The Pros to Being a Writing Streamer

I've been streaming on Twitch (a gaming platform) since mid-2016. I discovered Twitch when Adobe announced they would be working alongside them to unveil a "creative" arm that would kick off with illustrators. I just loved watching them draw and the interaction they had with us, their viewers (and fans), was great. It was through one of those streamers that I was given the confidence to begin streaming myself writing. At the time I remember thinking "who the heck would want to watch me writing?" But over time I realize it was never about that at all. At least, not for me.

I also credit Twitch for introducing me to so many friends I still have today. One is an illustrator who has collaborated with me on so many projects where he's drawn scenes and characters and I've provided the story. Then there is a fellow writer who invited me to write a story inside his world. I've even gotten a paid job (or two) just from sharing my knowledge and skills while streaming by fellow streamers. If not for Twitch and my use of the platform, I may never have had any of those opportunities.

But why has streaming become such an important part in many writers lives? Why do many of us stay the course, streaming as regularly as we can, while others come and go? What is it about the act of streaming (regardless of which platform you use) that not only bring the streamer back but the viewer? I'm going to delve into this from my perspective here, but I also recommend "#TwitchWriters" a LIVE panel discussion about this very topic happening as a part of QuaranCon 2021. I'll be the moderator, joined by four other writing streamers to discuss this very topic! If you want to know who those streamers are...you'll have to watch to find out!

COMMUNITY

Ask just about any streamer why they do it and I'll wager a majority of them will say it's for the community aspect of it. Especially, now during these crazy COVID times. The idea of being able to get on camera or just audio and do what you love and have others be present to chat with you can be a wonderful thing for many of us. It brings people from literally all over the globe together in ways unimaginable since the age of Chat Rooms and AIM when the internet was first in its infancy. Now, the ability to bring total strangers together on a regular basis and build friendships is that much easier. To have a passion and then search for others who have similar passions is that much easier.

Community, for many streamers, can mean different things. For some it involves taking that community with them and bringing them somewhere else for a more personal connection, like an email newsletter or a Discord group that is invite only. This allows for less outside noise and interference. For other streamers, it's having dozens of people in a room and the chat going so fast they can hardly keep up. It all depends on what the streamer wants and the time and work they are willing to put into it.

For me, I think of the community, when I'm streaming, as finding fellow writers. Not people looking for something to read, because I doubt many readers would think "Hmm, I want a new book to read, let me check Twitch to see what's out there?" They might say that about YouTube if they follow a certain book reviewer who always has great recommendations. But I'm sure they are more likely to check a bookstore or Amazon or even a library. For me, streaming is a way to build connections and friendships with fellow writers. Share our struggles. Our successes.

ACCOUNTABILITY

This is probably the biggest reason I stream. And it might be the same for other streamers as well. Full disclosure and no shame: I AM LAZY. There, I said it, and it's the truth. I just am. If given the choice to stay in bed spending countless hours scrolling through Netflix trying to decide what to watch OR getting up and writing? As much as I love writing and I can't imagine my life without it, at the end of the day, I'd rather stay in bed. I think many of us are like that. It's hard to fight those inner voices telling us that we're not worth it. That doing what we enjoy is just a waste of time because no one is going to buy it or like it or whatever. I have those voices in my head constantly. Getting them to shut up is hard.

But I know that if I can at least get to the point of turning on my computer and hitting the "Start Streaming" button on OBS, then I know I'm ON. Like, even if no one else is ever in the room. The possibility that someone is lurking...watching...expecting... That's enough for me to keep my butt in the seat to produce "something" even if that something is not my best work. It's the single best motivator I've found besides having a really amazing story idea that I just can't wait to write.

And don't we all need some form of accountability in our lives. If we had to only ever be accountable to ourselves, how much work would be truly get done? I probably wouldn't have written ANY of the words I've done so far in 2021, that's for damn sure.

Something else I recommend doing, if streaming is something you're still on the fence on but you're desperately looking for the accountability aspect, it's to TELL others what you intend to do. Announce it in a tweet. Write a blog post about it. Text a friend. If you keep it to yourself, it's all too easy to say "oh, I'll just do it tomorrow, who'll know?" But if your mind knows that others might ask you "hey, how's that thing going that you told me about?" then you're that much more likely to DO IT!

STRUCTURE/SCHEDULE

Having structure and a schedule I'm putting together even though I am using them differently, only because with one you get the other and visa versa.

When I think of structure, I think of the steps taken day-to-day to accomplish a goal. For instance, when I was more structured with my streams in January of this year, I would start my streams by showing my Bullet Journal (aka BuJo), and jotting down the goals I intended on accomplishing on that day. I would then get down to doing my daily writing challenge to write one Drabble (a story that is EXACTLY 100 words) using either Merriam-Websters Word-of-the-Day or the #VSS365 word. After that I would settle in to working on my Friday Fiction short story to get it completed in time for it release. This was my structure (or you may think of it as a routine). I had this in place because of the schedule I set out for myself.

My schedule is divided three ways and typically in this order: writing, work, family. In the AM is my time for writing. The afternoon and longest chunk of my day is set aside for work. That "9 - 5" where I earn my living. Then from dinner time till bedtime, I am with my wife and two dogs. The only exception to this rule is, of course, the weekend, when I don't have work but I do have family time with a few hours set aside for writing.

Because I have such a limited amount of time to write during the week (three hours each day) it is VERY important that I know just what I'm going to do during those three hours. I must have a structure in place. Otherwise, I can end up spending those three hours talking to myself about nothing important and wasting valuable writing time.

It's not enough to say you're going to stream for three hours and turn on the cam and the mic and sit at your computer and start streaming. You have to then actually do the damn thing, otherwise, you've thrown accountability out the window.

FINISHING

Something else that streaming can do if used right, is it can help you to actually finish projects. With the help of community cheering you on, accountability moving you toward a goal, structure keeping you on task, and a schedule to prioritize your life, the finish line won't be too far out of your reach.

I will admit I've finished more stories, novels, and projects in general because of all the hours spent streaming, than all the hours spent before it, when I would start a million things and finish none of them. The feeling of finishing and having someone there or just a record of that finish immortalized forever on a recorded video that you can look back on, is just icing on the cake.

So, what are you waiting for? Permission? Instruction? Direction? Motivation? I can surely give you those things if you require them, but if you truly are thinking of streaming (on whatever platform you want) then do it. The community of streamers that I've met in my many years of streaming have mostly been welcoming, encouraging, and helpful. Let's grow stream writers into a community that just releases masses of amazing stories every year together. There's no law that says writing must be done alone.

My next blog post will go over some of the many common misconceptions about streaming and why many writers shy away from it because of these falsehoods they believe to be true.