I am rarely lacking in motivation to write - I never "just don't feel like it". If I am stuck on something, or dissatisfied with the quality of what I'm writing, I will take a break for a while - with music, cooking or sports. Then, I come back when I'm fresh. Sometimes, I get tired or frustrated with a particular project, and that's a signal to switch gears. But, frankly, the problem of finding enough time to write, or edit, or research is the far more common problem. Motivation is a door that is locked from the inside. Only you can unlock it. I wish you luck.
Whenever I feel this way I unplug, find a nice park, and go for a trip there to embrace nature. That usually helps. When I get back, ideas have usually sprung into some form. Therefore--do something else you enjoy that'll recharge the batteries.
Like @EdFromNY I don't really suffer from this either, but I do suffer from motivating myself to do other things, and usually eliminating the reasons not do so something usually works. Ask yourself why you don't want to write. It can be anything and you have to be honest. For example, if it's financial ("why should I bother writing if I'm not gonna make any money out of it?") change your writing philosophy to thinking of writing as a hobby (not being paid, or even published) and do it because you enjoy it. If it's time, you need to find that regular window. Discipline is key, and so is a routine when you write. I put aside a day a week to write and nothing gets in the way of that. I'm lucky, yeah, but you don't need a day. Just time to say this is always yours and stick with it. If it's inspiration that can be solved by a million different things, from reading to going for long walks. Hell I'd recommend reading books by writers about writing. Steven Pressfield's the War of Art is a good one. If you're going through a period of poor mental health, it could be more difficult to concentrate, so try to keep your life simple to give you more clarity. These are just a few ideas, but like Ed says only you can unlock this problem by looking through all the issues in your life that might affect your writing.
Consider the reason for telling your story. If you don't feel motivated to write it, why would others be motivated to read it? Find the part of your story idea that you're passionate about. Focus on that. Read books of a similar style and genre. Read your own writing. Read about how to write. Watch writing videos. Watch movies. Watch anything that gets you in a creative mood, and use that spark to find the passion in your project, because the emotions that compelled you to generate an idea in the first place are the same emotions the reader is going to latch onto. That's what your story is really about, and if that is not enough to get you to write, perhaps it's best to move onto a project that you are passionate about.
Actually I find myself writing to find my motivation. I rarely write in a flurry of excitement for the project. Or at least not to start with. I find that if I can get started - grumbling and disinterested, it changes. The excitement and the motivation comes from the act of writing and the scene finally taking shape. Of course usually by then it's 1 in the morning. Lol. I also like what Sheriff Woody said - watching movies can trigger me into action. I get tired of being the passive audience, I want to create something that someone enjoys.
Movies are great to get motivated, but I strongly recommend a broad scope for viewing. People tend not to watch anything older than themselves. This saddens me. Not only are there some truly amazing classic masterpieces out there just waiting to be discovered, but older films were told somewhat differently than many films of today, and opening yourself to a new approach to story or character or dialogue (ESPECIALLY dialogue) can be just the creative spark someone needs. Here is a list of a few titles currently streaming on Netflix in the USA that I recommend to anyone and everyone... Once Upon A Time In The West The Apartment Double Indemnity The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Witness For the Prosecution The Grapes of Wrath 12 Angry Men Days of Heaven And here's a bunch of stellar foreign films that I love... The Silence The Painting Trollhunter The Man From Nowhere Y tu mama tambien A Hijacking Ip Man
Ditto this! And what fun they're missing. There's such a wide range in classics from every decade. You don't have to just watch the award winners ( not that they're not great but they totally exclude stellars like Alfred Hitchcock or film noir ). Sometimes it's more inspiring to watch the lighthearted or even pure junk movies. I love a good oddball movie, some of my faves - Lord Love a Duck, Bunny Lake is Missing, The Driver's Seat, Babydoll, Wanda Nevada, The Major and the Minor and Gal Young 'un.
Robert Brockway has a very insightful perspective on this 5-tips-punching-writers-block-in-face And the other good one 5-writing-exercises-that-will-make-you-more-creative
Speaking of Cracked, one of their articles by David Wong called Ways You're Sabotaging Your Own Life (without knowing it) has a few interesting points: + When you come up with a motivation, ask yourself why and the consequences if you don't do what you want to do/need to do. + Start small. Like he said, you're not writing a whole book, you're just writing a bit of it today. + If you want to be someone different ten years from now, start working on it today. If all you do is imagine yourself ten years from now, then that's exactly what you'll be doing ten years later. You have to work at it if you wan to get there.
