So, I’ve made this story, but the problem is I’m making it up while I’m writing. So, I don’t know where its heading nor do I know the ultimate goal of the story. How do y’all write y’all stories? Furthermore, how do you stay motivated? I feel like a hypocrite, because I hate when writers take forever to upload there story but I also do the same.
Please help… I feel so bad for my readers bc its not fair to them 
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I think that it is ok, and even beneficial, to not have every single detail of your story planned out. I think that as long as you can answer three questions about your story before you start writing, you should be in the right direction.
- How does the story start? (What is the main character’s situation, who are they, what do they want, and what is in their way?)
- How does the story end? (What is the main character’s end situation, who have they become, what do they want now, and how have they managed the obstacles in their path?)
- What should the reader take away from the story? (How do you want the reader to feel when reading your story?)
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As for staying motivated, write for yourself and for your characters. Don’t chase money or fame. Chase the feeling that you get when your characters come to life. When you have a story inside of you, it needs to come out. It may not be as poetic as Maya Angelou or as timeless as William Shakespeare, but it will be yours.
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When writing my first story, I found myself wishing I had done more planning because of writer block and the storyline not adding up. Still, it’s up to you if you want to plan it a little bit, every line or just vibe! Whatever works for you. I’ve tried both and planning works way better for me. It made my characters shine more and I didn’t have any filler scenes (even if I thought they were important at the time.) Writing my story made me more confident and I can see changes in my dialogue bc of it :,))
Below are bits of my google doc of my second story that I’m planning on publishing. Hopefully it’s still useful even though I literally cut it all out 
I tried to make it as pretty as possible just for my own enjoyment. Just looking at it makes me excited to write!
First screenshot contains the title name, description, mc personality, season 1 main events, main lesson of my story, point system and my goal when it comes to amount of chapters (that part was cut out idk why). I wrote the mc like I was writing a dialogue just so I got more of an idea who she was. For example, I wrote it like: ’ And trust me, she won’t let you use her either way. She’ll do anything to give her that satisfaction.’ instead of ‘she’s confident’.
Second page contains the personality of the MC further explained (how I want the reader to connect with her and how I want her to be perceived) as well as for the LI. This also means internal conflict. At the end, because of it being a romance story, I’ve added the main conflict between the MC and LI. You can add more if you have another sub-genre you’re working on or have no romance at all.
Last one is an episode written out what I want to happen every scene and what that scene will add to the story. I know I know, a bit dramatic. I just like planning… 
Again, this is not for everyone and many will think I’m crazy. But you asked and I delivered 
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Balance
AHH These questions have plagued me for years. How to write, and how to stay motivated. I wish there was an easy answer for myself and for you, but most times, it’s a very delicate balance to find that varies from person to person. There’s so many factors that go into how consistently someone can write, some logistic, and others just plain motivation. In my opinion, I feel there is time for anything someone wants to do if they choose to make time for it. So, say you’ve made time… what now? Like, are you supposed to magically start writing as fire emerges from your pen? It usually takes some major coping mechanisms and planning to find the balance you need in order to give yourself the space to create a story you can be truly proud of.
Motivation
I LOVE writing. So much. But sometimes, I just DO NOT CARE. I don’t care why Brian is having an internal conflict on whether or not he should quit his job- Like, why do I care??? Fix it yourself!!! But other times, I can truly put myself in the mind of Brian (not a real character, idk who Brian is) and it helps me connect to the character in a way that can be really profound and self exploratory. It can feel like chaos trying to figure out how to make your brain do what you want. It can feel impossible to consistently be in the mood to write a particular story over a long period of time. Honestly, I have an issue where I hyper fixate on the story for a week straight, ignoring my responsibilities, and end up having to go cold turkey on it because it ended up making me fall behind at work. I can be a little insane. I truly do feel there can be things we can do to find motivation to write our stories, in a sane, healthy, manner.
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Leave yourself wanting more: Treat yourself like a reader and leave your mind in suspense. When the story is getting juicy and you really feel amped about it-- STOP. This does work for me, and helps me avoid hitting mental walls.
