How the Hell do people write so many chapters in one day?

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IdealSimp

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Erotica is ridiculously hard for me to write. The inherent subject matter is distracting, the more I get invested in it the more distracted I become. I know what I want to write, I know where the story is going. But it's like I'm not allowed to immerse myself in it. I have to remain detached to make any overall progress in the plot. If I put myself in a character's shoes to try and gage their reaction, if I try to add detail to a scene, I get lost in it. I'll rewrite the same scene over and over to get it just right.

Or scale the internet for just the right image to compliment the scene. Immensely distracting.

How do you stop that? How do you go: "this is enough" and move onto the next?

I need tips on productivity.
 
I constantly remind myself of this phrase:

"Perfect is the enemy of Done."

With the follow-up sentence:

"Good enough, is enough."

I will get bogged down in details. I will get stuck on nitpicks. I will spend days rewriting a single sentence, because another sentence down the line contradicts it.

But I make myself move on, because if I don't, I will never make any progress.

Do I know that if I spent a little bit (a LOT) more time on that chapter, that it could have been even 1% better?

Of course I do. But then I'm just circling the drain and the story is not going anywhere.

So get this chapter done, (hopefully) do better on the next one. Repeat ad infinitum.

Hope that helps.
 
Back when I was prolific (that was years ago), I'd slowly write a couple chapters during the week and set them aside, then do a last edit pass Saturday and release them.

Different folks have different schedules and habits :)
 
Well, a lot of my chapters are utter crap, the characterization is all over the place, and I'm cynical enough to realize that no one appreciates when I put the extra effort into trying to make a cock going into an asshole just that extra little bit special.

So yeah, not caring too much helps immensely when trying to pump the chapters out.
 
Zeebop said:
Well, a lot of my chapters are utter crap, the characterization is all over the place, and I'm cynical enough to realize that no one appreciates when I put the extra effort into trying to make a cock going into an asshole just that extra little bit special.

So yeah, not caring too much helps immensely when trying to pump the chapters out.
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Have to say I disagree, at least when I read a story. I would rather read a chapter or even a several chapters where the author describes in detail how the cock goes in an asshole. Describing how the bodies respond, what the cock and asshole look like. What the protagonist or both characters feel and their emotions and thoughts leading up to this, as it is happening and after the deed is done.

You want to take 4000 words to say "I fuck them in the ass" then I will definitely enjoy that.
 
I have some days when I can write ten chapters or more. I have some months where I write nothing.

Honestly, I have no sense of what kind of schedule to publish on. I know I don't have enough of a following for it to make much of a difference. I guess sometimes I try to get something published once every day or so to get my 2 hours of front page exposure. Again, not that it really matters.

I got lucky and was picked as a story of the week last year, and when that happened, I tried to generate as much content as I could to maximize that flash of fame. But after that, I've relaxed a bit. Then again, I'm the only author on my main story, which means it's either all coming from my brain or it doesn't show up at all.

I should get off the forums are write something else, lollllll
 
IdealSimp said:
Or scale the internet for just the right image to compliment the scene. Immensely distracting.
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100% don't do this. Yes, a picture can help, but the writing should stand on its own two feet. Also remember that the things that work in video or photo stills are not the same as the things that work in prose. The focus is different: less visual, more psychological. Less about what the exact colour her areola are, and more about how the doubts she's having about sleeping with her friend's grown son are slowly fading away.

...All of that assuming you're not going the full multimedia route. If you're doing that, ignore all of the above. :P

IdealSimp said:
I'll rewrite the same scene over and over to get it just right.
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Finish! Finish, finish, finish! Keep moving forward. Finish the first draft, and only then go back and make improvements. That first draft is by far the most important. It's better to have a 100% finished very rough first draft than a 50% finished second, third, fourth, twelveth draft, polished to a shine. That way, if you ever run out of steam, you've still got a complete story. Imperfect, sure, but nothing's ever perfect.

IdealSimp said:
I know what I want to write, I know where the story is going. But it's like I'm not allowed to immerse myself in it. I have to remain detached to make any overall progress in the plot.
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Do do this! My experience is that the sex scenes where I really got into it are the ones that turn out the best. Sure, when you're advancing your long term plot, you're going to want to keep your head in the game. But otherwise, don't be afraid to let the bit between your legs do most of the thinking.
 
1) set a word count goal, you can go over, but the moment you hit it start wrapping up so you can post. The site suggests 2000 max so usually try to get posted by somewhere near 2500 words.
2) sex is a tool, no one wants to hear about a hammer, they want to hear how a hammer hammers a nail, or caves a orc skull in if the hammer is special then describe it. Ironically there are threads on this site that more or less go the opposite and we're given forgettable sex with characters lacking description which goes to
3) add character to the story, no one will remember or actually read if "the girl was pretty, with tits bigger than her body, the guy was hot with gigantic dick. They fuck, she screams he's so good and cums" more or less summarizes the entirety of the chapter(s), after all they could just watch porn hub for half of that, or a low budget Hentai for all of it. But if you have a theme of horror, or humor, or adventure and the characters having sex are on a adventure, experiencing horror, or are hilarious people get invested so pick what extras are going to spice up the story and strategically mix in sex to add to those themes, or to allow those themes to spice up the sex.

And when you do that, typically you end up focusing on every other detail and thinking of how you'll add to the characters or the next part outside the sex that really you have to stop yourself and ask "did I get sexy enough?" And then have to go back to ironically add more to the sex because you were so focused on the rest of the story. Which then that loose word limit comes in handy.
 
I often use the web for writing tips, and I've lost count of the amount of time I've seen variations on 'write something every day, even if it's just a few lines of unusable dribble'.

I'm not able to write everyday, but I try hard to. Even if I'm to tired to create new content I'll spend half an hour editing or just having a read through or noting bullet point ideas for future content.

What all those success authors mean by 'write something every day' is that at first draft, quality is not that important, no decent piece of writing was ever published in it's first draft. But to continually edit while writing will stifle the creative process. Set aside separate distinct times for wring new content and editing and don't mix the two up. When I sit down to write, I will always read through the content of my last writing session and edit it, then move straight on to writing new stuff. Doing it that way helps me to get into the mindset I was when I finished my last session whilst doing a first edit as well.

And try not to worry to much about what others write, or how productive they are. We all have own writing styles and habits and different pressures of life affecting how we write, just do what feels right for you. There's nothing wrong with what your currently doing, so long as it works for you, only change it if you feel it's causing a problem.
 
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