How can I stop wasting my life video gaming and finish my short stories?

[SugarSugarplum]

[Telekinetic-Potato]

You might want to start off with something shorter, easier and you care about less. Write my takes on here. That helped me with my procrastination problems way back when.

It's also important to make sure you have your outline/beat sheet figured out. Like they say "If you don't know your climax you don't know your story."

I've also found ai to be helpful. Sometimes I'll force myself to bang out a few paragraphs and they'll come out terrible. I throw it into my secret ai app and it actually spits back notes as if a person is reading it.

It's really good at finding places where the reader might get confused or figuring out the more abstract parts of the story and letting you know if it thinks a person will be interested in it and why specifically.

"Alice seems like a mysterious go-getter. I wonder if she already knows Dan who is similar to her late husband she talks about through the story. It could make for an interesting tension if he also knows about the map" would probably absolutely destroy most writers blank page syndrome.

Another thing I do is get in my car, drive far away and force myself to write for at least 2 hours. Phone on DND if I can and minimal distractions besides a scenic view. If you do that 4 times a week and stay consistent, you'll start seeing progress.

You might want to check out critiquecircle. com also. Since you like videogames, maybe this will ping similar parts of your mind in a productive way.

Good luck!

[PeterLegg91]

What games you playing? And just short story write during the day or evening and game for a couple hrs

[Nikki1989]

Focus your energies on what is important.

I set aside an hour every day to play music.

[Anonymous]

How do short stories have any more value than video games?

[TheSpaceGnome]

Because she is making them.
Creators will always value our projects over everything else, but only if we like where its going.

[AI Opinion]

Balancing passions can be tough, especially when video games are so captivating! 🎮✍️ One way to start is by setting specific times for gaming and writing. Treat your writing like it's an epic quest in a game. Reward yourself with some gaming time after reaching a writing milestone. You can also make writing more engaging by joining a local writer's group or an online community where you can share your stories and get feedback. Keep reminding yourself of the joy you feel when you finish a story—it’s like leveling up in real life. Good luck! 🌟

[HighValue]

Write notes for your short story such as what characters you want in them, a specific phrase you want them to say in a certain scene, and the main plot of the story.

Then go play games for the rest of the day. The next day, write the story. A short story should only take a few hours once you have an outline completed.

[AviatorTom]

Simple. Turn off your video game console. If you're playing on your PC, uninstall all your video game apps.

Or, create a daily schedule and post it in front of where you play video games, that defines a specific short time each day to play games, and a long time each day to write short stories.

Best of luck.

[TheSpaceGnome]

If you don't have time for both entertainment and creative projects, then you either need to spend less time working, or you need to split your current time between the 2.

Entertainment is a big portion of what inspires creativity.

Make time for both.

[Summeroflove]

Look, having any hobby is good even video games is something to do but it’s self control and just working on what needs to be worked on.

Personally I enjoy writing but it’s getting harder anymore cause I get this block

[MicahRaine]

Start spending more time outside in nature. That always helps me.

Find someone to go work outside with you. Safety in numbers + some little chit chat will help you not get pulled into other things while you're trying to write.

[ChicoFromThe305]

If you have an online membership then it's understandable

[SugarSugarplum]

Understandable, except that I've spent 3 years trying to write 3 short stories. My life will be over before I finish. This is not acceptable.

[ChicoFromThe305]

I would say the best way is to get bored of the game but it seems that's years pending, I'd say try timing your work, so give yourself a few hours to work on your stuff everyday and then with the rest, you play.

[ChicoFromThe305]

Some progress is better than no progress

[MrGSpotHer]

Set a password for it and let someone else enter it only when you've been good that day 😆

[Bklynbadboy12]

Just stop playing video games so much that's easy

[CubaPirate]

Get out more meet people and do things