This series is exploring the many reasons writers come up with for not writing and the four main reasons for those excuses: no energy, no motivation, no ideas and no focus.
Today we are looking at a lack of motivation and offering tips to help boost yours:
Focus on One Thing
If you focus on one aspect of your writing, such as character development, dialogue or plot, you can often move forward. So many times when we lose motivation it’s because we feel overwhelmed or lost. Trying to write the entire novel is way too big a task. By focusing on a single scene or line at a time, you can lessen that stress and move ahead with your story. So if you are feeling overwhelmed, go small. Small goals. Tight focus. Single purpose. It should help you calm down and get to work.
Exercise
It’s on this list too because it has so many health benefits. Get outside. Move. Breathe. Do something active for a small amount of time so you can get back to work. This will boost your energy and motivation.
Visualize
Seeing yourself as a writer can help. Imagine yourself in your writing spot and being in the zone. The words are flying. The characters are happily engaged or running for their lives or doing whatever comes next in your story. Immersing yourself in the story and the act of writing will help boost your motivation to make those images real.
Leave Bread Crumbs
Draft a quick note or outline for the scene you are working on so you know where you are headed. It helps to have a plan and a direction. You might be unmotivated because you aren’t sure where to take your story. Spend some time figuring that out and then get back to work. Consider both your plot and character arc when figuring out what comes next. Let your character’s momentum in the story get you moving.
Seek Inspiration
Watch a motivational video on YouTube to fire you up. But just one. And not a cat video or a series of memes. Look for something that will get you inspired and motivated to work. This might help you focus on your writing, if you don’t fall into the black hole that is the Internet.
Reset Yourself
Write down every reason why you want to write. Once you have your list, post it somewhere you will see it every day. Refer to this list when you are feeling frazzled or like giving up. It should remind you why you started this endeavor and help keep you going.
Track Your Progress
Keep a calendar (or use an app) to track your writing. Have you written every day so far in November? Then that’s a streak. You won’t want to break a streak, would you? Are you on track with your word count? If not, then keep going. Take it one step at a time. If you are on track, it’s okay to take a break. Rest. Relax. And prepare for tomorrow. Or you could ride the wave of words and bank more words. Just don’t overdo it too often or you might burn out. That is a totally different kind of motivation issue and requires far more than the solutions on this list will address.
Try the Five Minute Rule
Last week, I suggested pushing yourself in five minute increments until you were in the zone to write. It works for motivation too. Write for five minutes even if it feels like you are slogging through quicksand. At the end of the five minutes, say five minutes more and keep writing. The more you do this, the easier it is to write. Soon you will be in the flow or not. Either way, you will have words on the page.
Take a Break
Sometimes your brain needs to focus on something else entirely. While the best kind of break is to take a walk, you could read a chapter, a poem, listen to music. I counsel against falling into the couch and binging Netflix or surfing the net. These will not lead anywhere good and it will sap your energy. Save those activities as a treat after you hit your word count.
Accept that Life Happens
There will be days when writing will feel like the hardest thing you have ever done. That’s okay. you are not alone. It is natural. Keep going anyway. No one said it was easy. The only difference between a published author and an unpublished one is perseverance and dedication. Don’t let a lack of motivation keep you from doing something you love and want.
Motivation is not easy to find. If you can remember when you first wanted to write, keep that memory close. If it happened while reading a childhood book, pull it out again and read it. You never know where it might take you.
Next week we will continue the series by looking at ways to overcome a lack of ideas.