forum Ask me questions about writing books! I've written six novels.
Started by @lisapickle
tune

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@lisapickle

What do you do to motivate yourself when you know you need to write but just don't feel like it?

I'm actually struggling with this right now.

Remember why you're doing this. Remind yourself why you love writing. Whatever your reason; because it's fun, because there are stories burning inside you, because you have a message you believe others need to hear. Remind yourself why you're doing this. Also remember that you WANT to write… right? You LIKE writing! It can feel like work sometimes and be super draining, but remember that you actually enjoy it.

Trick yourself into it: Tell yourself you'll just write 100 words (or 250. or 500. whatever works). Or you'll just write for ten minutes. Quite often, when I do this, I find myself writing for an hour, or plugging out 1500 words. The pressure is off because, hey, I already wrote my quota! But then you're into your story and you're enjoying it and you want to keep going. But if not, if you're still struggling, it's no big deal. You wrote what you said you were going to write and now you can go do something else without feeling guilty.

Have a writing routine: if you always write every day at 9am, or you write every Friday, you've already committed yourself to that chunk of time, instead of wrestling with yourself in the moment. Every time you show up to that appointed time and write, it makes the next time easier. And your words often get flower faster and sooner because you've trained your brain to get into writing mode during that pre-planned time.