way. Nobody is immune to this.

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Be okay with sometimes missing the goal or failing and don't plan on making it up elsewhere. The pressure created from a missed goal and then doubling up the next day can really weigh on you and make it even harder and set off a spiral.

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Keep checking-in with your plan to remind yourself what you're doing. You might want to update it at certain points or you may be deviating without even realizing it.

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Don't be afraid to break the plan. Just don't avoid planning because you think you're going to break it anyways; even if it's only a couple of notes and pretty abstract. If you want, allocate time on, say, weekends, to check in with your plan and see if you want to add/change anything.

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Lastly, aim for multiple short-term deadlines (for example, finishing a chapter before next weekend) instead of aiming for a single long-term deadline. No matter how much or how little you have to write, your mind will divide the task into the period of time and it will only lead to you procrastinating. So set short-term goals and take one day at a time.

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Plan your celebrations! Note where you'll be done or when you'll finish a major arc or have written a big moment and then appropriately reward yourself. Maybe even take a day off.

This should hopefully get you started on your way. It's important to note these are just best practices, but they aren't necessarily absolute or concrete. There will always be cases where other techniques worked for you instead. Don't be afraid to explore them either.

Give it some thought before you start writing, give yourselves enough time and space during the process, don't pile on the pressure, and most importantly, have fun!

<<Fun activity>>

Tell us, how do you reward yourselves when you accomplish a goal? How did you feel when you finished writing a story or when someone read and appreciated it?

As for us, we often just sit in a chair, relax, and grab a nice chocolate. Nothing can beat the magic of chocolate!

Next week, we'll go through the process of world-building and writing a back story.

Till then, happy writing everyone :)