Writing Gamification

5 Ways to Gamify Your Writing Process

I recently ran into an article on gamification in education. The writer was explaining teachers could use game mechanics to make the learning process more engaging. This article made gamification seem so versatile that I was convinced I could implement it in my work: writing. That’s a great idea.

It inspires you to write without even realizing you’re working on an important project. You might be wondering: why would I ever want to gamify the process of writing? – Because I want to make it more fun.

If you’ve ever worked on an important writing project, you get me. Stress is an inevitable aspect of it. Anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion come as a bonus.

Mike Rogers, a writer from SuperiorPapers, gets it: “You work from home, and that can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your mood. It sounds like a dream job to some, but the fact that you’re spending months and years in front of the screen can get you in that bad place: the writer’s block. If you make the process more interesting through games, you won’t make your work any less serious.”

So how exactly do we do it? How can we gamify the process of writing without making our work silly? I found a few methods that work. They are applicable to any writing practice, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re a novelist, poet, freelance writer, blogger, or just a student writing research papers.

If you’re like most other writers, you probably make lists. You like setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals, don’t you? That’s necessary for keeping our work organized, but we can’t say it’s the most interesting thing in the day. Here’s what makes it interesting: betting.

With Beeminder, you pledge money with the promise you’ll achieve a goal. If you fail, the platform will encourage you to try again. If you fail again, you’ll lose the money you pledged. It’s a fun concept that makes a writer’s day exciting.

“You’re going through your grandpa’s attic and find some stuff from his army days. You realize he never told you which army he was in, or which war he fought in.” This is one of the many prompts that are meant to inspire your writing.

When you feel like you’re lacking creativity, try a prompt. Reddit users post great entries. You’ll see endless variations on a theme. Anonymity is a good thing, since you can unleash your creativity to full extent. Don’t hold back and start posting entries inspired by these prompts.

This has to be the scariest writing game ever. If you don’t achieve a word count goal, the app will start deleting your work. Scary, huh? Well, I guess you’ll just have to reach the goal you set.

You can play in three modes: Reward, Consequence, and Stimulus. Each of them is fun in its own way, but I’m sure you’ll have a preference.

  • Turn Your Goals into a Game

How about creating an actual role-playing game based on your writing goals? That’s possible through Habitica. You set goals to overcome bad habits, such as procrastination or social media.

The bad habits will be represented like monsters. You’ll have a goal to defeat those monsters by developing good habits, such as productivity. Habitica has an entire community that will inspire you to stay focused on your goals.

This is not just a to-do app. It’s a really fun goal-setting tool with a visually-attractive interface. It shows your goals in a pie chart, organized by priorities. You can track and update the goals, so you’ll be aware of the progress you’re making. The idea behind Goalscape is mindfulness.

That’s interesting. We usually relate our goals with the future. When you set a goal to write a book, you practically envision it in print. With Goalscape, you’re forced to focus on the present moment and take it as a foundation for achieving those goals. It makes our plans way more realistic.

So yes, writing can be a lot of fun. When you find it impossible to move past the blank page, it’s time to implement unusual methods. Gamification can make a huge difference.

The ideas represented above are just a start. You can have your own take on gamification. Don’t forget to share the experience with us – do you have other ways to make writing fun?

Joan Selby

Joan Selby is a blogger and former ESL teacher; a graduate of California Institute of the Arts and a fancy-shoe lover; a writer by day and reader by night, giving a creative touch to everything.

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21 Comments

  1. Elvis Michael
    August 25, 2017 @ 1:07 pm

    This is amazing, Joan (especially Goalscape, which is completely new to me). Making this whole process fun never hurts, right?

    I covered Write or Die a few years ago and still use the app on occasion. I find it especially useful when writing things that don’t require me to stop and research.

    https://listiller.com/write-or-die-2-review-desktop-edition/

    Thanks a lot for every suggestion here 😉

    Elvis

  2. Reika
    August 29, 2017 @ 9:51 am

    Write or die sounds super scary! I love it! I will be trying it out as soon as I can. I know it’s extreme but there are times when I want to do something extreme.

