10 Ways To Keep Your Writing Motivation Going

Originally posted 2019-12-19 17:34:32.

 

Like pulling on a tracksuit  on a wet and cold morning, when you need to lose weight,  there will be days when you won’t want to turn on your laptop and sit down and begin writing. So how do you put yourself through those moments when your motivation is very low?

Here are ten tips to help stop that motivation fire going again.

1 – Keep Moving Forward – Just remember, like  pushing a broken down car the largest amount of effort is needed to get it rolling those first couple of inches. But once it’s going it’s easier to keep the momentum going. However when you stop pushing and the car slows down again, you need to dig deep again to get it started once more. The same is also true for writing. Even if you’re only writing one page a day, it’s easy to keep the momentum going, then if you leave large gaps between your writing sessions. Even if you’re only writing one page per day you’re still moving yourself in the right direction. Do you really want to skip today and lose that momentum?

2 – Does Your Book Excite You? – Does the book you’re writing exciting? If you don’t feel any excitement for your writing maybe you’re writing for the wrong genre, or the wrong book? Then maybe it’s time for a rethink. If you’re not excited for the book that you’re writing, how do you expect your reader to be excited to read it? If however, you are enjoying the book that you’re writing, but you’re just going through a hard patch, then maybe it’s time to think of a goal outside your writing that will excite you. Could you plan an exciting date for yourself when your book is written? Maybe a treat at the local spa? Or how about an expensive purchase that you’ll get once you’ve completed your book? The excitement of treating yourself could help power you through that off peak moment.

3 – Picture Your Finished Book – If you’re anything like me,  you’re most excited about your book when you’re in the final stages of writing it. Beginning the first chapter and knowing there’s so much work ahead of you can make you feel like giving up. So why not use the power of visualization and visualizing? Picture your book being completed and being read by readers as a way of building excitement  for your writing. Even if you can’t bear the thought of writing that day,  why not set aside a little bit of time for writing the book description? You may find by that by writing a captivating and exciting description for your book it may enough to get you excited about completing it and getting it published.

5 – Hold Yourself Back –  It’s easy to go all ‘Gung-ho’ with your writing, sit down and write three chapters in one go,  and then burn yourself out for the following day. So why not keep your motivation in check and hold yourself back? Maybe you only write one chapter on the first day and then leave yourself excited for the next chapter of the next day? If you feel yourself excited  and want  to carry on writing, maybe  you should cut it short. For example,  stop halfway through that exciting paragraph you’re writing and leave it for tomorrow. Knowing that exciting paragraph it’s going to be the beginning point of your next day’s writing means you’re going be excited for the moment when you’re  sitting down to finish it.

6 – Sleep More –  Like every part of life, if you’re not getting enough sleep it’s going to affect your writing and your ability to think clearly. If you’re constantly rewriting the same chapter or paragraph over and over again and being frustrated with your writing, then maybe it’s time you caught up in a little sleep and gave your mind and your imagination a little rest. Coming back to your work fresh eyes and a fresh mind  might be all you really need.

7 – Organize Your Space – It can be hard to motivate yourself when the area  you’re working in is all cluttered and distracting. Try and clear out some space that purely yours for writing.  If you want to, you could also hang up some motivational posters, or quotation from writers or people that inspire you. If you’re writing space isn’t a happy space it’s going to be hard to  motivate yourself for your writing.

8 – Motivate Yourself With Music – Is there any inspirational music that you like to listen to,  movie soundtracks that motivate you, or even speeches on YouTube to get you buzzing. Then now maybe the time to bring them out. If music doesn’t work  for you,  you could try out some type of brain entrainment soundtrack to help focus your mind and help you concentrate better.

9 – Set Goal And Deadlines – Sometimes all we really need to focus our minds and motivate us is a goal or a deadline. Having something concrete to focus on can give us a feeling of accomplishment when we achieve it.  Whether that’s a fixed daily word count, or an amount written by the end of the week, having something to measure your progress by may be all you really need  to stay motivated.

10 – Mix It Up A Little – If your motivation is you’re always writing in the same place, maybe it’s time to mix it up a little. If the weather’s nice, why not take your laptop outside and write outside. If you think you need a little company would help, why not take your laptop to a local coffee shop and write there for a while? Or how about the way you write at your desk? If you write all the time sitting down, why not try standing up and writing standing up for a change? It may feel a little awkward at first, but maybe a change of body position might be enough to free up your mind and freshen up your writing?

And there you have it, ten ways to boost your motivation for those days when you don’t feel like writing. If you’ve got any tips of your own, why not leave them below in a comment. I look forward to reading them.

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