Ah, writing. Is there anything that is equally fun and nightmarish at the same time? Sometimes we love it. Other times, it’s the bane of our existence. We want to reach the top of the mountain, but the climb up was way harder than we expected.
Don’t fret. Writing a book is a monumental task, and if you ask anyone who’s ever tried, they’ve had problems with staying motivated. I’m not a published author (yet?), so I’m not really qualified to give writing advice, but I have written four novel-length things (avg. 70, 000 words) and can share with you some techniques I use to get myself WRITING. It’s all about starting, mostly, but sometimes, we need an extra push to get started. Here are six ways I have kick-started myself into getting words on the page.
Look at your bookshelf
I imagine that, wanting to be a writer, you have a bunch of books. Look at your bookshelf (or stack of books all over your floor. . .) and realize what is missing. That’s right. Your books! With us being so closely acquainted with our books and characters, it’s easy to forget that no one else has even heard of them. In our minds, they’re already out there for everyone! But they aren’t. They’re not out there in any bookstore. So remember, the only way your book is going to be out there and on a shelf someday (and hopefully, on a BUNCH of shelves all over the world) is if you get to working on it. So take one step closer to having your name among your favorites.
If you want to take this a step further (which I have), go to a bookstore and find where your books would be on the shelf. My guess is that they will be missing there, too. This simply will not do. So get cracking and you’ll be one step closer to having them there.
Set your timer for 30 minutes
In an age of constant distraction, how does anyone expect to actually sit down and write? We watch videos in six seconds, and switch our minds even less (hopefully we still have enough attention to have read this far!). So set your timer for 30 mins and just work on your novel. Lock yourself away and know that 30 mins is going to be devoted to the act of writing. It’s pretty amazing how much you can get done in an uninterrupted 30 mins. If you want to really go nuts, start doing two hour sessions. You’ll get a lot done and the two-hours of hard work will justify the nap you were going to take later anyway.
Remember what Opportunity Cost is
If you ever took an economics class (and had the willpower to not sleep through it) you might remember a thing called “Opportunity Cost”. For those of you that don’t know what it is, it is essentially the cost of not doing something. For example, if I spend four hours sitting around, that sitting around session cost, according to Opportunity Cost, at an $8/hr rate, 32 dollars, because it could have been four hours that I could have been working. Since I’m guessing you want to make a living at writing, you could apply this idea to your writing schedule. Not writing your book is costing you money, because delaying writing it means you’re further away from the expenses that your book will (hopefully, someday) generate.
Make a “Productivity Contract” with someone
If you want to take the whole Opportunity Cost/Losing Money angle to a whole new level, then go ahead and make what I call a “Productivity Contract” with a friend. (Sometimes these are called Ulysses Pacts). What it is, essentially, is that you set yourself a task, and if you don’t do it by the time specified, you owe your friend 20 bucks. Opportunity Cost, sure, you might theoretically losing money, but by signing this contract, you WILL actually lose money. I’ve used these extensively for things I need to get done (mostly laundry) and the thing is, they always work. By doing what you need to do, you end up saving money and getting work done. It’s a win-win.
Think about your characters and how they want to be written about
I don’t know if you do this, but when I am feeling lazy about writing, I will often think that I am in some sort of meeting with my characters. In this type of scenario, I am a writer, hired to chronicle their crazy adventure, and they are some super-famous group of individuals. I’m the writer chosen to write their tell-all book about their exploits. Here’s the thing. They WANT you to tell their story. Your characters have been on this incredible journey and learned this incredible thing (or whatever), so they want you, their commissioned writer, to get on with and bring it to the world. Their insistence in being heard might just get you to start typing away. Remember from above: No one knows your characters yet.
Remember it is your duty to bring this book into the world
Look, ideas are crazy things. We get a million a day, all with different aspects and features (mine are mostly about food). Your book is made up of a bunch of ideas from innumerable sources, and you might be able to think that someone has thought of it all before. But the idea for your novel arrived on YOUR brain’s doorstep. It didn’t arrive at my mental doorstep, or your friend’s or Bill Clinton’s. It arrived at yours. I don’t know about you, but I think story ideas come from whatever you want to call it, the Universe, the great beyond, the weaving of the muses, etc, and what I recognize is that this story is my sole responsibility to bring to all of you. If I don’t, these characters and stories will be lost forever. And if you think someone will, in the next 100 or 1,000 years, come up with the same idea, just remember that no one already has. So don’t see it as a burden, see it as an honor. And be glad to do your duty bringing this thing to life.
What about you? What tips do you use to motivate yourself?
Sincerely,
Casey of Lazy-Writing Land
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