I'm very very happy! Thank you to all for your advices! I'm starting to write a short story and this is useful for me, because now I feel that I can keep my main story! I can see other images and I can see new dialogues and new situations! Listening your advices now I know how create my new character and how to overcome this sort of "block". Than you very very much! I agree, to be passionate to own story is important to write a wonderful story and to impassion the readers! Thank you! I'm writing a short story, I hope to show it to you as soon as!
Reading my material especially the alleged novel that I am trying to work on right now would be like tasting some whisked eggs and say that it is a bad cake. Not only is this particular story an incomplete work in progress but so am I. I realise that all writers are constant learners, this is a craft that is impossible to master. However I am up against some unique challenges, I am both dyslexic and dyspraxic and I am trying to write in my second language. I have had this story in my head since I was fifteen and all I really want to is to get this story on paper. I don't want to be a writer for the sake of being a writer, I write to write this story. That's not to say that I don't want to be a writer or don't enjoy the art. I spent all of my childhood stuck in my own head and in daydreams. I used to make up stories and tell my friends and grandmother. I think I have always been a writer, well until my teachers took out that red pen and berated my handwriting... My story is a high fantasy with really complex world building. I am starting to realise that attempting it is like running a marathon when you haven't left the sofa for a year. I have been dabbling, I have decided to let go my childhood insecurities when it comes to writing and do something about it. I have written a little but it's not good. Not only is the grammar lacking but the sentence structure is odd and too long, the POV is not working, too much internal dialogue that feels forced. To be honest I haven't even started to analyse the dialogue. In a way I don't mind because like I said I am an absolute beginner and I wasn't expecting JR Tolkien level writing on my first try (if ever). I know that this is the baseline from where I want improve upon. It isn't the finished product therefore I am happy with it in a way. However I had started out with the goal this year to write nearly everyday, whether it be good or bad, I need to write in order to learn to write. But I am hitting constant roadblocks because the project that I chose is so massive. I feel like I am trying to write a symphony when I can barely read notes. I have a full time job too and I just feel discouraged and overwhelmed. Maybe I should put my big project on the shelf for a little while and focus on just being a writer and not the writer of this story. Maybe do smaller projects like short stories to improve my technique get familiar with the idea of writing creatively (rather than academically). Or should I stick with the inspiration that makes me want to be a writer in the first place?
Tell me if you figure out an answer to the title because I don't know of one. From my experience, it seems that the thing that separates those who don't write because they're mediocre and those who write in spite of being mediocre is that the latter enjoys writing for its own sake. If you want tips on improvement, I'd recommend a) reading some good writing how-to books, allowing you to better know what to look for in step b; b) comb through fiction books you want your writing to be like, copying down fragments/sentences/passages you like and analyzing specifically how each works for what the author intended for it to do; and c) copy the concepts you learned from step b to write your own stories, and when you hit roadblocks, go back to step b looking for the roadblock issue and then continue with step c.
It's hard to overcome the self-critical "this just isn't good enough" mindset, but ultimately all you can do it keep writing. I've been at it for pretty much all of my life and I know I'm still not good enough. Personally, I manage to fend off the discouragement because I really love what I'm working on - I wouldn't be able to ignore the stories I love in favor of messing with something that didn't matter to me as much just to get better. So what if your first story turns out not great? You can rewrite it. Rewrite it a dozen times if you have to to make it feel good enough. Why waste time on something you don't care about writing?
The thing is as well. I would love to share some of my material for critique and get an outsider opinion. But to continue with the cake metaphor. When I baked my first cake, it was dry, close textured, hadn't risen properly and a little burned on the edges. But it was still a cake, a bad one with mistakes that were identifiable and went away as I practised. I am not that much of a perfectionist, I don't mind that my cakes are sunken and my writing sloppy. But what I have written is not equivalent to a cake. I feel like if I would share it, it would be like offering someone whisked eggs and asking whether they think it could turn out to be a good wedding cake. I did another thread asking about some character development and I got some criticisms that my character was incomplete, but of course he is incomplete the process is in its infancy and I found the advice unhelpful. Maybe if I start by something smaller, that I find the energy to work more consistently on it and share it in order to get some constructive criticism.
