How can I make the process of writing easier?

Question

I came up with an AI image generation party game, and I wanted to tell about it to others. It took me an hour to write the description, even though I already knew all the details in my head. It was very hard to write it, I didn't know what order to put stuff in. How many paragraphs should I write. Should I give an explicit example of how the game is played, so on.

How can I make the process of writing easier? I try to think about what I want to say before I actually start typing, but I get insecure about whatever I write. I always feel like someone is going to find the way that I write as bad.

Answer 1

The question, vague as it remains after the edit by F1Krazy, potentially touches on many topics:

1. Low self-esteem
2. Perfectionism
3. Lack of routine
4. Wrong assumptions about what writing is and how it works

Writing is a skill like any other that needs to be learned and practised. You cannot just sit down and expect to write a good text if you haven't spent years on learning how to write.

Don't be afraid to write bad texts at the beginning. Just like someone who runs for the first time will likely not win the New York Marathon; just like someone who starts learning a language will not immediately be fluent; just like a student in the first semester very likely won't win the nobel prize in physics; just like beginners in any other discipline, the texts that a beginning writer writes will invariably be bad compared to the texts written by those who have practised the craft for many years.

Approach your first writings with a learner's mind: conscious of your lack of skill, ready to fail, and willing to put effort into slowly getting better.

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That said, a good approach in writing a technical description is to think about what you want to write from the perspective of the user:

• What aspects of your game will the user encounter in what order?
• What will he want to know before he decides to try the game?
• What will he need to know when he begins?
• What background do your users have and what knowlegde can you take for granted, and what information will you have to provide?

Once you have written a first draft of your gameplay instructions, implement it in your app or website and get some test players (who don't know your game) to try and play it. Get feedback from them and ask them, if at every point during beginning the game they had all the information they needed, if the instructions were clear and comprehensible to them, and so on.

Then revise your description and test it again.

Answer 2

Get something to drink. And then, here's my simple advice:

Just sit down and write down everything you have in your head about your topic, no filters.

Then, later, go back and divide it into paragraphs by giving each paragraph a title. That will tell you what the subject is for that paragraph.

Next, move any sentences that are out of place and put them under the right paragraph.

Put all the paragraphs in an order that reflects your project. Then, remove the paragraph titles or improve them if you need them.

Proofread yourself for consistency, remove fluff or extra words and correct punctuation/grammar and word usage.

Put the entire project aside for three days. After that, reread yourself and make any changes you feel are necessary.

That should do it. And remember, no one has to see this until you are ready to show them and they especially do not have to see your "process".

Giving an example is always a good idea. And if you feel tired, just rest then go back to your task.

Good luck!