"It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to." Annie Gottlier.
All activities that have not become habits are a result of one of two things; enthusiasm giving you motivation or plain hard willpower. However, for the majority of people, enthusiasm does not last, and motivation is difficult to maintain. We suddenly realise what we're working on means hard work and will take months and years to get the results we secretly hoped would come overnight. Many people hit this in their writing early on. Pure inspiration will rarely carry the writer all the way through the first draft, let alone the second, third, fifth or tenth. And that is long before the ordeal of trying to find a publisher, if we go the traditional route, or the promotion and marketing necessary for self-publishing.
So how can you possibly maintain your motivation? To start with, you need to realise that motivation and enthusiasm are all in the mind. As I discuss later in my book ('The Five Day Writer's Retreat'), but motivation is an attitude. This is great, because it means that it is totally under your control, if you have the mental discipline to take charge of your thoughts. Our mood and thoughts are easily affected by our environment and experiences. Knowing this, you can set up systems that will reinforce your desire for your task and rebuild your motivation. Generating enthusiasm and a constant feeling of play and fun in your work are two great methods of doing this, and I'll detail some methods of increasing both of these.
Enthusiasm
1. The most effective tool for becoming a prolific writer is to be able to build motivation and enthusiasm for anything, particularly when it's something you're writing for as work. Want me to write about the new changes to income tax law? Bring it on! The difference between camel and horse dung? I'll think like a five year old and find it cool. If you can train yourself to excitement, you'll find your career flourishes (even if it's just because people want to see what you can make sound exciting next). You will also turn out more content because you will not constantly fight the urge to get up and do absolutely anything else. The difference between begrudgingly writing for an hour turning out 250 words, and letting your fingers tap-dance across the keys for an hour producing 2,500 words, is not just a measure of productivity levels, but something that can affect your health and the longevity of your career.
2. Remember that other people's enthusiasm is catching. Find someone else who is interested in the same thing you should be (like the flight path of swans in the winter) and warm yourself at the fire of their desire. In today's society of online networking, that person could be anywhere in the world, yet still only a blog post, book chapter or podcast away.
3. There are many great books on writing. Sometimes, just reading about someone who loves writing is enough to remind me that I love it too. So, beg, borrow or steal some books on writing. Ask for them for Christmas presents, borrow them from the library, or obtain them any other way you can. But don't read them all at once, in one sitting. Try to read a little bit each day, a sweet mouthful that tickles your taste buds and continues to feed your enthusiasm. I find this is the best way to use these books. Always have one on the go, and turn to it when you are struggling to sit down and write. You may find yourself getting into the mindset.
Playtime
Critically for your creativity, you need to think of your writing as playtime. If you think about your writing as 'work', your motivation will flee from you. Have you ever tried to get a child to stop playing in order to come in and do homework? Imagine being able to harness the untapped power of their enthusiasm for playing towards being productive.
1. Procrastination. That old chestnut. When you should be really be doing one task - say study for exams - and suddenly those old chores you've avoided become irresistible... Then you suddenly find yourself shower with a toothbrush. Similarly, when you 'become serious' about your writing (perhaps you've even given up your day job in order to write full time) you suddenly can't find the same motivation for it. Now your writing is your 'have to' task, rather than your sneaky playtime. Now that you have to it's the thing that you want to procrastinate from doing, rather than being the procrastination. How do you fight this? Try to do your writing when you should be doing something else. Take on a DIY renovation or start doing your tax early. If you find these win out over sneaking off to write, then you might need to consider being a builder or an accountant.
2. Imagination. As you engage your imagination, writing becomes more and more like play - every time you sit down there is an adventure. How do you involve your imagination more? Set yourself a challenge that will need creative thinking to fit it into your work. During one essay and exam period, a friend and I dared each other to quote certain 'sources' in our essays. A friend of mine managed to footnote 'I am a fish' written in Ancient Greek (a wonderful tribute to the TV series Red Dwarf), and I used Terry Pratchett in an essay on Ancient Rome. The naughty secret between you and the work might only be a sentence or two, but it can turn a boring essay into a cheeky endeavour, and makes it a whole lot of fun.
3. Relaxation. I've created a ritual in which I get home from work, go straight to the gym, come back and have dinner, then get a cup of jasmine tea, and sit myself down in my writing chair with a small sigh of relief. A physical sigh, which actually helps a lot, I recommend it. As well as the cup of tea, or wine if you prefer. Make this time a relaxing experience. It's your time to be with yourself and your characters, to see what they're up to and have a chat. Create an inviting environment and include little rituals that you look forward to. Maybe talk someone into giving you a foot rub when you get started... always worth a try!
4. No routine! Sometimes setting a word limit to aim for is effective, as this uses the 'goal achievement' aspect of motivation. But for some people, that won't work. It will make them feel stressed and constantly focused on meeting the limit. Kids play because they want to play, and they stop when they want to stop (or more commonly, when they are made to stop). They can go from one piece of equipment, over to the next, and back again as much as they like. There are no rules and no routine they have to follow. You can make your writing like that. Skip around chapters, write whatever jumps into your mind. It won't work for everyone, but it may work for you.
So there you go - three hints on enthusiasm, and four for play in order to maintain your motivation for over a day.