I know that problem all to well my friend, something i did to overcome this is quite simple i wrote down the basics. I'm not talking about the world or the character but the red string leading through your story The very basics, like: Empire is corrupt --> rebellion --> help from another country --> new king --> new king get murdered -->... it sounds terrible but once you have the basics written down you have an anchor. With that anchor you can then get to build the world you want. Use the background stories you compose for your world as your testing muffins. They are made like cake, but smaller and easier to chuck away if they turn out bad. Once you love the muffins you create you can start on the cake. And trust me the cake will be just as delicious as the muffins you made. Make folders on you pc for all the muffins and other stuff you need to make (i got a character folder, a landmark folder, a politics folder,...) and above all else take it one word at a time. hope that helps, if you would excuse me now i need to make some muffins
I'd recommend something smaller, for sure. I don't really buy into the idea that short stories are good training for novel-writing - I think there are just too many skills that are completely different between the two types. But it sounds like a lot of the stuff you're struggling with could be addressed via short stories - sentence structure and length, etc. So, yeah, I'd write some short stories, something I could finish and be proud of. And you can write them in the same universe as your big story and use them as a way to explore your characters' backgrounds or the world-building or whatever, so it's not like you're not contributing at ALL to your magnum opus. But it'll probably be less overwhelming to nibble on a few scraps rather than trying to gnaw on the elephant's rump!
I am indeed no expert, but I have a few things to say. First of which, kind of funny, of recently my pace as been kind of slow. I just wish to address the irony of me offering advice on how to write more when I myself haven't been writing more, but this isn't a problem for me currently. 1. Deadlines or expectations. I think these can be helpful and harmful. I think when you tell yourself to do it everyday and fail there is a bit of a blow to your motivation. I also think writing everyday is way to harsh of an expectation. I have a full time job and you have a full time job. And if we have anything in common I bet the following things are true of both of us. - Sometimes the work day is long and it feels like you wake up, go to work, come home and sleep. - Sometimes, little errands, dishes, laundry, food shopping, other shopping they just steal an entire day from you. - Sometimes you are off from work, have nothing to do, but boy do that feel so good. Just to sit back, lay down and turn your brain off for half a day. And there are probably even more you could think of or I can think of. Those just feel like the main events that I bet highlight to everyone. Truth of the matter is. I only expect one thing about me to never stop working. My heart! If my heart takes a break... bad things happen. Nothing else I hold to such a standard. Even my mind gets to turn off when I sleep or it feels like it does. lol. So, here is my alternate suggestion if you like the idea of a deadline. Have it be weekly. In my experience, it is a lot easier that way. Because in a weekly deadline, you can say "Know what. I am tired today and that is okay. No writing. I will try and write tomorrow instead." And it completely fits the deadline system. Plus I think it is more easy that way anyhow. I much prefer giving it 2 hours on one day, over 20 minutes a day. I think that is a pretty perfect example. Saying "I want to write 30 minutes a day" sounds easy, but as with the example of the above days. Sometimes it isn't. But lets take the number. 30min a day would be 3 and a half hours per week. I personally am much more likely to write for 3 and a half hours in one day and than take the rest of the week off. And I like it better that way. Though, numbers don't matter here. Everyone is different. I personally probably spend about 10 hours a week writing and that is even me being slow. So a 3 and half hour day I will do three times a week. If you do less, lets say 1 hour three times a week. That is still 3 hours or almost the exact same amount as 30 min a day. But to me, it sounds so much easier to do. Does that make sense? 2. Book size. I agree with Bayview. Writing short stories, is not exactly a fix to writing long stories. Actually, I happen to think what most people call a short story is often times more just a scene. And a long novel is stringing those scenes together in a comphrensive way. Which is hard as heck!!! That being said, this is a tricky position. Because in a sense, without experience, it is likely the first big book project you try is not going to be your best. But the story you are wanting to write is an old idea and you want it to be beautiful. Right? I really only see two fixes. You put the old story on hold and write something else purely for experience(which is what I did. I wrote two full books before trying my old story.) Or you give into the fact that if you try this story first you are going to need to revisit it more. I think both are fine positions. Sort of a pick your poison moment? 3. Expectations and experience. Two years ago. I felt mentally tired after writing one page! Which on average is like 300-600 words. Now? I can write 6,000 words and keep going. The point that you are going to get better. Once you start writing more often, it gets easier. It takes time but look forward to it. The thing about expectations, they are killers! When I did my first book. I dived into it like crazy trying to fix and repair it. Making it perfect. I would measure progress and then expect that progress to continue at a fixed rate. I mapped it out expecting for this perfect book to be ready by a year later. That was 3 months ago and the book is still so bad I feel embarrassed to show it now. lol Those kind of expectations can drive you crazy trying to do something that just isn't realistic. I think it is good to be more open. 4. Personal motivation. I personally love showing my work to people. So that drives me. I want to finish something for the reason of being able to show it. So the more people that are reading my story will cause me to write more. Because I will want the next chapter to be ready soon so they won't have to wait! That is me though. Not sure if it applies to you, but we all have a personal desire just waiting to be unleashed. I don't know what yours is, but if you think about it. You might just be able to find and exploit it.
