How Do You Motivate Yourself To Write When You’re Not In The Mood?

[Ken]

I tell myself I’m only going to write for twenty minutes, which is such an easy goal to achieve that I usually hop right to it, no matter how disinclined I am. Usually this twenty-minute session extends much longer, once I sit down and get cracking. Hackneyed as the expression is, “getting started really is the hardest part.”

[Alice.S]

I tape my fingers to the keyboard..

[johnnysannie]

I think about the mortgage and my kids' education.

[Mandy-Jane]

Hmmm. That 20 minute idea sounds like a good one. I should try that sometime. If I'm not in the mood to write, I must admit, I find it very difficult to get motivated and do it. I come up with a thousand reasons why there's no point starting it now, and just look at all the other things I have to do, and all of a sudden my house needs tidying, and on it goes.

[brainstrains]

The thoughts that motivate me have changed as I've moved closer to publication, from first book to agent to The Call. All my life I've wanted a career as a novelist. So right now, I tell myself that I'm on the brink of that, in a position that a lot of writers would kill to be in, and I've come too far to just drop it now. At the end of the day, after my full-time job, caring for my toddler, and taking care of all the other "stuff" is done-- this notion is the only thing that keeps my eyes open and my fingers moving on the keyboard.

I think for anyone, the idea that the next step on the journey could be just around the corner is great motivation to keep moving.

[James81]

If I'm not in the mood to write, but I've been writing everyday for a while, I'll give myself a day or two break sometimes.

coming back after that break is much harder to get STARTED, but once I do, I am glad I took the break.

[Shadow_Ferret]

When I figure it out, I'll let you know. I'm going on a 6 month dry spell now.

[Cav Guy]

I tend to switch writing types (go from non-fiction to fiction and back again) if I feel a slump coming on. As for how long I write...that's getting difficult. I used to write for hours, but much of what came out was crap. As I got better (or at least as I thought I got better) the amount of time I spend has dropped, but the quality has gone up. It is tough for me to make myself write when I don't want to, but I can usually find SOME project that I want to work on. From that it often spills into another.

I also do a fair amount of plotting and pre-writing in my head, so I guess I could also say that I'm "writing" when I'm not actually bashing on the keyboard.

[Soccer Mom]

Like Anis, I give myself a modes target: 500 words. It almost always turns into more. Sometimes it turns into only 450 words of crap and I've learned then to simply turn off the computer and step away.

[Use Her Name]

To me little bits and pieces of time will not do.

Similar is the problem of work. When you go to work for and 8 hour day, a lot of that time is spent "preparing to function." People who work longer hours seem to function better because there is less down time. I've learned that when I work 24 or 48 hours solid, I get more work done than if I work only one hour per day. I get "in the Zone," and remain there longer.

So what I end up doing is using small chunks of time for planning (outlineing), editing, reading and such. I save longer chunks of time for actually writing. You can get as much done in a weekend as you can get done in an entire week if you work it right.

[James81]

To me little bits and pieces of time will not do.

Similar is the problem of work. When you go to work for and 8 hour day, a lot of that time is spent "preparing to function." People who work longer hours seem to function better because there is less down time. I've learned that when I work 24 or 48 hours solid, I get more work done than if I work only one hour per day. I get "in the Zone," and remain there longer.

So what I end up doing is using small chunks of time for planning (outlineing), editing, reading and such. I save longer chunks of time for actually writing. You can get as much done in a weekend as you can get done in an entire week if you work it right.

It's weird because those "little bits and pieces of time" are the ONLY thing that works for me. Small things add up in a big way, and I have only recently discovered that.

[Bubastes]

Bits and pieces of time are all I have for writing, so I make it work. I finished my last short story that way and am working on another one in the same fashion.

[Soccer Mom]

If I give myself 8 hours to do something, it will take 8 hours. If I give myself 2 hours to do the same thing, I'll get my butt in gear. I have a day job, a farm, and two kids. Small bits of time are all I have, but I can usually do two novels a year, plus short stories. James is right. Small bits do add up.

[Use Her Name]

It's weird because those "little bits and pieces of time" are the ONLY thing that works for me. Small things add up in a big way, and I have only recently discovered that.

Different strokes... Many people need a lot of time-- I like pressure, deadlines.

[III]

I disconnect from the internet, load up on coffee and tell myself it's okay to write garbage.

[dirtsider]

I usually tell myself that I'm going to sit down and write for 30 minutes. Usually it ends up being more because I tend to fiddle around for about 5-10 minutes in the beginning. (You know, fiddling with the cd player, making tea, that kind of stuff.) And a lot of time, I'm also reading research related stuff afterwards as a sort of treat. So while I may only get 30 minutes of writing time in, I'm actually getting closer to two hours of work done on my story with the research stuff.

[steveg144]

"Mood"? "Mood"??? This is writing, not lovemaking! :-D

Seriously, just set your word count for the day and get it done. If you only write when you're in the "mood" you will be a very unproductive writer.

[wyntermoon]

I remind myself that the sooner I can support myself writing, the sooner I can quit my day job. ;) Works like a charm.

[DamaNegra]

This is what I do (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100941) :) I swear it works.

[Shadow_Ferret]

"Mood"? "Mood"??? This is writing, not lovemaking! :-D

Seriously, just set your word count for the day and get it done. If you only write when you're in the "mood" you will be a very unproductive writer.
Gah! You make it sound like *shudders* work!

