RWT: Making Motivation Your Middle Name

Today's Random Writing Tip is dedicated to Ken Keever, who requested I talk a bit about staying motivated. I think this is a great topic because it's something I'm sure everyone struggles with at least once during their writing adventure.

P.S. If you want a shoutout in one of my blog posts, it's super easy! Just send me a topic you'd like me to write on (it could be literally anything reading or writing related) and I'll do my best to tackle it. You can either contact me in the blog comments below, or on any of my social media accounts like Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram. I'd love to hear from you!

So, Motivation. What is it?

After HOURS of research, I found two definitions for motivation:

"the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving (or writing!) in a particular way"

and

"the general desire or willingness of someone to do something"

Now I'm wondering, which one of these do writers struggle with the most? FINDING motivations to write, or HOLDING ONTO the motivation to write?

Personally, I struggle more with the second one, but I'll talk about both since it can't be about me ALL the time.

The first definition of motivation seems very similar to the way I think about inspiration. Your motivation, or the reason you start writing in the first place, could come from a lifelong desire to tell stories, a chance encounter with an amazing person, a traumatic event, etc. Basically, whatever happened that made you tap your chin and think hmm, I should write about this. Such a moment could occur once, then you write the story, and you're satisfied. Or, you could be struck by motivation three times a day, until you have a running list of stories you want to write that's longer than your leg. (Cough cough, definitely NOT me)

No matter how often these moments happen, or what they are, I'm sorry to say, there really isn't a secret to getting them. My reason for thinking this is that, for every hundred people who go through something traumatic or life-changingly amazing, maybe only a handful will end up wanting to write about it. Not every significant moment of anyone's life will translate into the motivation to write something. (I actually sort of envy people that can experience things without looking at them through the creative/analytical lens of a writer. Sometimes I feel like being a writer changes the way I look at EVERYTHING 😂)

My only advice in getting this type of motivation is just to keep your eyes open. Look at the people you meet and figure out what makes them interesting. You could be motivated to write a new character. Look at your surroundings, be attentive, especially when you experience something new. If you're always on the lookout for the motivation to write, I wouldn't be surprised if you found it pretty quickly.

(This is random, but I just realized I actually have another blog post that kind of touches on this subject here. It talks about a time I got up close and personal with a giant sea turtle, but I promise it's relevant!)

Alright, on to the second definition of motivation. 

So I think of this more as long-term motivation, as in, I've been working on this book for seventeen years and I'm struggling to find the energy to get up every morning and keep working on it type of motivation.

I have a couple different ways to tackle this. They usually work for me, but you might need to get creative and figure out what works best for you.

First, I use a reward system. It makes me sound like a five-year-old, but hey, if it works it works. Basically, this means when I'm slogging through a task, usually writing-related, I need a way to reward myself. This could be something as simple as a bowl of candy on my desk that I get to indulge in every time I finish writing/editing a whole page. If you need a stronger reward, pick something stronger, and do it as often as you need. If you feel led to treat yourself to Dunkin Donuts every time you finish a chapter, then go for it. You won't get any judgment from me.

And it doesn't have to be food-related either. Maybe you watch an episode of your favorite TV show every time you finish editing a chapter. Or if you're close to finishing your book, maybe do something big and promise yourself a weekend vacation once you finally write THE END. You know what you like, how fast you work, and how much motivation you might need, so set up a system that works for you!

Second tactic, have people who help keep you accountable as a writer. Whether it's beta readers, family members, a mentor, a writing group, you name it. Basically, you need to surround yourself with people who know you're working on a project and can check in with you on a regular basis to make sure you're ACTUALLY working on that project.

I've found that beta readers work best for me in this area. For a long time, my biggest beta readers were family members. They were kind enough to read, give me feedback, and beg for the next set of chapters. Their pestering was great because it not only told me that they loved the story, but it also motivated me and kept me working hard to churn out more material.

Another way you can use beta readers as an effective source of motivation is to set up a partnership with one or more fellow writers. Basically, the idea is that you beta read for each other and give each other feedback. The best way to do this is to set up a schedule. For example, by the end of next week, we will exchange chapter four of our books. Obviously, you want to have your fourth chapter ready to go by this time so you can get feedback. This way, you're creating material, getting feedback, and helping another writer. It's a win-win-win. (I also have a blog post on beta readers here, if you're interested)

Third tactic, and some of you anti-multitaskers might hate me for this, but one of the best ways to stay motivated is to work on MORE THAN ONE project at a time. I actually do this a lot, because to be honest, I've probably read my biggest project more than fifty times. After too much of this, I start to lose the motivation to keep working on it. Even though I love the story and my characters, it just gets dull looking at the same words over and over again through the endless adventure that is the editing process.

So what do I do? Switch to another project of course! I've learned that I do my best work when I'm excited about what I'm writing. If you're not excited about tackling another chapter in your series on dragon warlords, then switch to editing a chapter from your princess-of-the-wolves novel. This way, you're still writing, and still getting work done, but you're not struggling to squeeze the last few drops of motivation out of your soul to work on something you're just not excited about that day.

There you have it. Motivation in a very long-winded nutshell. I hope you find this helpful!

Which type of motivation is the hardest for you? The struck by inspiration kind or the stop dragging your feet kind? Let me know if you have other tips on motivation, and as always, hit me up in the comments with whatever else is on your mind. Thanks everybody!