I’ve always been pretty good at motivating myself to complete large projects. For years I kept a daily journal of my day-to-day activities. I cast a sword in aluminum. I paint armies of miniatures. I’ve written several zines. I went from never going to the gym to exercising 5 days a week. The key to completing these projects is staying on track. Here’s how you do it:
No more zero days. This is the most important way to stay on track with your goals. Have you ever made a new year’s resolution to hit the gym? You go and work out. Then you go the next day. Then the next day, you feel tired and worn out. Then you don’t go to the gym. Then the next day, you don’t bother. Before you know it, you’ve blown off the gym for the past week. You’ve broken your resolution. To avoid this fate, you can no longer have zero days.
A zero day is a day that passes where you did not work on your goal. There will be days when you get more done than others. But if you complete something, it will be worth it. What can you do to bring yourself closer to the endzone? Write one sentence when you’re not feeling motivated. One sentence won’t help you reach your goal soon, but one sentence is more than no sentences. Besides, you may find that once you’ve written once sentence, you could probably write another. Before too long, you may have a paragraph written.
12 levels. 365 rooms. One room a day. What a great mantra. The concept is straightforward. There may be days when I do more work, but one a day is doable. I’ll upload my scanned pages online and type them out when I complete the levels.
Find supporters to hold you accountable. What has kept me motivated and going to the gym these past four months is having a group chat with friends so I can share my progress. Sharing my work with Harun (founder of Sharktopus Games) keeps me going page after page, drawing after drawing. Find someone you can share this project with who will say, “Whoa! That’s awesome!” when you come up with something crazy. When you say, “Hey, I made my 100th room today,” they give you a high five.
You’re wrong if you think you don’t have someone in your corner. I support you. Tag me in your posts, tweet at me (@gnomemaster) I will give you that validation and digital high five. I love seeing the work people are putting in on these projects.
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. Dungeon23 forces you to focus on writing and creating, not editing. It’s like National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November, where writers challenge themselves to write a 50,000-word novel in a single month. It’s about hitting your daily goals, not producing perfection. Your goal at the end of every day is to design 1 room. Your goal at the end of every week is to design seven rooms. You can worry about going back and making edits next year!
Steal ideas everywhere. I spend most of my internet time browsing on my phone. My photo album app has a folder called “The Halls of the Elven King,” a constant sluice of images, ideas, and concept art that inspires me to design. Anytime I find a neat article, I screenshot it and add it. Grab these little packages of lembas bread for your long year-long journey. When you feel weak, look through them and find something. I do this for all my creative projects.
Stick with your theme. Are you stuck? Do you need to figure out what to add to your dungeon? Go back to your theme. Make an undead encounter if you’re making a dungeon built around the undead. Throw in something dwarfish if you’re making a dungeon built by dwarfs. Add something from one of the factions in your party. Make the presence of your villain known. You want the theme to feel evident to your players. From a design perspective, you probably want to engage with the theme/villain/factions at least twice a week.
Imposter syndrome. My motto with my friends is, “If Willett can do it, you can do it.” There’s no reason you can’t do this. Nothing separates you from a published author except you’re not writing. Have the audacity to try. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You could fail. No one could read your blog or buy your zine. If you doubt yourself and refuse to try, people are already not reading your blog or buying your zine.
What’s the best thing that could happen? People buy your zine! When Harun and I made our first Kickstarter, I told him, “I’ll be shocked if we make $200.” We made $1200 in our first 24 hours. I guarantee you; there are those out there right now who are better writers and better artists than me who are waiting. Stop telling yourself no and jump on in. Show us what you’ve got!
I can’t wait to see what everyone puts together. I want to see everyone’s notebooks filled to the rafters with insane traps, wretched monsters, and deadly secrets.
Christopher Willett is the author and illustrator of AEON: Ancient Greece and the Ziggurat of the Blood God, coming soon to Kickstarter. He also teaches high school World History and Current Events. Follow him on twitter @gnomemaster.
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