3 Ways To Stay Motivated

(When you’re in a writng slump)

My last post on Hoblife was back in December. At the time I promised a dairy of my writing progress (during a course I wanted to do — The Year I Write My Book), which I thought would begin in January. Annoyingly the starting date was changed to later in the year. This was unexpected, as I was ready to run with it.

Certain I could not move forwards with my writing, without the course to support me, I fell into a funk.Then I said to myself,

“Come on Ash, why not use this time to enhance your skills.”

And that is exactly what I did.

Below are three ways I stayed motivated while waiting for my course to start. I found these helpful and I wanted to share my findings with a larger audience. This I hope would motivate people dealing with their own writing slumps.

WRITE —

Whatever you do, don’t stop writing. Don’t let life find an excuse to say,

“Here’s an opportunity to take a break.”

Writers don’t take breaks…

They write, even if what they write isn’t important. Always remember, once you disconnect from the cycle it is difficult to get back again.

Last year I was told the book I had spent the ten years writing had no structure and was written in a narrators point of view. It sent me into a complete spin and I stopped writing for several months.

READ —

It is easy to fall head first into the plot of a novel and not come up for a breather. At the moment I am reading, The Woman In The Window, by A.J. Finn. It is so exciting that I have to refrain from searching Google to find out the ending (Don’t worry, I won’t). The point I am trying to make is, use books not just for their enjoyment factor but to further educate yourself. After I finish, The Woman in the Window, I will go back over it and analyse how it’s written. First person, second person or third person. I’ll look at how the author sneaks description into the plot and lastly I’ll study how the characters converse and interact with each other.

STORYTELLING —

When people talk, listen. Let their stories become a source you feed from. Everyone has something to say. One never knows if that something is just what you need to create an original best-seller.

There you have it, my three tips. I hope they are helpful to someone. My course starts the 7th May. Can’t wait. Until then happy writing folks.