This is more of an exploratory post than a firm proposal.

A lot of us want to write more. A lot of us have the time to write more, but lack the discipline.

Some people are good at self-imposing discipline. Others, however, need the threat of negative consequences to get something done. The old "write an essay the day before it's due" approach.

The idea is this:

- Everyone who wants to take part commits to writing - and posting in a private group - 2,500 words a week.

- At the start of each week, each participant pays a $100 deposit.

- If you fail to meet the 2,500 words/week commitment, you lose your deposit. This money is equally distributed between those who met the wordcount. To avoid arguments and disputes, this would have to be enforced strictly, no exceptions, no matter how sympathetic the reason.

- If you lose your deposit 4 weeks in a row, you're out. The idea is to motivate writing, not to take money off people. If it's not working for you, then there's no point you continuing to take part and keep losing money.

- Participation is on a weekly basis, so if you know in advance you can't write that week - for example, you're going on holiday - you can just choose not to participate.

How much interest would there be in such an approach? $100 is a fair amount of money, but in order for it to properly motivate I feel like it does need to be an amount of money which you genuinely fear losing.

 

I'm just going to go ahead and say I think this is a terrible idea and that attaching monetary transactions between members well intentioned or not is going to blow up at some point.

 

I wouldn't say that the idea is terrible, but I think it's going about it the wrong way. I write because it's fun and relaxing. And though I would love more motivation, the added stress of potentially losing 1000 dollars is something I don't need in my life right now. Writing fanfictions should be for fun. I do see why it would be beneficial to some, but I disagree with the concept in general.

And like Seratin said, adding monetary transactions between members would probably be a bad idea.

 

I think that the discipline itself and the words you end up with are rewarding enough and that it would be better to redirect this money towards the pre-agreed cause, be it charity, or something similar. You'd avoid a lot of problems that way.

As for interest, it does sound good, but I don't have that kind of money. If there would be a punishment that would equally unsettle me (and I can afford it), I'd be game.

 

I like this idea in theory because I would like to write more, but what I think would happen is me losing 100 dollars once and never writing again.

 

I think it could work (at least motivate me) but I can also see myself cutting corners last minute. If I'm running behind, well... I just need 2500 words, not 2500 good words.

I do agree that dividing the money can easily cause rifts and a potential blow up. I think the charity route is the better option. Use the loss of the 100 dollars as the motivator, not the potential of earning a few dollars.

 

Problem here is how would we determine that a member has actually met their word count goal? They could just copy words from previously written stories, though I suppose if most members wrote fanfiction, that would be easier to catch. I also agree that the money should be donated or not go into someone else's pocket. Otherwise you'll have people joining just to skirt the rules to collect money from the people who are legitimately trying and failing to meet the 2500 word goal. If the money is donated, there would be much less risk of cheating because otherwise why bother.

 

If someone has to go to this extent to make themselves write, they should perhaps reconsider their choice of hobbies.

 

I would assume there would be a shared google drive where everyone has a folder. A potential perk of that approach is making beta reading easier. A potential detriment would be if anyone has alt accounts. The mask would have to come off if they wanted to count those words.

 

You could possibly say "let's make it ten dollars" and have the forfeited money go directly to the maintenance of DLP itself. An amount of money that's slightly irking to lose but that nobody is going to argue about.

Bear in mind I still think it's a terrible concept.

 

$1000 dollars to the man who beats @Taure to 100,000 words!

 

I agree with what people have said about quality writing. I can write 2.5k of garbage easily but I don't want to write garbage.