The start of a new year always comes with a sense of new beginnings and a refreshed attitude. Making resolutions to write more and finish that novel go hand-in-hand with renewed energy. The problem is making that energy last beyond the second week. Sticking to those resolutions until they are fulfilled or underway and part of a new routine.
The hardest part about writing is starting. It’s like anything else in life, taking those first steps takes more energy than it does to keep going.
Writers get rejected. It’s part of the job. But the frequency with which it happens doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
Recently I threw my name into consideration for a contract position I wanted. It would have meant a significant cut in my rate, but an increase in my quality of life. I would have been writing about a topic that would have brought me joy. It was a job I also would have excelled at doing. But therein lies the problem—I was overqualified and too expensive. Or maybe they just didn’t like my pitch or tone or samples. Who knows? I never heard. It was one of those situations where you apply and hear crickets.
The sight of school supplies lined up in boxes in colorful store displays brings back memories. There is something magical seeing those pencils sharpened and ready to write new words and stories. It’s a writer’s dream. Even when I was a grade school student, I loved the colors and feel of pencils. Later, I became obsessed with pens and have boxes of them stashed in my office supply closet.
They contain possibilities. Words still unwritten. Stories begging to be released.
Lots of people talk about writing and being a writer. They dream about book signings and being famous, the photo on the back of the cover, the money. What few do is embrace what it takes to get there. The hard days/nights of work and the roller coaster of emotions that are inevitable. Even fewer actually sit down and write.
If you want to be one of this small group, ask yourself these three questions:
Not writing happens more than writing. Staring at the blank page. Struggling to get motivation to put words on the screen. We have all felt that way. It’s common. Its cause? Resistance.
Resistance keeps writers from writing. It stands in the way of every type of creative endeavor, whether its a painter who isn’t wielding her brush or a writer avoiding the page. It is the single biggest challenge in creating things that are whole and realized and finished.
Stephen Pressfield wrote in his book The War of Art that “it’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is resistance.”
He is not wrong.
This series on writing obstacles has looked at three of the four main excuses writers use for not putting words on the page: no energy, no motivation, and no ideas. In our final installment, we’re going to look at lack of focus.
This time, we’re focusing on a lack of ideas. This is a big reason why some people stop writing. It’s simply because they can’t think of what to write next. Here are some tricks to get around that:
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:
There are many reasons writers come up with for not writing. It’s amazing how many reasons there can be, ranging from being exhausted to needing to defrost the freezer to the absolute crisis of not having any caffeine in the house. As long as there are excuses to use, writers will find them. Heck, we’re the ones who make them excuses up in the first place. We’re writers! But excuses are not going to get your novel finished or get that client project turned in on time.
There are four major categories for these excuses: no energy, no motivation, no ideas and no focus. I’m going to tackle each one and offer solutions to overcoming your particular brand of excuse. First up: No Energy.
Last week, we talked about ways to write faster. The blog was filled with tips and tricks to get those 50k words for NaNoWriMo down more quickly. Though the tricks will work for any project at any time.
Writing faster is a valuable skill. As a professional writer, I know the faster I am able to write, the more I can produce, which means more money. Of course, faster can’t be more important than good, when it comes to clients. When it comes to first drafts, the words matter more. Get them down as fast as possible. You can worry about the quality later.