1. Radka Baranaiova

    Radka Baranaiova New Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2012
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0

    Drafting

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Radka Baranaiova, Nov 16, 2012.

    How do we stay motivated to write? I mean: work, school, kids, family... It all gets us tired and worked up. So how do we stay inspired rather than giving up?
     
  2. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2011
    Messages:
    3,258
    Likes Received:
    847
    It all depends on how badly you want to write. The more you want to write, the more you will make time to do it. Get up earlier, go to bed later, use lunch breaks, commutes, etc etc.
     
  3. Fivvle

    Fivvle Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2012
    Messages:
    213
    Likes Received:
    4
    Location:
    Washington
    Find something that you love to write.
    Whenever I create something I enjoy, I get on a roll and keep going, going, going. There are many days that I want to transmute everything I write into a human being so I can punch it in the face, but you just have to take it in stride and keep trying.
    Each writer has a story to tell. It just takes time for all of us to figure out what it is, exactly.
    That's my take on it; if you really like what you're writing, you'll find the time to keep doing it.
     
  4. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2010
    Messages:
    5,101
    Likes Received:
    3,203
    Location:
    Queens, NY
    If you're convinced that what you are doing is worthwhile (and by that I mean that it has value to YOU), then you find the time...when you can. Real life has a way of intruding. My writing endeavors have been interrupted several times - by advocacy for my children and for people with disabilities generally, by the need to suddenly deal with my aging in-laws (who hadn't planned for anything at all, they just assumed my wife and I would handle things), and by a demanding career that at times required late hours and travel. But during such times, writing was the way I stayed sane, the way I reaffirmed who I was. I once took a week off from work when my wife and kids had school (my wife is a teacher) and spent the whole time writing. Best vacation I ever had in my life.

    Did I get thrown off the track at times? Sure, who doesn't? I've had lapses of non-writing activity. I also followed some ideas that went nowhere, did things the wrong way, bumbled and stumbled my way through some projects that were never very promising to begin with. But I think they call that "growing".

    How do we stay motivated? If we're writers, we do. If not, you look up one day and suddenly realize you haven't even thought about writing in can't-remember-how-long. But, if you find yourself facing a problem in your own life, or hearing of one in a friend's, and you find yourself thinking, "Hey, I bet that would make a good novel"...or if you see someone on a train, think they have an interesting face, and suddenly find yourself devising a fictional character based on him or her...if you find yourself reading a story or watching a film and thinking, "No, no, no! Much better would be if he..." and devising a whole new idea...if you pass a house and start wondering how many different story ideas have happened there...then chances are you are one of us.
     
  5. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2006
    Messages:
    3,374
    Likes Received:
    1,629
    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    It comes from an internal drive to complete a project and get it out there. Exactly what motivates each writer is different, because the exact demand on a writer's time and focus and energy are different, and probably ever-changing.

    I think a writer needs to look at it as a long-term process, and set up some short term goals that fit into the scheme to reach the final objective. Making measurable progress can help one keep moving forward.
     
  6. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2006
    Messages:
    19,150
    Likes Received:
    1,034
    Location:
    Coquille, Oregon
    if you want/need to write, you will... it's that simple...

    how each writer arranges time/family/whatever will vary, but the person who has the passion it takes to be a writer' no matter what' won't let anything stop her/him...
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice