How to Stay Motivated on Your Projects

 

I hear authors routinely say, “I am writing a book.” However, I don’t see a lot of results from those declarations. A small percentage of authors actually produce a book. It seems that declaring you’re writing a book and really finishing a book don’t always go hand in hand. It’s not that people can’t write or aren’t talented, it’s really about motivation. How do you stay motivated to start and finish your book?

Some of it has to do with authors who get bogged down in their own ideas of perfection. I’ve seen authors spin in circles around their first chapter. In fact, I’ve seen authors never get past their first chapters and stay stuck. These writers get caught up in every word and every little element of their writing. First, just keep writing and writing, and remember, you always have an editor who will help make the necessary adjustments. It’s easy to lose motivation if you can’t even move onto Chapter 2. So, keep momentum and just keep writing and writing. Leave the “perfection” in the rewrites and then your editor’s hands.

 

Another way to stay motivated, complete something before you start the next. In other words, finish a whole chapter as your end point for your writing session. Sometimes if you stop in the middle, you lose that sense of accomplishment. Then the next writing session you can sit down and start fresh.

 

Find a reader to read along with your writing. When you have someone waiting to read the next chapter, and this person gets excited about it, he/she will ask, “Where’s the next chapter?” It’s wonderful motivation when you know someone is already enjoying your work. I like to do this in particular when I’m writing a novel. You know you have a page-turner when your reader is super excited and actually “bugs” you for the next chapter.

 

Don’t stop writing – once you take a break or stop writing, it’s difficult to feel motivated to begin again. Life has a way of creating distractions to keep your mind occupied in different directions. As a writer and painter, I try to just keep going. In my case, I’ve made a profession out of it. If I stop I don’t get paid. However, on my personal projects whenever I quit consistently working, it gets set aside. I have many unfinished projects that I have been unable to get back to work on. It’s important to push through and keep writing. 

 

Michelle Gamble is the owner of 3L Publishing and PR. She can be reached at info@3LPublishing.com.