You’re sitting in the chair, staring at your empty screen.
The cursor keeps flashing, alternating between taunting and beckoning you to write.
But your brain is empty. This day has left you torched, ragged, and perhaps even a little scarred.
How are you supposed to write in such a state? Where is the magic inspiration that will flow through your fingertips, crafting symphonies of prose on that now-empty page? Where is your muse’s whisper, invigorating your every keystroke?
More importantly, what do you do when there is no magic inspiration? No muse? And when your day has dragged you into the pit of despair?
Most (dare I say ALL) writers have been there at one point. Some are there often. If you’re like me, it’s practically every day.
Yet over the last two years, I’ve managed to write five full-length novels, and I’ve published three of them thus far. (The other two are going through my publisher, Aethon Books, so I’m on their timeline rather than my own.)
So how did I do it, despite the mountain of disadvantages stacked against me?
Here are 4 Ways to Find Your Writing Motivation, as inspired by a recent post I commented on in a writing group on Facebook.
1. Take notes during the day on your inspired thoughts.
Use a notepad or your cell phone… whatever will work best to capture that inspiration in that moment. This is especially useful if you’ve got a “day job” where you don’t have the kind of time freedom that someone self-employed would have.
I did this for a few years prior to going full-time in publishing, and I still do it when I’m out and away from my computer, and it really helps a lot. I even outlined a full book in a little notebook way back in 2009/2010 that is now published.
2. Get up early to write.
I personally hate this idea, but it works really well for a lot of writers. What I do now is stay up late and sleep late, but that’s not feasible for everyone.
Either way, the point is you can get work done in the still, quiet moments of the night, where you’re less likely to be interrupted.
If you’re a morning person, or if you can become one, then go to bed early and reserve your early mornings for tapping out those words. A few weeks in, you’ll start to see real consistent progress.
Note: Do NOT gauge your success based on the first few days alone–whatever happens then is fleeting and almost never consistent. It takes a long time to develop a habit and a routine, so give yourself a long time–at least a month–to try to find your groove with whatever approach you take.
3. Find your “why.”
This is probably the most important thing an author can do when it comes to finding motivation to write. What I mean is that you need to find and lock onto a powerful reason for writing that will drive you forward.
Here’s a bit of backstory on how that works, at least for me: I grew up believing I was meant for a greater purpose than what I ended up spending my post-college years doing, which was working retail. There’s nothing wrong with working retail, but suffice it to say that it didn’t hold my attention very well, so I was constantly on the lookout for something else.
That “something else” quickly became writing, a passion I had always enjoyed but had never really tried to develop in any serious way.
So when I decided I wanted writing to be my career, my “why” became “I need to work hard, produce a lot of content, and publish it to grow enough revenue to be able to work for myself.”
It’s still a driving force for me, because eleven years later, I’m still not earning enough money from my books to stop working my current day job, which is editing for other authors and helping them publish their books. (Don’t get me wrong; I love working with other authors, but I’d rather be writing my own stuff everyday instead!)
That “why” continues to drive me. It’s part of how I managed to write two books this year, and to edit two of my other books, one of which I’ve since published.
So I would recommend, fellow author, that you take some time to consider your “why.” Why are you writing? What are you hoping to achieve? What do you need to do to ensure you achieve it?
The last bit of advice I’d offer coincides with this one. It’s the lynchpin to all of it, in fact.
4. Do the work.
At the end of the day, you have to sit down and do the work. You have to put words on the page, even if they suck. You have to develop the discipline to consistently grow your writing, strengthen your writing muscles, and create something out of nothing.
Once you get it through your head that your book won’t write itself and that no one else is going to do it for you, it gets easier to make yourself sit in that chair and write.
And I do mean make yourself sit in that chair. Sometimes it really is like that. Most days, it’s like that for me.
My mantra over the last year has become: “This book isn’t gonna write itself.”
Nor can I rely on my muse to inspire me, nor can I count on the magic of inspiration to strike me like Zeus’s thunderbolt from on high.
The only thing I can count on is me, sitting in the chair, hammering away at my keyboard. (Check out 10 Tips for a More Productive Writing Marathon later.)
So I sit down, and I write the book, a little at a time, and sometimes a lot at a time.
This approach has worked for my last five novels, all of which are completed, three of which are published, and two of which are in various editing stages in preparation for publication with Aethon Books.
It’s the same approach I’ll be using when I start my next project later this month.
Thanks for reading about these 4 Ways to Find Your Writing Motivation.
Now it’s your turn.
Talk to me about what has or hasn’t worked for you.
How does your approach differ from what I’ve presented here? How do you motivate yourself to write? Where have I gone horribly wrong and led everyone astray with this post?
Share your thoughts (or questions) on these 4 Ways to Find Your Writing Motivation in the comments below.