When Writing is Hard: Motivation

Welcome to the fourth and final chapter in our series When Writing is Hard. So far we’ve looked at time, inspiration, energy, and today we’ll cap it all off with motivation. 

Motivation is a tricky little thing because one second it’s there and the next it isn’t. One moment the words are coming so fast that your fingers can’t keep up, and the next you’re staring at a blank computer screen and contemplating banging your head into it.

Truly, that’s the thing people struggle most with about motivation: having it. Motivation can be defined in two ways. The first is “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way” (Webster’s Dictionary). The second, also from Webster’s, is “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.” That’s the one we’re referring to when we say that we “just aren’t motivated to write today.”

I’ve been the person saying that to myself, and I know you have too. It’s part of being human. When we first start writing, it’s so much fun. We can’t wait to do it, because it’s what we love. But as time goes on and we work on building the habit of writing, which for some people means writing every single day, the glamour fades from sitting down and creating words. Thus, our shining knight of motivation is gone. 

I’m not here to give you the tricks to always be motivated to work on a project. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I’m here to tell you that motivation will fail you. Not necessarily every time, but most of the time. For certain, I can say that you will not always want to work on your project, or finish that email, or edit that article. Motivation will fail you. 

We’re going to break the previous format for these posts, where I give you tips on improving or maintaining whatever thing we’re talking about. Instead, I’m going to introduce a new player into the midst: Discipline. (And then we’ll talk about tips XD) So this post really should be titled When Writing is Hard: Discipline, but discipline is the answer, not the subject in question. Hence the OG title. 

Discipline is defined as to “train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.” I am just crushing you with these definitions today, but I think it’s important to understand what we’re talking about before we dive into it. Discipline is making yourself do something even though you don’t necessarily want to, because it aligns with your greater goals. Going to the gym every day is discipline. Sitting down to write follows the same idea. 

There are thirty-one days in the month of December, when this post is coming out. Let’s say that out of those thirty one days, you are really excited and motivated to write for five. That’s about one day a week, which could be high for some of you and low for others. But at the end of the month, you’ve written on twenty-six different days. How on earth did that happen? I think you know the answer already. 

You chose to sit down at your computer and write, even though you weren’t necessarily motivated to do so. You were disciplined with yourself. That’s what I’m going to give you tips on. Creating and maintaining discipline in your writing life. 

Tip #1. Have a writing calendar. I cannot stress this tip enough –there’s a reason it’s number one. A writing calendar can have whatever modifications you want, but first and foremost it’s to keep track of the days you write. It could be plans for what you’re going to work on each day, but it’s something you mark off at the end of every day. For me, my calendar changes based on what I’m working on. If I’m drafting, then I’ll put a check mark on every day that I’ve written something and then add the word count for that day too. It doesn’t matter if I hit my word goal or not, because to me, any amount of words is worth marking down. I have a paper calendar for every month since I started writing, which means I have one for every month since July 2022. And I keep them all, to remind myself that writing goes through stages. A calendar shows you how much you show up for your writing. 

Tip #2. Don’t break the streak. It’s the same mindset as all of those gaming apps, Duolingo included. Once you’ve got your streak going, don’t break it. It’s much easier to sit down to write, at least for me, when I can see that I’ve got twenty-three days of consecutive writing and I just need a little bit more to get to twenty-four. I’m sure there’s some psychology behind why this works, but I don’t know it. I just know that it works. Even if you’re doubtful, at least try it. 

Tip #3. Take rest days. Please. For the love of every good book in existence, don’t grind yourself into oblivion because you won’t give up on that word count. There is a time and place for grinding, such as if you’re trying to write 50,000 words in a month but it is not something you should stay in all the time. I take every single Sunday off from writing. Granted, I did not do that when I was getting started, because I was working on building the habit of writing consistently, so that made sense for me. But it does not make sense forever. So take breaks. I’m begging you. 

Tip #4. Build rewards into your schedule. If you hit three full weeks of writing every single day, that’s worth celebrating! Maybe you have a full month where you do a little bit every morning, and you take yourself out for ice cream. Maybe you have a movie night, I don’t know. Whatever makes you happy and is truly a reward for what you’ve done. I’m a hypocrite on this too much and don’t give myself rewards, but this is a time where you should do as I say, not as I do! Celebrate your achievements, because they’re worth it. 

Tip #5. Get accountability. I don’t care where it comes from, there is nothing more motivating than another person egging you on. Whether it be encouragement or reminders, having someone else to make sure you’re doing your writing is truly a gift. It could be a writing friend, it could be a family member or a roommate, anything. Maybe you are building a writing habit and your little brother needs to practice his clarinet. You keep each other accountable and both go work on your separate activities at the same time. Get someone else to make sure that you do what you’re supposed to –but remember that they can’t actually do it for you. That’s still up to you. 

Tip #6. This last tip has to do with motivating yourself. I know, a bit of a contradiction. But sometimes a bit of inspiration can be exactly the kick you need. For me, that’s usually looking at my character boards on pinterest or reviewing my collages. Listening to the playlists I’ve made for each book or the songs that get me in the mood for a certain scene can do it too. This might be rereading what you’ve already written for you, or maybe taking a break. Whatever it is, sometimes you need a bit of inspiration before you can be disciplined. 

A final note: with all of these tips and all of these blog posts, don’t forget to experiment. Not everything that works for me will work for you. I would be shocked if it did, because we are different people. So consider this my last bit of advice for this series: experiment. Find out what works for you, and when you do, I’d love to hear about it!

Thus concludes our series on When Writing is Hard. I hope y’all have enjoyed it, and I will see you later! Let me know which post was your favorite and if you have anything you would add to them!