Where's the romance? Where's the adventure? Where's that little elf going with my pen?

[Phaeal]

I tell myself I won't be seeing that house on Cape Cod unless I bust my butt at the keyboard and then get fabulously lucky, and since I can't control the fabulously lucky, I better start busting my butt.

Anis is quite right: Sit down with the self-admonition you'll just work for twenty, forty, sixty minutes, and you'll usually put in a longer session.

[Ken]

"Mood"? "Mood"??? This is writing, not lovemaking! :-D

Seriously, just set your word count for the day and get it done. If you only write when you're in the "mood" you will be a very unproductive writer.

you’ve misinterpreted the question, Steve, but did manage to inject some humor into your reply; so you'll be let off the hook this time ;-)

I wasn't asking how to get into the mood to write, but how to write even if you're not, in the mood, which is something a number of writers face.

My own reluctance stems in large part from laziness. I love writing and derive great satisfaction from it, along with a smattering of loot, but writing still isn't an easy thing to sit down and do, especially when there are so many other activities that are a lot more fun in the short run, like watching tv or chatting with chums.

As others have mentioned, there are also the pressing demands of earning a living to pay the bills and a host of other responsibilities that can sap ones energy, making the act of sitting down to write seem like a Herculean labor.

Fortunately I've been able to surmount my reluctance, and triumph over my laziness, in part, by setting hourly goals, which has proven effective in getting me to write consistently throughout the years.

But power to you and others who have the discipline and strength of character to be able to just sit down and write whenever you want, without any hesitancy. What I wouldn't give to be able to do that!

p.s. Your 24-48 hour writing marathons astound me, Use Her Name. You're as productive as the protag in Jack London's semi-autobiographical novel Martin Eden, who became a bestselling author in just 2 years, by putting in 20-hour days of writing, made even more staggering by the fact that he could barely read when he first set out to become an author.

p.p.s. Interesting replies, everyone, and informative too.
Will be using some of your tactics when I’m feeling sluggish, like I am at present.

[CBumpkin]

I'm motivated when I think about my life in Corporate America and how I would sell a kidney to get out of it permanently. Suddenly, my fingers fly across the keyboard like the wind....

[Blondchen]

I try to focus on just one thing. Sometimes when I sit down my head is spinning with things like plot and motivation, or I'm already stressing myself out about a later scene that's maybe a hundred pages away that I haven't done any research on yet, or going back and changing a scene from the spring to the fall so it fits the timeline better....

So I pick one thing. If my character is in a coffee shop waiting for someone to show up, I focus on the setting, the scents and sounds and colors, what's happening around him or her and try to write just one paragraph. If after that one paragraph the flow hasn't progressed from a constipated trickle, then I walk away for a bit, come back, and focus on one MORE thing.

That's not particularly deep, is it? I always thought writers were magically inspired, like the hand of God would reach out through the Chapel ceiling all the way to my living room, tap me on the shoulder to give me a good idea.

Yeah, not so much, apparently.

[Barber]

I have the opposite problem. I should start a thread called, "How do you stop writing?" LOL

Seriously. For the past year or so, I haven't stopped. I think I enjoy revising and polishing even more than actual writing. Maybe. Hard to say.

I guess if I lost motivation, I'd remind myself of all the ideas I want to get down on paper? That keeps me moving forward as it is, so maybe tell yourself the sooner you get your current book out of the way, the sooner you can work on its follow up.

[dempsey]

No one's given my answer yet.

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/images/tyrconnell%20port%20cask.jpg

Which really rather surprises me.

[Blondchen]

No one's given my answer yet.

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/images/tyrconnell%20port%20cask.jpg

Which really rather surprises me.

My preference...

http://www.flowersdirect.co.uk/products/CH08.jpg

[Ken]

I've never tried writing while drinking.
My scribblings are often pretty incoherent as is,
so I can only imagine what they'd look like if I was sipping booze.
Probably something like this:
ahfio oiquhg nqpigrn qphnvqnrqp qwpn jpwqeip uawo rnrp ngpqiwrng nrp npqwpqcmcw

ps Mighty fine looking bottles of booze, above. :-)

[dempsey]

My preference...

http://www.flowersdirect.co.uk/products/CH08.jpg

Add ...

http://www.cowen.co.uk/images/Siscax300.jpg

... and you've got yourself a date!

[One Fell Swoop]

When I'm in a slump, I go back to reading. I'll read some of my old writing journals and/or finished works for inspiration, or I'll pick up a favorite book. Generally, reading something that I really love inspires me to get back to writing. Or is has the opposite effect and makes me wish I had the talent that my favorite authors have. :-P

[scope]

If after 30 minutes to an hour at the computer I find that I lack the motivation to produce anything constructive I back off. I may or may not try again in few hours--usually not. I don't get down about it since I've been down this path for a number of years now. I accept what is and do something outside of writing which I enjoy. I know it's a passing phase, I don't try to push myself, and most often I'll come back stronger the next day. What can I tell you-it works for me!

[Snitchcat]

Strangely, I don't think I have any method for this. Maybe because I haven't stopped writing since I started. I mayn't always actually write something on paper, or in a doc.; it may be mental preparation, plotting, review, or what-have-you.

I guess this 'ticking over' means I can write whenever I want.