  3. Patrick
    August 29, 2017 @ 3:16 pm

    These are some pretty awesome ideas. I have tried beeminder but immediately regretted it after losing money in the first week LOL

    • Daniel Reeves
      June 13, 2018 @ 1:37 am

      If a Beeminder goal is less than a week old you can actually instantly delete it at any time, even when you’re just about to derail and be charged money. (Kind of defeats the point but that first week is considered a trial period.)

  4. Ryan Biddulph
    August 29, 2017 @ 10:06 pm

    I like the idea behind Goalscape Joan because it forces you to focus on the present. Because this is where our power is. I don’t even do the goals thing. Which confuses the hell out of some folks LOL. Because I just hold an intent, and proceed, focusing myself on the power of now, versus imagining a future or focusing on the pasts, both illusory ghosts.

    Ryan

  5. Karthik Linga
    August 30, 2017 @ 2:52 am

    Wow, Nice ideas to make our writing work as more fun. I didn’t heard it before, just knowing on everything from here now. Will try myself and will share with fellow bloggers to know. Keep up your good work.

    Thanks

    Well Share ! Keep Sharing !!

  6. Richard Witt
    September 1, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

    Very interesting. I don’t think I’d ever try the one that can erase of all your work. I couldn’t deal with that stress, and I think it would make me less productive. But, I do like your overall concept of turning things into a game…or a challenge so that you push yourself.

  7. Adithya Shetty
    September 5, 2017 @ 4:38 am

    Hi Joan,

    Great tips, I just tried the demo of Write or Die; it’s a very cool tool to improve our productivity!

    Thanks for sharing!

  8. Ganesh bhojwani
    September 5, 2017 @ 4:34 pm

    Thank you for sharing your valuable and meaningful information, Nice ideas to make our writing work as more fun. appreciated it.

  9. Donna Merrill
    September 6, 2017 @ 7:16 am

    Hi Joan,

    Thanks for introducing me to some golden opportunities. I would like to give Goldscape because like my buddy Ryan wrote …. its the power of now. I like doing things in the moment.

    Now off to check out a new space to write.

    -Donna

    • Elvis Michael
      September 6, 2017 @ 5:56 pm

      You and Ryan are absolutely correct – as always. Why leave money and opportunities for later, anyway?

      Thanks Donna. It’s great to see you here 😉

      Elvis

  10. Tea Frank
    September 6, 2017 @ 10:30 pm

    Hi.New here so there is always usefull to read such things. Thanx 🙂

  11. Susan Velez
    September 7, 2017 @ 1:53 pm

    Hi Joan,

    I am actually trying to improve my writing and make it fun in the process. I already write over 1,000 words per day, like Ryan suggested.

    I’ve never heard of Goldscape, but it definitely looks great. I’ve gotten into the habit of setting goals and it would be very nice to see them in a pie chart.

    I’ll take a look at it this weekend.

    Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment, have a great day 🙂

    Susan

  12. Andrew M. Warner
    September 14, 2017 @ 9:39 pm

    Hey Joan,

    Good post here.

    I remember when I first tried Write or Die (based on hearing so many people talk about it) I absolutely started to panic when it started deleting my work. But it was a great tool to teach you to put down something, ANYTHING. And it helped me become a better writer over time.

    I like the concept of Goalscape. It’s something I need to try.

    Thanks for this.

    – Andrew

  13. Pradeep Naresh
    September 17, 2017 @ 5:25 am

    Hello Elvis,

    This is really great post! I think every blogger or writer always try to improve so these tips are very helpful.

    Many thanks for supplying this information.

    • Elvis Michael
      September 25, 2017 @ 1:46 pm

      Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

      Elvis

  14. Tom George
    September 20, 2017 @ 11:54 pm

    Hey Joan:

    I have used Write or Die.
    But Habitica and Goalscape are new to me. Will defenitley try.

    You said it right…procrastination is a huge monster.
    These tools should help.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Tom

  15. Vivian Okafor
    September 23, 2017 @ 10:04 am

    Just came across this post really nice I must say. I will try out the Habitica as soon as I can and hope to weed out those bad writing habits.

    • Elvis Michael
      September 25, 2017 @ 1:43 pm

      I hope it helps. Writing is admittedly mind-numbing sometimes, so these tools can be a breath of fresh air.

      Elvis

  16. Dr
    October 18, 2017 @ 3:56 am

    Hi
    Good work
    Nice article
    Thanks

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