WRITING MOTIVATION

Welcome to my first writing blog on the new website! I haven’t blogged about anything writing related in a few years, so before I tackle the technical writing advice, I’m covering writing habits. You can’t practice your craft if you never write, right? Right. And write!

When I wrote my first book in 2011, I had all the time in the world. No job, no kids, no obligations, no life. Just writing. And yet, I wrote less than I do now. I spent all of my time researching, outlining, daydreaming, second guessing every story choice, editing chapters I’d already written, getting lost on Pinterest, studying maps... pretty much everything except actual writing. All of those things helped me write the story, of course. But it was horrible time management. I didn’t take advantage of the privilege of time that I had.

I no longer have that privilege.

I’ve had to learn to write around chaotic schedules, motherhood, and self care (yes, this has to be scheduled when you have a tornado toddler). I’m lucky to get a total hour of writing time in a day. And I make the most of that time now. It wasn’t automatic, but more of an adaptation over time. I can sit down at my tablet and pump out 2500 words in an hour or two without any initial delay. I can leap into a scene and pick right up where I left off after repeated interruptions every five minutes. And now when I see posts from writers trying to figure out how to motivate themselves to actually write, I feel like I can help.

First of all, if you have actual time to write, you are LUCKY. Use that time! Don’t wait for motivation. Just open your manuscript and start pumping out words. They don’t have to be perfection. You can despise every word you write in a session (weirdly enough, some of my favorite scenes have come from writing sessions that I absolutely hated). You can fix it and make it pretty later. The important thing is getting the words down. Often, the act of forcing yourself to just jump into a scene without waiting for your muse will wake up your muse! If you lack inspiration, don’t wait for it to smolder back to life. Take a flamethrower to it. The fire is always in you. If you can’t find it, FEED IT.

If your words just aren’t coming even when you try to force it, there’s usually an underlying reason. You haven’t planned far enough ahead; your subconscious has picked up on a plot hole; a previous scene isn’t sitting well with you; you don’t like where the story is going; etcetera. These issues will resolve themselves as you write, but that doesn’t help if you can’t write. So I advise writing about something else entirely.

Close your manuscript, open a blank doc, and write about your day. Or a dream you had, or a fond memory, or your greatest fear, or what you’d do if you were stranded on an island. Or whatever! Often, the act of writing anything tends to unplug whatever is clogging your mind. It’s in your nature to write, but the mind likes to dwell on extraneous things and that can cause the infamous writer’s block. So if your brain can’t stop chewing and won’t focus on the present, kick that bone away from it with a torrent of other words. You should find yourself feeling strong enough to go back to your manuscript and just trudge on, knowing you can address whatever is bothering you later. I can’t promise that it won’t feel awkward and clunky, but it’s definitely better than just staring at the screen and drooling.

Here’s what I wish I could tell my past self: you are in control. Not the muse, not the inspiration, not the outline, not some previous scene you feel bound by, and not the world around you. YOU are in control of your writing. When you don’t write, that’s on you. It’s a session of words that you’ve lost out on. They might have been some of the best words in your novel. And when you do write, that’s on you, too. Good job! You might be nursing a headache from yanking the sentences from your brain, gagging at the nauseating metaphors you concocted, despising those adverbs and that passive voice that slipped by you, and mentally slapping a character for their flat dialogue. But now you have something to edit later, and that is such a huge win. And that’s how books get finished.

This isn’t to say that you should feel guilty or beat yourself up for just not having it in you to write sometimes. Those days happen. You know when you need a rest or a break to to ponder things. Everyone has their own pace, and you should honor that. But that’s different than just being lazy and using the absent muse as an excuse. So push yourself when you can, and when you can’t? Go take a bath. Take a hike. Eat some ice cream. Take a nap. Run some laps. Whatever helps you feel better. Treat yoself! Because sometimes we’re right. Sometimes we do need the muse. And the muse needs soul food. So feed that inner fire and then get back to writing your story. The world needs your unique creation and it needs to hear your voice. Good luck! Tell your muse hi for me.