How do you stay motivated?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rev Michelle on June 14, 2010 at 2:40pm

Recently, I've learned that a number of successful novelists just push through it all as quickly as they can to get the story written out. They concentrate on the bones and worry about all the edits and dialogue, etc after they have worked through the story. Interview with the Vampire was written in 5 weeks using that method. I'm going to be giving that a try this fall. Maybe you could take what you already have and wrap it up, going back later to fix dialogue and such?

Permalink Reply by mara rising-phoenix on July 15, 2010 at 12:46am

Thank you so much for this post and response. I am currently working on a fantasy novel and life keeps leaving my writing time behind. I think that I will also try this. I will also be working on my literary major in college at the same time. I let my professor read some of my stuff and she is really excited about it. Blessed Be.

Permalink Reply by MoonDove Starfyre on July 18, 2010 at 5:17pm

The creative spark is fleeting and I am still learning how to discipline myself as far as writing goes... and school work. I have BPD and Schizophrenia, so my mind goes over hundred miles per hour in several hundred directions all at once. I want to write and type and hone my craft, but life always gets in my way. I have been working on the Planetary Rulers series - my paranormal romance series - for a few years. Blessed Be, MoonDove

Permalink Reply by Lady Zandra on August 5, 2010 at 5:13am

As a writer I always have a pen and paper handly just in case I get inspired but I also spend at least two to three hours a day in front of my computer and dedicate myself to my craft. I do not allow anything to interupt me and since I have a full day, every day running my New Age Store, developing herbal teas and Essential healing oils, taking care of my father who suffers from Parkinsons disease and dimentia, caring for my husband and three adult children, I find that getting up earlier then the rest of the family is me time and during that me time I write and enjoy the beginning of my day in peace and quiet. The important thing is life does not get in your way of your writing. You must write every day even if it's just your thoughts on how your day is going.

Brightest Blessings,
Lady Zandra

Permalink Reply by serina on December 18, 2010 at 8:41pm

It's not easy for me either, to keep focused when I don't want to write. It helps me to begin reading my story outline, or the outline of some of the short stories I've started.

Permalink Reply by Scott Harper on May 16, 2011 at 9:20am

My own writing style/method is a lot like what you're talking about, Rev. Michelle. When I outline, I simply start with "Chapter 1" and write a massive, run-on paragraph detailing that chapter. I put in as much detail as I can, sometimes even bits of dialogue. When I reach the end of the chapter, I start the next chapter the same way and go through the entire outline that way. So, when I start on my first draft of the book, I'm using what almost amounts to a rough draft as my outline. When working on an outline, I push through it quickly to get it out and onto paper (computer file).

Scott

Permalink Reply by Perry Byrnes on May 19, 2011 at 3:25am

For me personally, my motivation for my writing comes from life itself. One set of stories I'm writing, which are fairytales, I get from observing stories, music and movies to see where a story lies.
A different set of stories I'm writing, still fairytales with a more sexual edge, are more re-writes of stories I have read. So my only block is finding new and (somewhat) inventive ways for the main characters to be sexual.
If you need to reignite the inspirational flame from which your writing evolved, look at other people's work to see how they do it. Is it a lack of description? Is it an overflow of information? Find how other people get around it and try to utilise it for yourself. I hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Heather Marie Adkins on June 2, 2011 at 7:25am

Hello, all! I'm new to the group :)

If I am unmotivated on something, I step away from it and work on something else. Start a short story, or even a new novel, and then return a few days (or even a week) later. I read over what I had written with fresh eyes, and more often than not, it jump-starts my muse and I can continue plugging away.

Permalink Reply by MoonDove Starfyre on June 3, 2011 at 1:18pm

Hello Heather,
Welcome to this group.
Blessed Be,
MoonDove

Permalink Reply by KP Merriweather on January 7, 2012 at 10:03pm

i write the same way you do. But the novels eventually get finished & i sit it out a month before i edit it. My epic saga "the agency" was written over a period of 13 years with 5 major overhauls - started as a short story & now is 7 books. It took a lot of time to complete but the end result was worth it. Nobody's ever read it all the way through (the usual complaints - too dark/perverse/violent/etc) but im satisfied with it even if nobody else "gets it" or is intimidated or turned off by it. So keep writing until you know in your guts it's "done". Dont rush it! (thats why i had 5 major revisions/overhauls because i kept changing to others specifications instead of going with my guts.when i listened to myself instead of them it got easier to finish)