You're simplifying things quite much here, and you don't do the facets of life justice with it. If all the famous authors out there only wrote once their natural motivation urged them to put the tip of the pen to the paper, we'd probably be able to browse amazon's whole booklist in five minutes. Motivation is never a constant thing, it flares and burns but also sputters and smolders. All kinds of different motivations fight for dominance as a normal day progresses, and we have to make decisions which we will give in to - the easy, short term ones like wanting to see the new movie, eat good popcorn and have a lazy evening, or the longer term ones, like running the risk of offending our friend that called about the cinema but staying at home in our writing chair, getting that damn idea to paper about the old man who paves a whole valley with wooden posts in a somewhat crazy attempt to find the sister bomb to the one which killed his wife. Will we see another mindless movie or end up with our best short story so far and even win a contest with it? It's true that we often rely on outside forces to give us proper motivation for things we'd not easily manage otherwise, but knowing about ones own motivations and aligning those with our goals in life gives us the free will and force of mind to decide in favour of some and let others become secondary.
Hey, did you heard about "hooray effect"? Its the urgency when you figure out something and have to put it down. Unless I don't have it, the work just fucking hurts
It, luckily, hits me every so often, otherwise I'd scratch my head and wonder what this writing stuff is all about. The times between can be a pita, but regular and organized writing makes the hoorays visit me more often
The O'Reilly Factor interviewed Tommy Mottola and his book "Hitmaker." He opined the same thing. The drive that makes you want to see your dreams come true evolves after you've attained them.
I am having the same problem I've been having the same problem. The only thing I've been able to do is start a new project. I always feel motivated when an idea is fresh, but a few thousand words later the motivation tapers off. This, of course, raises new problems. I have somewhere near 10 different novels started, and unfortunately I don't think anything will ever get finished. Honestly I think it just takes work ethic. I'm trying to make myself write at least 1000 words a day, no matter what I am writing. Hopefully work ethic will come on it's own and I won't need to depend on motivation as much.
Try listening to some music when you find yourself stuck. I like to listen to Epic trailer music, as they can help set the mood. Here's some of the stuff I listen to: Immediate Music Audiomachine Brand X Epic Score Two steps from hell West One 8 Dawn Fired Earth Music
My motivation fluctuates daily but I force myself to write my diary, which keeps me in shape, and usually I write two or three thousand words a day, which includes any past memories I just found, as well as future intentions and any new inspiration I was struck with (think cooking pan).
I always try to set a time for my writing. Sometimes I tell myself I have only an hour to write and then I HAVE to stop. I usually find myself in a very fun or exciting scene when I force myself to stop which in turn makes me super excited to start writing again because I will want to finish that scene.
If I haven't written in a while (it was at least two months before I started up again - and that was about three days ago), I forget that I can get into a writing flow. That's what makes writing worth the time, for me. Once I start up, I can go for a little while and everything will make more and more sense if I can keep it going. It's like "The Little Engine that Could". I think I can turns into I know I can before too long.
my writing motivation is pain i was born severely disabled and i have experienced a lot of physical and emotional pain because of this disability so to release that pain i write it's like therapy but without the therapist.
Everything under the sun motivates me. A rising sun and a sinking sun. A flower in the tree and a flower in the ground. Your tears and laughters. Pains and joys. Any eventful stories in nature and society. Wherever I turn I find things of stories and everything is expressing something new some vocally and others mutely and I as a silent witness can find mines of inspirations in everything I can eye. This world is really wonderful and I find everybody and everything as an amazing creation and I can be happy with everything and with everybody only if I can deprogram my mind and unlearn all those bulks of rubbish. The fact that I am amidst all of you itself is amazing. The fact I can compose poems and the fact I can talk to you and get your,responses is not anything less exciting at al I have space and people and despite global warning my planet is still green and I still can breathe and the most exciting thing os aliveness and we feel it and can share with you. Nothing matters more than the life I am living. Money is nothing and it cannot give you everything you need in life. It can give you a comfy bed not your sleep. It can give you a lengthy life but not of quality. No matter long length of life you are living but I am unsure about its quality.
that's some serious motivation - finish before I die... jeez.... that sure don't make me wanna jump up and write
My two cents on writer's block Hi everyone, I'm a new member, so I apologise in advance if my comments are off topic, but for me, writer's block means the wire has been cut between my mind and that beautiful illuminated clarity I get when I'm inspired. There are a handful of things I do light up my inspiration: - I read Isobelle Carmody's Metro Winds- it's amazing for children's writing - I go for a walk and listen to the familar sounds of my neighbourhood - I get out of the damn suburbs and go somewhere where I can see the stars - I listen to music that stirs up nostalgia - I go on my Ted Talks app and listen to the excellent speakers and their diverse and powerful use of language - I search for hauntingly beautiful imagery/photography/film - Or I just chill out and accept that sometimes, it's just a waiting game! Meredith
Writing I mean. How do you do it? For example, I have several stories I wish to write. And I don't mean vague, high concept plot ideas. I mean I actually have well thought out ideas, with chapter summaries and what-not already developed and ready to go. I know exactly what I want to write and how I want to do it..... ....but I just can't seem to find the inspiration to actually sit down and do it. I'm unemployed, so I have literally no excuse for not working on this stuff. So to those of you who actually do put in the time and effort to bring your ideas to life, what drives you? Where do you find the will to dredge through the tediousness?