All activities that have not become habits are a result of one of two things; enthusiasm giving you motivation or plain hard willpower. However, for the majority of people, enthusiasm does not last, and motivation is difficult to maintain. We suddenly realise what we're working on means hard work and will take months and years to get the results we secretly hoped would come overnight. Many people hit this in their writing early on. Pure inspiration will rarely carry the writer all the way through the first draft, let alone the second, third, fifth or tenth. And that is long before the ordeal of trying to find a publisher, if we go the traditional route, or the promotion and marketing necessary for self-publishing.
So how can you possibly maintain your motivation? To start with, you need to realise that motivation and enthusiasm are all in the mind. As I discuss later in my book ('The Five Day Writer's Retreat'), but motivation is an attitude. This is great, because it means that it is totally under your control, if you have the mental discipline to take charge of your thoughts. Our mood and thoughts are easily affected by our environment and experiences. Knowing this, you can set up systems that will reinforce your desire for your task and rebuild your motivation. Generating enthusiasm and a constant feeling of play and fun in your work are two great methods of doing this, and I'll detail some methods of increasing both of these.
Enthusiasm
1. The most effective tool for becoming a prolific writer is to be able to build motivation and enthusiasm for anything, particularly when it's something you're writing for as work. Want me to write about the new changes to income tax law? Bring it on! The difference between camel and horse dung? I'll think like a five year old and find it cool. If you can train yourself to excitement, you'll find your career flourishes (even if it's just because people want to see what you can make sound exciting next). You will also turn out more content because you will not constantly fight the urge to get up and do absolutely anything else. The difference between begrudgingly writing for an hour turning out 250 words, and letting your fingers tap-dance across the keys for an hour producing 2,500 words, is not just a measure of productivity levels, but something that can affect your health and the longevity of your career.
2. Remember that other people's enthusiasm is catching. Find someone else who is interested in the same thing you should be (like the flight path of swans in the winter) and warm yourself at the fire of their desire. In today's society of online networking, that person could be anywhere in the world, yet still only a blog post, book chapter or podcast away.
3. There are many great books on writing. Sometimes, just reading about someone who loves writing is enough to remind me that I love it too. So, beg, borrow or steal some books on writing. Ask for them for Christmas presents, borrow them from the library, or obtain them any other way you can. But don't read them all at once, in one sitting. Try to read a little bit each day, a sweet mouthful that tickles your taste buds and continues to feed your enthusiasm. I find this is the best way to use these books. Always have one on the go, and turn to it when you are struggling to sit down and write. You may find yourself getting into the mindset.
Playtime
Critically for your creativity, you need to think of your writing as playtime. If you think about your writing as 'work', your motivation will flee from you. Have you ever tried to get a child to stop playing in order to come in and do homework? Imagine being able to harness the untapped power of their enthusiasm for playing towards being productive.
1. Procrastination. That old chestnut. When you should be really be doing one task - say study for exams - and suddenly those old chores you've avoided become irresistible... Then you suddenly find yourself shower with a toothbrush. Similarly, when you 'become serious' about your writing (perhaps you've even given up your day job in order to write full time) you suddenly can't find the same motivation for it. Now your writing is your 'have to' task, rather than your sneaky playtime. Now that you have to it's the thing that you want to procrastinate from doing, rather than being the procrastination. How do you fight this? Try to do your writing when you should be doing something else. Take on a DIY renovation or start doing your tax early. If you find these win out over sneaking off to write, then you might need to consider being a builder or an accountant.
2. Imagination. As you engage your imagination, writing becomes more and more like play - every time you sit down there is an adventure. How do you involve your imagination more? Set yourself a challenge that will need creative thinking to fit it into your work. During one essay and exam period, a friend and I dared each other to quote certain 'sources' in our essays. A friend of mine managed to footnote 'I am a fish' written in Ancient Greek (a wonderful tribute to the TV series Red Dwarf), and I used Terry Pratchett in an essay on Ancient Rome. The naughty secret between you and the work might only be a sentence or two, but it can turn a boring essay into a cheeky endeavour, and makes it a whole lot of fun.
3. Relaxation. I've created a ritual in which I get home from work, go straight to the gym, come back and have dinner, then get a cup of jasmine tea, and sit myself down in my writing chair with a small sigh of relief. A physical sigh, which actually helps a lot, I recommend it. As well as the cup of tea, or wine if you prefer. Make this time a relaxing experience. It's your time to be with yourself and your characters, to see what they're up to and have a chat. Create an inviting environment and include little rituals that you look forward to. Maybe talk someone into giving you a foot rub when you get started... always worth a try!
4. No routine! Sometimes setting a word limit to aim for is effective, as this uses the 'goal achievement' aspect of motivation. But for some people, that won't work. It will make them feel stressed and constantly focused on meeting the limit. Kids play because they want to play, and they stop when they want to stop (or more commonly, when they are made to stop). They can go from one piece of equipment, over to the next, and back again as much as they like. There are no rules and no routine they have to follow. You can make your writing like that. Skip around chapters, write whatever jumps into your mind. It won't work for everyone, but it may work for you.
So there you go - three hints on enthusiasm, and four for play in order to maintain your motivation for over a day.