Some of the things I do, both for fic and for published nonfic writing:
Keep a notebook around all the time. This helps to not let any of the good ideas get away.
If you get too distracted by the aethertubes, take your laptop and get out of the house away from the web. Go to a coffeehouse or the library or someplace that doesn't have wireless and work on things there.
Have some cheerleaders. You need betas too, but cheerleaders help keep your interest and your morale up when you're writing and you can look back at happy cheerleader notes or emails later on and be encouraged.
Find someone to write with. Sometimes just sitting down at a table with someone else who's there to write can be a strong reenforcement. You both know you're there to write and, while you can have a little conversation too, there's always that bit of pressure that you are there to write and you won't want to look like you're not writing in front of your writing friend.
Collaboration can work well for some people, particularly if you have complementary strengths. When one person is feeling overwhelmed with the project, the other one can pick it up and run with it for a while.
I don't have a formal job so I end up being at the computer a lot of the time. I keep the file or window open that I'm writing in so that I can go back and forth from other stuff when something whacks me upside the head.
That hypnogogic state between waking and sleeping is great for lovely fic ideas. So is the shower, as a few others have pointed out. Dreams can be useful material as well. Play with the images you get. This goes back to the Keep A Notebook item: having it nearby when you wake up means you can scribble down bits of dialogue or images or whatever comes to you before it escapes.
Practice with fic prompts! They can be short and fun and you can toss them off when you're stuck on something else. They'll keep the brain juices flowing happily as the main project percolates in the background.
Give yourself a little reward of some sort when you meet particular goals. It doesn't have to be anything big or important; maybe take a break and watch a movie if you've written three pages, or whatever. If it acts as incentive, use it.
Be an obsessive insomniac. Also, be insane. At least, that works for me.
What? It does!
I write something every day, even if it's an email or an LJ entry. Even when I'm not working on a project, I'm usually writing something because I spent most of my life online. This doesn't always help me finish my projects, but it does mean I get practice every day in saying things in an at least somewhat understandable manner.
This is stuff that works for me. I've had two books professionally published, I have essays or poetry in at least half a dozen more with a couple of others coming out this year, I edited a collaborative book project, and I've had articles published in a number of magazines over the years. Last night I finished a paper for an academic anthology, and I don't have any degrees to speak of, just some really good research juju. I'm currently 53,000 words into an AU Jooster Epic of Doooom with Doomsauce and still running; I'm in chapter 4 of 8.
no subject
Keep a notebook around all the time. This helps to not let any of the good ideas get away.
If you get too distracted by the aethertubes, take your laptop and get out of the house away from the web. Go to a coffeehouse or the library or someplace that doesn't have wireless and work on things there.
Have some cheerleaders. You need betas too, but cheerleaders help keep your interest and your morale up when you're writing and you can look back at happy cheerleader notes or emails later on and be encouraged.
Find someone to write with. Sometimes just sitting down at a table with someone else who's there to write can be a strong reenforcement. You both know you're there to write and, while you can have a little conversation too, there's always that bit of pressure that you are there to write and you won't want to look like you're not writing in front of your writing friend.
Collaboration can work well for some people, particularly if you have complementary strengths. When one person is feeling overwhelmed with the project, the other one can pick it up and run with it for a while.
I don't have a formal job so I end up being at the computer a lot of the time. I keep the file or window open that I'm writing in so that I can go back and forth from other stuff when something whacks me upside the head.
That hypnogogic state between waking and sleeping is great for lovely fic ideas. So is the shower, as a few others have pointed out. Dreams can be useful material as well. Play with the images you get. This goes back to the Keep A Notebook item: having it nearby when you wake up means you can scribble down bits of dialogue or images or whatever comes to you before it escapes.
Practice with fic prompts! They can be short and fun and you can toss them off when you're stuck on something else. They'll keep the brain juices flowing happily as the main project percolates in the background.
Give yourself a little reward of some sort when you meet particular goals. It doesn't have to be anything big or important; maybe take a break and watch a movie if you've written three pages, or whatever. If it acts as incentive, use it.
Be an obsessive insomniac. Also, be insane. At least, that works for me.
What? It does!
I write something every day, even if it's an email or an LJ entry. Even when I'm not working on a project, I'm usually writing something because I spent most of my life online. This doesn't always help me finish my projects, but it does mean I get practice every day in saying things in an at least somewhat understandable manner.
This is stuff that works for me. I've had two books professionally published, I have essays or poetry in at least half a dozen more with a couple of others coming out this year, I edited a collaborative book project, and I've had articles published in a number of magazines over the years. Last night I finished a paper for an academic anthology, and I don't have any degrees to speak of, just some really good research juju. I'm currently 53,000 words into an AU Jooster Epic of Doooom with Doomsauce and still running; I'm in chapter 4 of 8.
It's doable. Just keep kicking at it.