No Motivation?

I have not had any motivation recently to write. I've been too busy. Then I heard this:

Without incentive, there is no motivation.

Duh. How could I be so stupid?!

This is why writing contests work and get many entries, but books remain unwritten and unpublished in those same author's computers.

Authors like me.

 Without incentive, there is no motivation.

This is why I like to collaborate with others. Not only does it bring out the best in me because I challenge myself to be great, but also because they set a pace for me, a deadline, and encourage me to write something they will be proud of and I will, too.

I write for others. 

Some people write for themselves. I don't. I don't have extra baggage I need to get rid of. I write for others. I want others to feel, dream, laugh, love.

Maybe I have a story inside that needs to get out.

But it won't be for me. It won't be to heal me or solve some mystery of myself. It will be for you.

You are my motivation.

You are my passion.

You are my missing piece.

When Writing, Give Yourself A Break!

I did finish CampNaNoWriMo, meeting my goal of 30,000 words. :) :D I'm very proud of myself. It feels good to be writing almost every day.

I learned that like most jobs, I need a break every few days. Once a week I could not write. It wasn't a block, it was that I needed some time away from the work to cultivate new ideas and not grow weary.

It's okay to not feel like writing when you've been diligent in writing every day. Sure, there were days that I did other things, like go to the zoo, or to a theme park. It is summer after all! But there were also days I did not write and did not have a good reason, simply that I didn't feel like it. Allowing myself this time off did not cause me to leave writing forever. If anything, it made me come back stronger.

I read, I listened to music, I colored, all other artistic pursuits in lieu of writing, but keeping myself creatively engaged. I grew jealous of other wonderful authors whose books were great reads. I found new bands to dance or rock out to. I watched some shows while coloring in printed sheets of adult coloring books. I also planned school lessons, made file folder work for independent work stations in my classroom (laminating queen!), and I did research for lesson plans.

Then I went back to writing.

One thing that motivated me was Twitter. I loved tweeting my progress and getting favorites, Re-tweets, or new followers every day. I followed many new writers, myself. I wanted to be able to Tweet my progress to people whom would understand and at least care a little. People understood what Camp Nano was, what writing to a goal felt like, and celebrated with me; which was a great feeling.

Connecting with people is a good thing. Feeling part of the big wide world is a good thing. It keeps us grounded. Having motivation is a great thing. It's all how you use it and how you see it. If you want to get lost in twitter for hours, you can. It's not nearly as bad as opening up pinterest, but you can read tweets or post tweets for an entire day. That is not productive, usually. Using it to motivate you to keep writing is productive.

Measure your breaks. Take them, enjoy them, but when they are over, get back to work! Find what motivates you, even if its a different thing every time, and use it to reach your goals.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Write on Fire

I wrote a little something, just to capture the feeling I had. I wanted to preserve the longing I felt stirring restlessly inside.

Write on Fire

I wanna write on fire.

Not with fire like a sparkler in the night.

Not like some imaginary, magical way of literally writing on a fleeting flame.

Writing with abandon, with freedom, with vigor; that's what I want.

No more tiredness, mental fogginess, laziness, sleeping muses.

When I wish upon a star, my heart's desire is to create something new from the depths of my soul. It's not to work hard and make money to pay bills and do it all over again. No. It's to be free to be me. Happily.

I don't like sparklers.

It would be cool to send messages by flame, but impractical and too fleeting.

I want to pen and pen and type and type with flurry, gusto, heart, and drive.

On Fire.

I wrote this because I was thinking about this 'job' thing I have where I get up early, work, come home, work some more, go to bed, and do it all over again. I was thinking about my schedule and how I schedule time to do fun things to break up the monotony. I was thinking about how when it is time for those fun things, sometimes I have NO energy left to do them. 

Skipping the fun things is not cool.

But I have to have a job.

People read my writing and thought I meant that writing WAS my job. I get that. It can be read that way. I have tried to do freelance work, but never found a job request I wanted to write. I do not want to write for someone else. That is the problem. I want to write what I feel like writing. If I could write for me, for fun, AND make money, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It would free up those hours of monotony I have in my J-O-B. 

If I were a writer, I'd get to do things my way.

But I'd never stick to a schedule the way I plan it out! I am okay with that, as long as things get done before deadlines. .. Whatever those deadlines may be.

I guess what I need to do is find what motivates me to write before anything else. I know what that is.

It's people.

When I have friends to spark ideas, to write with, and to collaborate, I do my best work. I need a challenge posted from a colleague.

If I want to write on fire, I have to go find friends. 

What motivates you?