Treat Writing Like an Idle Game to Build Your Strategy

When I had the idea for this article, I didn’t see all the similarities that an idle game has with writing. But now, you’ll be amazed as well.

I have played a couple of idle games in the past. They are addicting. They are fun and give you a feeling of progress.

All in all, an idle game revolves around time.

You can’t be a top player in an idle game without time passing by. Especially when this idle game is on for years already.

In my example, the idle game is Medium. You see a lot of successful writers here. Your stories might be better. But they don’t have the impact you want already. It’s fine.

I realized that writing on Medium feels a lot like an idle game when I took it more seriously. And when I wrote down the key aspects of an Idle game, I saw a huge connection with writing.

So, let’s begin with breaking down an idle game.

In order to give you a good idea of the sections you can see in an idle game, I broke it down into 6 parts.

Activity

When I was playing Tap Titans(yeah okay, don’t hate me…I was just a teen!), I used to open the game first thing in the morning. I also used to open the game right before sleep, to get the rewards and make my sleep time more worthy.

Remember, if you grow 1% every day for a year, you’ll end up being 37 times better at the end of it.

Imagine what your Medium earnings can be, by the end of it.

You will make progress the more active you are, that’s self-explanatory.

To make my point more clear, above you can see what my absence made in my progress. You can also see what happened when I came back.

I believe you can make your own assumptions about what is best for you in order to progress.

It’s a process of giving and taking. You give a little time daily to build your brand, and you get faster progress in return.

Longevity

Yes, the prodigies of Medium are here to stay. They will probably rule the Medium-land for years to come.

But newer people grow too. There are people that in less than a year made their presence vivid to the Medium community. Amardeep Parmar is one of them. In less than a year he created one of my favorite brands on the platform.

Was he lucky? Yes, as he writes in his story. But did he stay for the whole ride? Also yes.

He trusted the process. You should too.

Don’t get discouraged by your numbers. We were here. I still am, but I’m slowly transiting out of it. I’m leveling up.

Bonus Tasks

When you are playing an idle game, the company offers you some rewards when you finish tasks. Sharing on Twitter, Facebook, inviting new players, etc.

In writing, your tasks are usually sharing your work. Twitter, Facebook, and many other social media are options for you. Your reward is getting some traffic and further improve your numbers. It’s a way of boosting yourself and getting results more easily.

When I will publish this story, I’ll make sure I share it on all my social media. At least 10% of my traffic comes from there. And 10% is important.

You’ll understand the power of 10% when you grow bigger. The numbers will look bigger too.

Leveling Up

Just like any idle game, leveling up is the primary goal to progress faster and go to the top.

You level up various heroes, with different traits and skills.

When it comes to writing, leveling up your various qualities is the equivalent of leveling up heroes.

There are 4 qualities I aim to level up constantly.

• Writing quality
• Language and formating
• Content
• SEO

When I look back to my first story ever (Writing tip guide), I don’t see the quality I have now. It takes time to learn the secrets of writing, but when you do, the world is yours. You can stretch it, command it, rule it. Do whatever you want with it.

Learn the rules of writing in order to break them at your will.

Guild

To be honest with you, this is one of the aspects of writing I didn’t pay attention to. I haven’t joined a guild already. This is a huge mistake and I am aware of it.

When you play an idle game, joining a guild comes with many benefits. Tips to level up faster, bonuses for being in a team, etc.

Likewise, when you are writing, joining a writing community will help you find a family. They will guide you, show you your mistakes and grand bonuses, like more views, shares, etc.

Try to join a writing community. It will benefit you and it’s in my plans too. Maybe we could start one together. Let me know in the comments below!

Inactivity

At the time you will get rewards for your activity. All your struggle and hassle is stacking up when you are inactive, like in an idle game.

The next time you’ll get active, you’ll see all your rewards. Views, claps, fans. Everything is there to prove to you that you did well.

And every day will show you how much better you are than yesterday.

Final Thoughts

Writing feels like an idle game. Why?

1. Activity. Both idle games and writing progress through the time you spend on them.
2. Longevity. They give incremental rewards based on the progress you made. Trust the process.
3. Bonus Tasks. Sharing your work is your bonus task and you’ll get rewards (traffic) based on that.
4. Leveling up. You can level up your work’s quality in order to see better results in time.
5. Guild. Joining a writing community will offer you “ranking up” tips and will grand you bonuses, like them sharing your work.
6. Inactivity. You’ll get rewards according to your activity.

You are ready to step up your writing game? It’s exactly like an idle game. Wonder why? Read the whole story above.

If you liked my story, make sure to read my other stories about writing.