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I have authored a particular fanfiction, which has garnered a moderate following on the fanfiction website I published it to. As of now, the story has 279 users following it for updates, as well as 45 users watching me in particular for anything I post (there is some overlap, but it isn't 100%). The story is currently over 100k words split between 18 chapters, with 3k story views and 23k chapter views.
My story is not finished, but over the last few chapters, my rate of updates has slowed. Chapters 1-13 were every week or every other week; 14-17 were approximately every month, and chapter 18 took me 2 months to put out.
This isn't to say I spent two entire months writing chapter 18, far from it! I spent about 3 days doing the actual writing (and then editing time added onto that), and while I spent more time figuring out the plotline, most of it was "sunk cost," as the plotline is a continuation of the previous chapters.
Chapter 18 has been up for almost five months now, and I still haven't put a single word down for chapter 19. I'm not actually suffering from writer's block as I understand the term: I know what elements need to go into the chapter, and I even have specific plans for many (if not all) of the scenes that will take place. The problem seems to be a lack of motivation to spend the requisite time to do the writing in the first place.
I certainly haven't lost interest in the subject of the story, either. The story is a crossover between my favorite tabletop RPG setting (which has a new edition coming out soon) and my favorite animated series. In fact, my Gravatar is from one of the books for the RPG.
The Question
What techniques might I employ to get myself "back in the game," as it were? I admit that I'm not the best at time management, so recommendations on time management techniques (esp. those which apply to writing) would not be unwarranted, but any recommendations for how to get back on the horse would apply.
Complications
When I was pumping out a chapter a week, I was unemployed, out of school, and living with my parents. The only calls on my time were a weekly card game league I participated in, and a weekly game night with my friends.
Today, I have a full-time job, I now run the aforementioned league, I still have a weekly game night, I have picked up a MMO game, and (particularly relevant to concentrating while writing) one of my house-mates often sings to himself, frequently loudly and always poorly (or alternatively, talks to himself, sometimes loudly). The singing and talking is the result of a mental handicap, and while he does oblige if asked to keep things down, he's only able to keep it in check for a limited duration.
Bonus
One of my other housemates is a fan of my story, so he could potentially be a source of encouragement.
I have a subscription to focus@will, which I did utilize (before being a paid subscriber) while writing chapters 17 and 18. f@w won't specifically get me to open up Word and start writing, but it does help with concentration while working on something. According to f@w's blog, it can also build a Pavlovian response by associating f@w's music with "work time." I can't comment on that personally, but then I doubt anyone conditioned for something would be able to.
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I'm terrible at time management too. So instead of times, I have PLACES where I write. There's a tea shop and a bar where I go when I need to get words on paper. I leave my networked devices at home and take a notebook and pencil with me.
Good luck.
Work backwards.
Visualize the completed work in it's entirety
In Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's PBS special 'Excuses Be Gone' he recommends actually having the cover sleeve made before trying to sit and write.
Break it down
In writing research papers, I usually start with having a full outline of each section, including figures. With a book, however, there is no reason you not to brainstorm what each chapter might be about.
From there, you can consider the substory; what things will you cover in each chapter and how will they flow? And you may also want to consider if there will be sub-chapters, or some other form of sectioning.
Fill in the blanks
If you haven't already been inspired to just start writing at this point, start writing down possible topics for each paragraph you'll write. When you've run out of ideas, consider how to organize them, or move them in with other chapters if necessary. Then just start expanding the topics
Save formatting and editing until the end
CLockeWork's suggestion of using LaTeX shouldn't be ignored. Use a logical editor instead of a WYSIWYG one if possible, or just write inside notepad.
Save the typesetting, punctuation, and spell checking, and grammar for when you are stuck. Chances are the editing process will spur new ideas and allow you to keep progressing forward.
Obviously there's no one answer to this. These are simply my observations on dealing with this issue:
I've found writing in LaTeX to be quite liberating; by planning the rough shape of the story (sections or chapters) I can then create a separate module that will contain each chapter or section.
Each module contains a comment at the top with the rough plot for the module and some things to keep in mind. This way I can just pick up a new module, free of the weight of previous work, free of the worrying over formatting and layout, and just write.
This wikibook is invaluable for this: en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX
When I'm stumped on a section I've often it's because I don't like it. Scrapping it an going back to the end of the last section often kickstarts my writing again.
When I’m really stumped I get my wife to give me a word, and use it as inspiration to kick off a new piece. Sometimes going and working on a short for a while clears my head, and I can come back to main piece ready to write.
When I was unemployed I did way more writing than I do now. If you really want to write, you need to make solid time for it (which you had plenty of time for back then.) Set aside some time, even if it's only half an hour a day. The more you stick to this the easier it will get.
As Lauren said; ditch the MMO. You know those things are addictive and you'll never make the time to write if you're playing them (and if you do you'll be distracted by thoughts of the game.)
I prefer to listen to instrumental music when I’m writing. There's a ton of great free music like this on Jamendo. (For fantasy check out Celestial Aeon Project.)
In fact, I really like finding music that fits the theme of what I'm writing, to help carry on that inspiration.
If you're friend keeps singing get some good headphones and drown it out with some non-distracting music. Note I like instrumental music because I find myself stopping to listen to the lyrics if there are any.
For some people planning out the whole story helps them stay on track, but for others it stalls their creativity entirely. Spend some time figuring out what works best for you and then put it into place.
As lonehorseend said, find somewhere comfortable to write. I use a laptop so I can sit wherever I want, and if I can't take it with me I take a notepad.
Using a notepad also allows to me to write without worrying about how it looks and sounds; I can polish it up when I type it up. This allows me to write quicker.
Just make sure you don't slip into the trap of using a need for a better environment/equipment as an excuse to not write. That one's caught me out many a time.
Conclusion
So, writing should be fun, we should enjoy it, but it's also about work. If you don't put in solid time you won't get the output. The problem, as you know, is getting started. Hopefully some of these things will help, but I think the biggest one is setting time aside every day. If you can make this routine then eventually you won't even notice it, it'll just be what you do.
And finally watch out for distractions, and that includes distracting yourself. Sometime sitting down to a big piece can seem daunting, and it's easy to avoid the whole thing. But it's worth it not to. Just stick to it.
Good luck.
Well, if it's fanfic specifically, then something about the source material got your brain going. Go back and rewatch the show, play the game, chat online with other fans, surf tumblr, read other folks' fic. Get back into the headspace of the fandom and see if that re-ignites your creative spark.
Also, drop the MMO game. The mental energy you would be expending on plotting is going into the twists of gaming. Keep the game night, because you want to interact with actual, you know, live human beings. :)
I have struggled with the some of the same problems myself. Life always seems to come before writing. Here's some of the things I've learned over the last few years:
Don't try to write a chapter - Jot down your ideas as they come to
you. That's very important because you will forget what you want to
write when you want to write! Then when you have time, go look at
the notes you've made and start building the story from there.
Write something different - Something comes after
Chapter 18, right? Well, if you get an idea for that, start there
and complete that chapter then go back.
Be mobile in your writing - If you have a tablet or laptop, great.
If you don't, a good old fashioned notebook will do. Just have
something around you so that when you get that urge to write, you
can. Also, the change of scenery will help. I used to get stuck when
writing on my computer. But then I'd go off with my little IPod
touch, watch TV, and the next thing I'd know it'd be four hours
later, TV's on the music channel, and I've got a good chunk of
writing done. (I've since switched to an 8 inch tablet, much easier
on the eyes and the brain!)
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