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Just WRITE, don’t THINK: A lot of people who write question if they are bad writers while writing. The only way you are going to get better is if you write. It’s so true that you can’t argue with it mentally. Let yourself keep going and don’t burden yourself with doubt and questions, especially in the creative process. Sometimes, writing is BSing. You’re making it up, it’s your world! What isn’t BS is pulling from your real experiences, and that’s something only you know. Open your laptop/computer and just write.
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Give yourself grace… and breaks: Don’t be hard on yourself, and make sure to take breaks in between your writing times.
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Think of your story and characters when listening to music: I love doing this. It makes me feel more connected to them and offers ideas for plot lines, even.
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Read episode stories from authors you are impressed and inspired by: When I tell you how MOTIVATED I get after reading a great, well directed story, I am FR. It helps so much to know it’s possible to do really cool things.
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Create routines: I need to do this. I write in spurts, but I think it seems smart to try to get into a routine of writing every day- once you create a habit, you start to crave it! It would be great if I followed this advice.
Planning
It’s important to feel confident in your story, and sometimes, vague ideas and mental images of it isn’t enough. Having a plan can be very confidence boosting. This plan doesn’t even have to be specific, it can leave lots of creative wiggle room, but cover all the important stuff at the same time.
Here’s how I specifically plan my story (this process is usually started by having a vague jumble of ideas for what the premise will be):
Story Description:
Create a story description (doesn’t have to be good, you are just going to want to have this on paper)
Main Character:
Section 1: Idea dump
Give all the info you have in your head for this character in bullet points.
Section 2: Positive and negative traits
List all the positive and negative traits this character has in bullet point form.
Section 3: Motivations, goals, desires.
This can be in bullet point or in paragraph form. Come up with motivations, goals, and desires for your character. Identify them based on their other traits and role in the story.
Section 4: Misbelief
This one is my favorite. Identify what your character believes that is untrue or detrimental to themselves or others. This will give them a place to grow from, offering you a chance for a story arc and character development.
Section 5: Their Journey
Pinpoint where they start in the story, then decide where they will end up by the end of the story (or season). This can be where they are physically and mentally.
Section 6: Backstory
Now that you have all that other info for your character, you can create a backstory that aligns with their traits, motivations, desires, misbeliefs, and goals. Their past can inform some of their current behavior to make them more realistic, and in turn, relatable and sympathetic.
Apply this character exploration method to all other relevant characters.
The World
This is sort of free brainstorming section where you can add details about your world, asking yourself questions and capturing ideas. This section uses changes and expands once I begin the story.
That’s all!
I wholeheartedly recommend this method of planning. It has worked very well for me, especially when creating characters from scratch.
You can do it, I think it’s really worth it. That was really long!
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Thanks for the help y’all! All of the feedback and examples are beyond helpful! Now I want to write, but first I’ll get to planning! 
Seriously y’all are lifesavers and are so kind!!
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As for me i alr know what im going to do with my story and add all the details but for you i would advise you to write down things for your story and plot it down and just randomly think of things and get inspo from other writers and for the uploading part you have to try your best and upload fast because of your readers 
i hope this helped 
.
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Like you, I’m also working on a story, and I’d like to share things I’ve learnt personally or from others. I hope what I share helps out in any way, and happy writing! : )
Tools
The tools you make use of are a lot more important than you might think. These are the things you’ll be spending your time with the most while you write, so making sure the tools you’re using work for you is the best first step.
- I personally like typing things out, as I’m less likely to think about how the things I’m expressing appear. My go-to has been Google Docs, and it’s great for what I need, but I am looking for alternative text editing softwares and app, as some people read the updated guidelines that essentially stated that they’re taking the words people wrote in Google Docs and are feeding it to their AI tool, regardless of whether the users consented to that or didn’t.
- I love making mood boards to better visualize what I want to execute for my story, so I use Pinterest a lot.
- This may not work for everyone, but I like listening to things while I work, sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s some sort of ambience, etc.