I've been writing my book going on 6-7 years, mainly because being in the military for five years. Now I'm out, going to college either now my focus is now being diverted to studying my RE exam, doing college homework or trying to make side money to pay down debt or handling my Mother's Estate. Being a grunt I'm reading this having a voice reflecting in my head "There is no excuses, stop being a little b!tch and finish the damn thing." mentality. I finally finished my second draft, but in a recent thread I made about beta readers. Realized my book has to be 80k-100k words in order to sell, even me I get turned off by thick books. So I took first portion of the book, and just extended to make my 2nd draft a sequel. I tried asking my friends to beta read my few chapters and always making excuses their going to get to it. Now when I write, I'm just exhausted what to think or imagine. Then got to thinking if a few friends barley have time or make excuses to read your book what makes you think it's going to sell? I haven't even finished to get to the stage I get rejected a hundred times. The main motivation is vision actually seeing my book on the shelves one day, hopefully my work on the story will be worth while. I'm just curious what people use for their motivation to keep up with their story.
Well first off, don't take friends or family not wanting to beta your book personally. They may be worried that giving you feedback, especially negative feedback, could be an uncomfortable place to be in. Or they possibly don't have an interest in or time for beta-ing your book and just keep putting you off instead of saying so. I believe you can look for a beta in the Collaboration part of the forums, so you might have more luck there.
'Where do you get motivation for writing' is, to me, the same sort of question as 'why do you want to have sex '. Or 'why would you want more money'. The answer boils down to this: do you want it badly enough to do the work? If your answer is yes, then find your writing zone and do it.
What @Laurin Kelly said, mostly. But adding to that: I only knew that people liked what I had to say when I stared blogging. I was stunned. I thought no one would read my ramblings since my friends and acquaintances didn't. And I' not even talking stories, I'm talking ramblings. Sometimes people just don't value you when you're close to them. However, one may have to adjust one's ambitions if one's dream is to be seen on the shelves. If that's really your dream you should focus on writing what people buy, not necessarily what you want to say. It may even not be fiction at all. If your dream is to tell the story you want to tell, you can be self-motivated. If you like it maybe there's someone out there that will like it too, they're just not at your doorstep. Sometimes you have to look further and harder than your social/family circle. I say this from experience. Good luck!
What kind of person are you? I'm a Christian, and I feel that I would be insulting God if I buried my talent for coming up with crazy ideas in the sand. I'm a nerd who loves reading crazy ideas that other people come up with, and if I don't share my own crazy ideas, then my crazy ideas won't make my (nonexistent) readers as happy as other writers' crazy ideas make me. I'm a Ravenclaw-Slytherin who loves showing off how clever and creative my crazy ideas are, and if I don't share my own crazy ideas, then I wouldn't have anything to show off about. I'm an LGBT Special Snowflake SJW Liberal, there are things that people in the world are wrong about, the ways that these people are wrong are hurting others (and often themselves), and if I don't share the stories that I come up with which show how the world truly works and how these narratives are incorrect, then these people's misinformation will be the only thing anybody else ever hears. What do you care about in your life beyond writing, and how can you fit writing into that?
Wow 6 to 7 years is a long time. I hope you book turns out to be a home run once you release it. But you can realize that nothing is perfect in the beginning. Also consider putting all your eggs into one basket aka this book has its pros and cons you should consider.
