Common Misconceptions About Streaming Your Writing

I don't think there is one writer who streams who hasn't come across these comments/questions posed to them during their stream. After four years of streaming, they still crop up when a new person enters the room. It can be odd or strange to watch someone writing a story on stream, especially when streaming is most often synonymous with gaming. And while gaming certainly reigns supreme on many streaming platforms, it is far from the only form of entertainment.

I hope to put together a multipart series of blog posts that will take you behind the scenes of why I do what I do, how I do it, and why (if you're a writer like me) you should do it too. In this particular post, I want to get out of the way the many comments and questions I've received over the years cause I'm sure you may be wondering the same things:

AREN'T YOU AFRAID SOMEONE WILL STEAL YOUR WORK?

I'd say this is the #1 question I get. And when I visit other writing streamers channels, they will often get the same question asked of them as well. My answer is always the same: no. If you are looking for a more nuanced answer, I will give you multiple reasons why that fear never crossed my mind and why it honestly should never cross yours.

1. What I'm showing on stream is often no where near the "final product." It's often the vomit draft. Which means there are going to be at least two more instances of drastic changes that will happen in the editing phases. And those phases are done differently, in that they are rarely done in sequential order. So, for someone to have the patience to copy my work from a stream seems a bit foolhardy.

2. I am no one. Like literally. I'm not Stephen King or J.K. Rowling or Brandan Sanderson. So why the HELL would some poor soul pick me of all people to steal my work? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to steal the work of someone who is a seasoned pro and therefore might bring you a couple bucks after you've stolen their thing? Otherwise, you're stealing for no reason and no profit. I mean, if you want to think you're somebody worth stealing from, good for you. But I know I'm not, and therefore, I'm not the least bit concerned if someone wants to waste a WHOLE LOT of valuable time trying to steal the vomit draft of my story that I share on stream.

3. If someone were to be such a time waster to steal my work, it would be VERY easy for me to prove what they stole cause I'm not only streaming myself writing the damn thing, but all of my streams are saved. So how easy would it be for me to go back to the date when I wrote it to prove that they are a thief (and a moron). The easiest won case in the history of man! lol

WRITING IS HARD. ISN'T STREAMING A DISTRACTION?

Yes, writing is hard. Whether you do it alone or in a crowd. Whether you are a seasoned pro or an amateur. The road to putting words on the page is difficult and how everyone tackles it is different. Even from streamer to streamer, how they approach writing a story is different. For me, I don't usually have the distraction from viewers because I am very small. This gives me the added benefit of not having to worry about massive chatting happening in my stream where I'm talking and not writing.

That's not to say you couldn't learn, over time, how to have a perfect balance of chatting with those who come to your stream and getting words written as well. There are plenty of streamers who have adapted their streams to accommodate the massive crowd of regulars who show up for discussion. Plus, those streamers have their own benefit to such an audience; help. Sometimes, it's nice to get a second or third opinion on an idea Live and right in that moment. The time of crafting an email to your beta readers (or critique group/partner) with your thoughts on an idea then sitting back and waiting several days or weeks for their reply can become instantaneous when you're streaming.

I think back to my early days of streaming, when I did it seven days a week, sometimes over six hours each day, and the dozens of people I'd get on a regular basis who showed up. Through those visitors I made friends, wrote some of my favorite short stories and novels using their help, and so much more.

So, in conclusion, is streaming a distraction? It can be, but only if you let it.

WHY BOTHER IF NO ONE IS WATCHING? I THOUGHT STREAMING WAS ABOUT VIEWERS?

I'll be the first to admit that I get more writing done on days when no one is in my stream than on days when even just one person is there and they are asking me questions. Not that I don't love getting asked questions, especially when it's about what I happen to be working on. Those questions will get me talking about my project and will often help me unravel an issue I'm having with the character or plot that can only be solved through talking about it out loud.

For writing streamers, the act of streaming means different things as I outlined in my post on the PROS OF STREAMING. Some of us do it for the accountability and others do it for the community. Either way, you have to be satisfied with whatever you get and also know that the platform you use to stream can be what dictates not just how many viewers you get but the kind you get as well.

Don't go into streaming for the hope of getting dozens or hundreds of viewers. It takes time to build that kind of community and relationship. Go into it with the goal of writing words and the accountability aspect of if you don't write the words there is the chance that someone out there is watching you not do the thing. Start from there and you'll be surprised inside a year where you end up.