How do I stop myself from getting bored of a project? Ill be working on a project and then I just wont have the motivation to work on it for a bit. How should I deal with this?
If writing is a vocation, you continue to work even if you're bored and your muse has gone on vacation to Bermuda. If writing is a hobby, you abandon the project, temporarily or permanently, and find something else to play with.
I'm watching this topic in the hopes that someone will give advice on how to never get bored... my guess is there is no such answer. Please god if someone has a way to make something never get boring please post it! But based on what I have seen from professionals there is no magic formula, that always makes it fun. It's like working out to get in shape. Maybe you don't do it every day, but you need to do it consistently even if there are times when it's not fun, to see any results
I never get bored with my writing or stories. One thing I have been doing for years is to make something unexpected happen every 1k words or so. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, just not the obvious path. It's just a form of playing the what-if game. This works for me probably partly because I'm a pantser and don't plan out my stories at all. But I still think you can do this even if you've outlined some of your story. If you're bored writing it, chances are readers will feel the same way. I also think a writing routine or schedule of some sort can be a much better approach than waiting for any sort of inspiration.
I think @deadrats is on the right track. Rather than just say “keep writing if you’re bored” (which by the way IS the answer, I just think there is more) maybe do something to make the story fun again. Write a few chapters to flesh out the story/world building. Maybe write a part of the story from the POV of a supporting or background character. You could keep it in the book, make it an add on or maybe it sparks you going in a new fun direction. At some point you do just have to do the work and get pages done, but it’s okay to spice up how you get it done.
I just wrote about this recently on a similar question, I don't remember if the topic was identical or not. But this is the same basic dilemma, so here goes again. Sure, sometimes writing is fun or exciting. Many things can be like that, like playing video games or similar things. But fun is a fleeting feeling, a reaction to something that's happened to you or that you did. Fun brings a burst of exhilaration and a dopamine rush that lasts for a little while, then it's gone. It's like the infatuation stage of a relationship, where everything about being with that person or thinking about them is exciting and fresh and fun. But again, that wears off. Some people will just keep chasing the fun like an addict going after their next fix, and it uses the same mechanism (dopamine rush). Infatuation, orgasm, and excitement all use the same mechanism that gets stimualted by a drug or any kind of addiction (like gambling, excitement, etc.) Incidentally sugar and chocolate also stimulate the same receptors. But none of them bring anything lasting or really worthwhile. For that you need to be driven by something deeper than the desire for a moment's fun or excitement or a quick high or sugar rush. Real love begins when the fun part is over and it requries some work from both people. Deep satisfaction and pride in your work etc take some ongoing work and discipline. It doesn't have to be total iron-hard discipline, but enough to keep going when it's no longer just fun. What you get when you keep working on a longer-term project is a growing sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. That doesn't come from pursuing fun or excitement. If someone has become captivated by chasing thrills or fun or excitement, they can (and should, if you ask me) learn to move away from that and take some more pride in longer-term projects. Here's an article covering how to break the dopamine addiction cycle: Too much pleasure can lead to addiction. How to break the cycle and find balance I would recommend doing some searches on overcoming dopamine addiction and reading more articles.
This. I find that it works well for me. I only write on days when I don't work. On weekdays, I might jot down a few ideas that pop into my head, but that's about it. When I roll out of bed on Saturday afternoon, it's writing time. I'm at my best when my session times are between 3-5 hours long. Of course what works best for individuals will vary a lot, but this is what keeps me engaged. I am a pantser, and I rarely find the act of writing itself to be fun. But I am stubborn, and I insist on finishing what I've started. And when you've finally finished it, it feels great (well, until it sets in that you're going to also need to spend at least a hundred hours editing it). I think what blocks people or makes them lose interest is their overthinking the words they are putting to the page. It doesn't need to be perfect for the first draft. Get the words down and worry about refining them later.
For me the part that feels great is when I'm actually excited about the ideas and am making good progress toward them. And that can be most of the way through the project. Psychology has found that what really gives us a solid sense of ongoing pleasure (not just a quick dopamine fix) is making progress toward our goals. For that you have to have good goals and keep moving closer to them.
This might not necessarily be a dopamine addiction problem. One thing that can contribute to boredom is when you just don't know what the next step is to take. Like maybe you have an exciting idea and you jot that down, maybe you freewrite a beginning, and then you don't know what to do from there. A friend of mine said it best a few years ago, let me see if I can remember it. Something like "The problem is that the project is too big and you have no plan for how to proceed. You need to break it down into small steps that are easily accomplished." That means learn about approaches to writing a story. It can be really intimidating to try to write a story if you don't know any strategies for it. The approaches will be different if you're writing a short story or a novel, which is much longer and will require some kind of structuring. For a short story you can get away without any kind of structure, but I'd still look into some advice about writing techniques and approaches.
Some people like to work on multiple projects at once for just this reason. They can spent time on project A, then switch over to B when they need a break or get stuck, then go back to A when they're ready. You do have to be careful not to start too many things at once, though, or it can snowball and overwhelm you. Two or three projects is probably good, particularly if they're all different from one another in some way - say, a SF action story and a more literary one, or a poem and a painting.
Hi, Yeah, sorry, no magic solution. But I'm a pure pantster and here are the things that sort of work for me. First, keep multiple projects open at once. That way you can jump from one to another when you run into a block whatever it is. Second don't keep trying forever. I end up rewriting the same first half of a book over and over again and never finishing it when I'm in this state. It's best to stop that at some stage, start something new, and hope you'll come back to the first book again in time. And also there are some things I use to keep me motivated near the end of the book. First do the cover. Plop it up on your screen as wallpaper so its there the first moment you turn your machine on. It just keeps the thoughts moving. Also do the blurb and open it when you open your book so you can switch between them. And last consider changing your writing approach. Don't know if you're a plotter or a pantster but try swapping it around. Ie if you're a plotter, put the outline away and start writing blind. Allow the freshness of the writing to guide your enthusiasm. If you're a pantster write the plot and keep it with you when you write. Let the security of knowing where things are going help. Hope that helps. Cheers, Greg.
Set the story aside for a day or so. Take your characters, and where they are at in the story then start asking yourself some questions, and write scenes based on the answers. What is the most absurd thing that could happen here? What is the stupidest choice they can make? And any similar questions you can think up, but have fun with the scenes you create from this. You never know you might come up with something you want to include in the story.
