Staying Motivated

i realize i am working a job i hate very much and will need to work this job i hate very much for 30 more years unless some miracle happens like i win the lotto or get a book published that becomes a huge hit... i go buy a lotto ticket, sit down and get writing again...

Hate it more. There is a point where the money from your job isn't worth the hassle. Once you mentally reach that point, you'll have the motivation you need. Good lucK!

My writing group helps me stay motivated. I finally found one where most of the people are at the same point I am which is pretty much starting our novels and writing careers. And it started off small enough to really help me hammer out some of the ideas that were throwing roadblocks in my path. I think it may be getting bigger but I'll find out next week. (It's a monthly group.)

I also found some interesting books I'm using for research for my story which helps me stay motivated enough to keep writing, even if it's only a couple hundred words a day.

I switch projects when my motivation wanes. I usually have several (currently 6) in the works and have been able to switch back and forth when motivation or writers block occurs.

Other suggestions would be writing a short story as a spin off, or a "before" story about your main WIP.... playing with the back story is not only fun, but might give you that urge to get back to it. Worst case scenario, your background info will be better defined! =)

Hang in there!

brainstorm77 said:

I have days where I seem to make excuses not to write .. How do you stay motivated in moments like this?

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I don't. I listen to my whims. Sometimes a day off from a project helps.

brainstorm77 said:

I have one completed novel that I'm rewriting plus five other started works, like you I do go back and forth.

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Well in that case, my next advice probably will earn a few "boo's" but if I were stuck and didnt have the motivation to switch to a different one... I would first try taking a day off or three... if that didnt work... I would start a brand new project! *lol*

Another suggestion would be to get a reader for your main WIP and get their feedback. Feedback always seemed to feed my muse!

Why do you need to write daily? As long as you don't stop writing altogether, write when it feels right for you. Your best work will come when you feel motivated to write, rather than when you force yourself to. It can also be quite refreshing for your writing!

I walk away from it for a day, or two, or a week... motivation returns when it is ready. In the meantime I clean the house, walk the dogs and fiddle about with outlines to keep my brain ticking over at least.

You haven't written in two days?
Excluding one poem, I haven't written in about 2 months. So, really, I amn't one to dish out advice on keeping motivation.

Hope your motivation comes back soon though and you don't end up like me...

I realize that my lack of motivation comes because I'm stuck somehow in the story. I may not know what to do next or there may be a scene I'm working on (or coming to) that is just wrong-- but I don't know how to fix it.

Sometimes (because I have a dreadfully busy schedule) I just let myself dillydally around not writing and insteadn work on the things for home and work that need doing. Sometimes I take the bull by the horns and force myself to put time and thought into solving the problems that are keeping me from working. One exercise I use for plot problems is to write a list of as many-- shooting for 20-- solutions to the problem, be it long or short term, and somewhere on that list I'll find my motivation. Sometimes I'll just keep rewriting the troubled scene until I'm happy with it.

I think it's important to figure out WHY you don't want to write... but I don't think writing every day is crucial. The problem, I think, is when you want to make progress but something is stopping out. Figure out what that something is and you'll have a better time staying motivated. Well, at least that's how it works for me. But my problems with writing have always had to do with not liking what I was writing or not knowing where I was going next. Those two problems are amazing at sapping my desire to write. Times like those make scraping tile from the basement floor look appealing. =)

Reading a good book usually helps motivate me...it really gives me a creative charge to read something fabulous.

I'm too lazy to be motivated.
When I was a kid, I used to lie by the electric fire to keep warm, and eventually my legs would start to melt. At this point, I'd shout "Mummmm, move meeeee - I'm on fire."

brainstorm77 said:

I have days where I seem to make excuses not to write .. How do you stay motivated in moments like this?

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Come here.

Browse Forums

Read threads titled "I have an Agent!" or "I just sold my third book and I'm only 19!" or "I just made my first sale!"

Get angry/jealous

Sit down

Write

Works every time :-D

The only motivator I have is my desire to finish a story that I really love, to see it through to the end. I admit this doesn't always work, but it's not like I have publication hopes or readers egging me on. My love for my story is all I have, for better or for worse.

I went eight months last year without writing and then POOF in November I wrote and completed my 70K memoir. I am working on revamping the opening, but it's really not an easy thing to make yourself do sometimes. I really had trouble last year, but I am looking forward to a productive year.