Hey, y’all. So I’m sure this topic is a dime a dozen, but I need some advice on how to stay motivated in writing an episode story.
I am someone who has participated in NaNoWriMo more times than I can count and has finished two full-length novels, but I have never gotten far on an episode project (not for lack of trying).
So, does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me? Anything is appreciated. Thanks!
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Might be odd advice but films and atmosphere. Watching films or series inspires a lot of ideas to add to your story. On the atmosphere side personally for me I like my windows open, rain splattering against my windows with a hot drink by me, it always motivates me. Sometimes I like playing music in the background, especially upbeat music as it kinda gets you imagining fun scenes your characters could be acting while this song plays, almost as if they were in a edit.
And of course take breaks, doing something too much makes you lose motivation, so make sure to take breaks so your creativity doesn’t die out
Suppperrr odd advice there and it may not help, but I thought i’d share :,))
Well, if you need some advice, then I’m your man. So, on how to stay motivated when writing an Episode story, here are some tips. First, you should be dedicated to your story, and you should devote as much time as you can to your story. Now, I know you need time to do other things, and that’s understandable, but if you can squeeze any time into your story, then please do so.
Second, you’ll want to make a schedule for your story, and basically just write down a time of when you want to type up an episode or time when you want to type up any scenes. What I often do, is I make a schedule for each episode and I write down what day and what time I’ll type in the scenes for each episode. Let me give you an example schedule:
Schedule for Episode 5:
Sunday afternoon at 2pm - Type up first three scenes.
Sunday evening at 7pm - Type up scene where the MC meets her best friend, and they have something important to discuss.
Monday afternoon at 2pm - Type up scene where the MC and her friend goes to school. Type up scene where the LI meets the MC at her house.
Monday evening at 7pm - Type up last two scenes.
Okay now, this schedule is just for tutorial purposes only and your schedule doesn’t exactly have to be like this. Type it up any which way you please, and depending on how long your episode is (or episodes are), the schedule could be much longer or shorter than the example schedule I’ve given.
Now that I have that covered, having a schedule really helps. You can type it up on your smartphone or write it down on paper, whichever you prefer.
But anyway, creating an Episode requires dedication, discipline, and craftsmanship. Make sure you know the coding, plan your story before you type it up, and really be dedicated to it.
I hope this helps, and feel free to ask me any questions.
Thanks, and good luck with your stories.
Usually I can’t keep myself really motivated.
It is about discipline.
But you can try getting inspired by something. Watch a movie with a genre you like, listen to your favourite music, also… it might sound crazy but make sure you wake up good. What I mean is make sure you slept well, you have plenty of time, etc. It will make you feel better therefore you might feel productive in a way and work on an Episode story. Hope this helps! <3
Hey Shrinking_Violet,
If you have a writers block take breaks. Don’t force yourself to write, because if you do that the fun of writing will disappear. Even writers like me (I am already in my second or third writing year and I have a few stories written already) have times that we aren’t motivated writing. I take a break from writing, do something totally else (or make new characters and/or outfits for the story). Breaks help me always to continue further. Sometimes in those breaks I find new inspiration for my stories. 
Don’t stop writing, don’t force yourself to write and never hesitate to ask other (more experienced) authors for help.
Good luck with writing (happy reading) and stay safe,
Love A-W
That’s actually really cool advice, thank you! I live in the desert, so rain isn’t the easiest to come by, but I like the idea of making an atmosphere for writing in. I’ll definitely try! Thanks!
I absolutely love the idea of the scheduling out your writing. I usually don’t schedule writing, but I do schedule out scenes, so I’m definitely going to have to try that. Hopefully it works, thank you for your advice!
Ha, sleep, who needs that? I do find that I am more creative after a good night’s rest, so that’s great advice! I usually listen to video game soundtracks while writing, usually super mario galaxy, so I definitely see the usefulness of music! Thank you for the advice!
I’ve defintiely taken a lot of breaks while writing, I’m on about a week’s break from writing right now after hitting my word count daily for about two years, so a break is definitely appreciated. I definitely do find that taking breaks does help with creativity, although it is usually creativity directed towards a different story than the one I’m working on, which is great, but also kinda sucks when all I want to do is work on one story and I’ve got inspiration for every other one. XD But thank you for the advice!
I’m in the same boat, what I find to help me is taking breaks from writing & social media.
stay positive and try not to overthink, better said than done. but it helps. I started over 10 episode projects and ended up discontinuing them all. with these new tips, I managed to actually write 4 episodes of my current story. and I’m super proud <3. its a good feeling
Dang, congrats; four episodes are very impressive! My record is one and a half, I believe. I’ve started and discontinued so many episode projects it’s quite silly. I’m trying my best to just take a break from it all and return with a refreshed mind, so I’m hoping it works. Fingers crossed!
Taking breaks definitely helps and I’m right now taking a break from Episode, and I’m going to try to start planning some stories next month, and I should have them out sometime in ‘23.
But anyway, yeah taking a break definitely helps especially after you’ve finished a story or say a batch of episodes, and let me give you a little piece of advice. I personally recommend releasing episodes in bulk, especially if you have a story of 20 or more episodes, and you can do that by releasing say 10 to 15 episodes at first, then after that you can take a break, and maybe plan more episodes of the story or another story.
But anyway, if you have any questions, then don’t hesitate to ask me.
I just started university again, so my personal break from writing kinda got interrupted by starting school, but I find that taking breaks has definitely helped me, although every time I try to return to Episode after taking a break, I feel like I just get overwhelmed once again and the break continues.
When I lose motivation, I try to take a break. It helps me feel the urge to write and allows me to write more actively. Unfortunately, this boost quickly disappears.