- Sometimes I find writing on paper easier. There’s some days where I need a little extra help in getting started, and the pen and paper combo has helped me out quite a lot. I definitely recommend getting your hands on a folder or binder to keep the pages you fill out.
Goals
Just like tools are important for writing, so are goals. Setting a goal or two can help keep you on-track, and can even help you finish your story. When you establish goals, make sure to account for the things you’re great with and the things you struggle with. Do know that while goals are there to make things happen, there’s some days that those goals aren’t possible, and that’s okay. Goals aren’t obligations, they’re a tool and guide to motivate you.
- How often do you plan to write, once a day, a few times weekly? Unless you’re extremely busy, chances are you can find the time to write. You don’t have to write everyday for several hours, but make sure you have time to write something.
- Additionally, how long do you want your writing sessions to be?
- How much progress do you plan to make each week, month, year?
- How much of your story do you want completed by the time you choose to publish?
Ideas -> Plot
Something I’m definitely guilty of is just writing ideas down and never taking things further. Those ideas are worth exploring, so if you’ve gotten a spark of inspiration, write it down and see where it takes you.
- If you have an idea for a character, think about the goals, motivation, or values they might have, see what things could create obstacles for them, and think about the kind of environments they’d thrive in or feel miserable in. The character’s likes and dislikes are a great thing to include, but aren’t enough for storytelling. Explore who your characters are.
- If you have an idea for a plot, think about the types of characters that could fit well as the people living that plot, think about what obstacles might occur and whether the characters tackle it head-on or work around the obstacles, and think about what could be at stake if the characters fail.
Getting Other Perspectives
Quick skip to the future here. You’ve essentially finished writing a chapter/story, and it’s almost time to publish. Before you press that button, it’s important to test the waters first. Outside perspectives are what help us make the necessary changes to stories that make them publish-ready. It’s a scary step, but one that truly benefits the final product.
- Beta readers are excellent for getting an outside perspective. You’ll likely see posts all around the forums with a title about beta readers, typically looking for people that can help read a soon-to-be-published story, and when your story is ready, I recommend making a post for your story as well.
- Similar to beta readers, but with a more specific aim, sensitivity readers are also incredibly important. Sometimes authors miss some things that could ultimately hurt a group of people, intended or not. Sensitivity readers are there to point those things out, so that you can make the edits needed to prevent such issues.
Mindset
Another essential thing to writing is your mindset. The things you believe hold a lot of power, especially in what you can accomplish. A pessimist mindset can prevent you from reaching your potential, so having a positive one is super important.
- Growth Vs. Static mindset: the ideal perspective for accomplishing your goals is a growth mindset. For example, instead of saying, “I can’t do this,” try saying, “I can do this, it’ll just take more time to learn and execute.”
- Motivations: your reasons for writing can sway how you invest your time and effort into writing. Motivations such as money or clout won’t get your far, but being motivated by things such as expressing yourself and sharing your work with others or simply enjoying the writing process are great reasons that can get you to your goals.
Let me know if there’s anything I missed or if anything I’ve stated above needs clarification. Good luck with your writing! : D
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I use notes on my computer and a notepad sometimes. I like to get a premise sorted before tackling plot points. Then genre. Then MCs, LIs, etc. Is it going to be one LI or multiple? They will always be Gender of Choice LI. Then what needs to happen in each scene. Usually the first episode is setting up and CC included.
I also love listening to music or TV on in the background while writing.
I normally bounce ideas off with other people.
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Sometimes motivation can lack but if you have an amazing idea you get really excited!
I like to plan each of the chapters and ask my siblings (mostly my sister ;)) friends.
Dump all your ideas and correct a goal in your head!
How do you want your story to begin?
If it helps use your life situations to develop characters, plot twists and ideas.
Hope that helps and wishing you the best with your story!
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Same! My irl BFF is my beta reader.
I do have a goal though overall in 2024 to unlock writers payments
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Me too, honestly!
Let me know your story I would love to read!
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Ah thanks! Good luck to you too! 
It will be released on June 22nd. I have two stories releasing then: How I Met Your Friends and Club For the Damned by Alannah.
I am just in the process of CC coding right now (I hate/love it).
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