Gamifying Writing
As much as I love stringing sentences together, there are times when seeing the word count go up isn’t enough motivation to keep me going. Sometimes I need more, which is where gaming comes in.
I’ve been a gamer as long as I’ve been a writer, and combining the two works so, so well for me. A lot of games are goal oriented, especially ones that give you quests like defeating ten enemies. Writing is sometimes goal oriented, like when you’re trying to get words for your first draft. But unlike a game, where you can turn the quest in and get a reward, there’s no easy way to celebrate meeting your draft goal. At least, not on a word processor.Thankfully, plenty of other people love writing and gaming, and there are several sites that offer both! Here are a few of my favorites:4thewords
This is easily my favorite website when I want a genuine gaming experience to go with my writing. Use your words to fight monsters; some require you to write as little as 50 words, while others require you to write an astronomical 1,200 words. If you win, monsters give you loot and experience, so your character levels up the more you fight. There’s an overarching storyline, but there’s also sidequests and events like any other game. Even better, there’s an active multiplayer community where you can team up to defeat harder monsters. There used to be a monthly subscription (after a very generous 30-day trial), but now there’s a free option, which only limits the amount of monsters you can fight per day.
Ohwrite
Although 4thewords is a true mashup of gaming and writing, Ohwrite is easily my second favorite site. It does have a reward-based system, but that’s as close to gaming as this one gets. Every 100 words, you receive a star by your name; every 1,000 words, that star becomes a gold star. I really enjoy this site because of the easy access to sprint rooms. There’s a global room that anyone with an account can join, and private rooms you can invite friends to. Your words are visible only to you, but the number of words is visible to everyone.Written? Kitten!
(https://writtenkitten.co/):
I’m deathly allergic to cats, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this adorable site. Every time you write 100 words, you get a picture of a kitten! You can also swap this to puppies or bunnies.
Download for free @ discord.com
Discord Sprints:
There are plenty of writing discords with channels dedicated to sprinting. You can set a time limit, invite friends, and see who gets the most words during that time. But no matter the winner, everyone is getting words on their work in progress.Twitch/YouTube:
There’s a large community of writers who stream while they write. Some share their screen and allow viewers to see what they’re working on, while others use games like Spirit City: Lofi Sessions as their background and keep their words to themselves. Some streamers use pomodoro (i.e., 25-minute sprints followed by 5-minute breaks) or other sprint lengths, and encourage their community to take part. While most of the streamers I’ve found are sci-fi or fantasy writers, there are also some romance writers. Regardless of the genre, I’ve found that every writer I’ve spoken to is lovely and encouraging, and happy to cheer me on when I hit a goal or word count. 
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions available on Steam
That’s a pretty comprehensive list of the sites I use now. Back when I first got into gamifying my writing, I also used Fighter’s Block and the original version of Write of Die. Unfortunately, Fighter’s Block hasn’t been updated in years. Write or Die now has a sequel, but I haven’t tried it yet.Writing or rewriting a draft can be a daunting task, but having small goals along the way makes it fun and gives me a sense of accomplishment. If you’re new to making your writing more game-like, I hope you’ll try one of the sites I listed above! If there’s one I missed or overlooked, I’d love to hear about it so I can also try it.