I personally do it because it will continue to nag at me like some sort of disease, and I also like it when I get going. It is hard for me to actually get time to write anything though. I live on a farm though and have a one year old. Sometimes I put in twelve hour days plus time with the boy and don't feel like doing anything but sleeping when done. But its progress just keep chiselling out the words when you can. I can suggest maybe a change of scenery, less distractions the better
I hear you. My ideas and characters annoy me until I do something with them, which is why I am wanting to write in the first place. I don't expect to ever make much money doing it, I just want to get this stuff out of my head and onto paper/flash drive. I often get depressed when I don't work, hence all of the plot and chapter summaries I've done. And yeah, the change of scenery is a great suggestion, as I tend to spend hours playing video games and then later regretting not putting that time into the characters/worlds I've created and fallen in love with. I think a big issue is that I get overwhelmed, because my ideas are ambitious and will take a lot of work to fully bring to life. I get started and then go "ugh, so much to do, much easier to disassociate and play Skyrim for the next 6 hours"
Screams, Kakoos has a good point (I love calling you guys by your screen names - it makes for cool sentences!). A change of scenery works. I would generalize that to a change of habit. I work at home, and I used to just get up in the morning and automatically turn on the TV news. I'd learn what I needed to know in about ten minutes, but the damn TV would stay on for hours, repeating the same stories over and over (it was a 24 hour cable news channel). I changed my habits. I got up in the morning and DID NOT turn on the TV. A very simple thing, but it seems to have quadrupled my productivity, writing-wise. I'd also suggest this: You say you know exactly what you want to write and how to write it? Forget all that stuff. Put it out of your mind. Start writing something else, something you haven't planned in advance. Embark on a journey into the unknown. If you're like me, the act of writing itself will start triggering all kinds of new ideas in your mind, new ideas you've never explored. If something grabs you, follow it - keep writing! You can't lose, because you can always fall back on all those preplanned stories you have in mind. But give this a try - discovery writing is often a lot more interesting than preplanned writing.
There is a section in the book "How to Write a lot" by Paul Silvia that says that waiting for inspiration will get less creativity out of you than getting into a consistent habit of writing. It is backed by studies.
Yeah, waiting for inspiration can waste a lot of time. Inspiration comes when you whack it over the head and drag it to the keyboard.
I'm homebound as well aside from one day a week in the early morning when I do a part time job, so I can understand how easy it is to get distracted. I actually found it easier to write when I was busy with a full time job. It kept my energy up and forced me to get into a time management routine, which included about an hour of writing before bed each night, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to do it. Now that I have a lot more time on my hands to do what I want, such as write, I feel like it gives me more excuses to procrastinate. "Oh, I'll do it later. I have time, after all." Change of scenery is a good idea. It can help you get away from distractions such as the computer, video games or the TV and focus on what's in front of you. It also helps with depression. I go to the local library or cafe to write. Sometimes I'll go to the park or just to my backyard when it's nice outside. It really helps. However, like any suggestion anyone is going to give you, you have to actually do it. Unfortunately, there is no miracle potion for writing. You have to make yourself do it consistently even when inspiration isn't there.
You need to want it and you need to want it bad. And by "it" I mean everything - the sleepless nights, the isolation, the exhilaration of a scene well-written, and the fame, the recognition, and the career. You need to be tireless to work constantly and never give up. If you have this kind of fire in your belly, it'll help you do it. I have a couple of techniques: 1. If I'm on the roll, first thing I do in the morning is write. I don't delay it, but give it all my energy. 2. The goal is to make 1. at least 5 times per week, every week, until the book is finished. 3. 500 words per day of work minimum. Good luck!
I have the same problem,my story is all fleshed out but I seem to be terrified of its magnitude/size. I just am not sure I can write down all the information in my head and make them readable/enjoyable. But as from today, I decided to write 500 words everyday. Let's see how long this will take before I go back to lazying around.
I also used to lack the will to sit down and do the writing. Mostly because I'm a perfectionist and, well, my writing is so far from perfect that I just wanted to chuck it all in as soon as a sentence looks a little off. (That usually happened at the second or third sentence. ) Writing is all about self-discipline, this I know now. So I told myself that perfection is really not what I should aim for, at least not until the editing process. And as others here said, remove distractions. Lastly, make yourself a goal. I saw someone else here saying about reaching a certain amount of words for the day. That really works for me. And reward yourself if you make it. Best of luck!
You have to believe that writing is not a waste of time even if bears you no fruit. If you remember this you'll have no conflict convincing yourself to sit down and "waste a day" writing.
Quit waiting for inspiration. Consider this your current job. Set an achievable goal, no matter how small. No negotiations then. Just do it - at home, at the library, wherever. Do it. Tomorrow do the same. Once you tell yourself you have no choice, you will do it. It's when we give ourselves an out that things fall apart.
