For the last few months, writing has been a slog. I think I’ve spent more time and energy coming up with excuses not to write than actually putting words on the page. And while I blame much of my sluggishness on the pandemic, the election, and the overall depressing state of the world, I know part of it is also due to sheer lack of motivation after coming off of edits for KINGDOM OF SECRETS. So I decided to compile the various tips and tricks that have helped motivate me in the past, in hopes that they will jumpstart my productivity once again – and perhaps help others who may be similarly uninspired. Some of this advice has been repeated so often, it’s part of the air we writers breathe. Some of these are little hacks I’ve come up with over the years. All of it is intended to get my butt in the seat and my fingers on the keys!
- Make Writing a Habit: This sounds like a no-brainer, but there have been contentious debates online about whether it’s necessary to write every day. I’ll confess that I don’t write every day, but I do spend time being a writer every day. That can include research, reading craft books, blogging (hello!), sprucing up my website, etc. It’s less about word count and more about carving time out of each day to acknowledge and focus on this part of me, so that writing stays front and center and becomes as ingrained in my daily life as walking the dog or checking the mail. Or, to belabor the exercise analogy I’ll use later on, so the writing muscle stays toned.
- Set Attainable Goals: I use a to-do list app, which I’ve programmed to automatically include a line item for 30 minutes of writing every day. Some people use word count or other metrics, but I prefer to set a goal that applies no matter which stage of writing I’m currently in (drafting, revising, etc.). Thirty minutes is not onerous or intimidating, and it’s pretty hard to come up with a good excuse for not doing it, even on my busiest days. And thirty minutes is always a minimum – it can easily stretch to an hour or two if time and energy permit.
- Remember that Starting is the Hardest Part: Like writing, exercise is a recurring item on my to-do list. Like writing, exercise fills me with dread until I’ve done it (at which point I bask in my accomplishment). But unlike writing, exercise is an activity I hate the whole time I’m doing it. Nine times out of ten, writing becomes not just bearable but fun once I get going. So when I’m dragging my feet, I often just have to remind myself that it’ll be less painful if I just suck it up and start.
- Give Me a Break: It’s common to get burned out and need time off from writing, the same way you’d take a break from work or exercise to rest and recover. The difficulty is figuring out where “needing a break” ends and procrastination begins. There’s no simple answer, but I normally find that I need a break when I’m transitioning from one big project to the next, when I’m especially busy in my non-writing life, or when I’m emotionally drained because of external factors (e.g., the aforementioned pandemic, election, etc.). But while it’s helpful and healthy to give myself a break, I find that if I don’t assign an end date, my break can become endless. And I also recommend holding onto the daily writing commitment during these breaks, even if it’s only used for the writing-adjacent activities mentioned above.
- Embrace the Romance: Few careers are more romanticized than writing. As a lawyer, I never drool over grainy photos of law books and contracts, but show me an Instagram photo of an open laptop and steaming mug of tea, and I’m all over the like button. Even though the social media version of writing differs dramatically from real life, there’s no reason not to embrace that fantasy every once in a while. Brew a pot of tea, cue the writing playlist, don your most librarian-esque sweater, grab your fanciest ink pen, and break out that hand-stitched notebook. These embellishments won’t write the book for you, but they can get you into the right mindset. As the saying goes: fake it ‘til you make it.
- Write Longhand: Similar to the bullet above, there’s just something about writing long hand – the scratch of pen against paper, the swoop of the letters in glistening ink – that makes me feel like a “writer,” descended from the likes of Jane Austen or Shakespeare (not to be too grandiose about it or anything). Sometimes it’s enough to shake loose whatever creative block is holding me back.
- Skip to the Good Parts: I typically write stories in order – from beginning to end – to moderate the flow and pacing, but drafting the boring “between scenes” (or, more cringy, the “connective tissue”) can really dampen my motivation. To counter that, I’ll occasionally skip ahead and write the most compelling parts of the story – the action scenes, the big reveals, the fights, etc. If the good parts happen offstage, like a dramatic bit of backstory that’s only hinted at in the book, I’ll write them anyway. Writing the fun parts invigorates my interest in the larger story. (As a bonus, these deleted scenes can become additional content for readers if – I mean, when – the book sells.)
- Revisit the Good Parts: A commonly-repeated piece of writing advice is that you shouldn’t edit as you write – you should plunge ahead without looking back until the story is all on paper. I agree with this approach, with one small exception. When I’m stuck in the middle of a draft, I’ll often sneak a glimpse back at my favorite scene, usually the first scene I wrote, which hooked me on this story in the first place. That’s often enough to remind me that it’s worth telling and to prompt me to keep going.
- Use Bribery: Bribery happens to be one of my most successful parenting strategies, and good news – it works on kids and writers alike! Withholding dessert and/or TV will motivate both groups to do just about anything. If you have a friend or family member you can trust, ask them to help you with this one, as it’s fairly easy to cheat when the bribery is self-inflicted.
- Read: What was the very first thing that inspired you to become a writer? If it was a book, you’re not alone. (Probably a middle grade book… just sayin’.) So wouldn’t it follow that reading is the best tool we’ve got to re-inspire ourselves? There are a handful of books that I can pick up at any time, flip to any page, and remember what I’m working toward (off the top of my head: The Girl Who Drank the Moon, When You Reach Me, anything by Lauren Wolk). Fill your shelves with books that make you want to write, and refer to them often.
- Brush Up on Craft: I’ve gotten into the habit of reading a craft book before I begin any new manuscript. Even though I know the basic mechanics of story, it helps to refresh the concepts before I put them into practice, and to tie those concepts directly to what I’m working on. I consider it a sort of palette cleanser in between projects.
- Don’t Leave Future Me Hanging: If I’m having a productive writing session (and having a writing session at all is pretty productive), I’ll end it by mapping out what comes next. This is usually as simple as a few bullet points in my notes. It’s so much easier to borrow from yesterday’s momentum than to start from scratch. Future you will thank you.
- Spice Up My To-Do List: This is my favorite little trick, and anyone else who is devoted to their to-do list will appreciate it. Instead of labeling my daily task as “Writing” (booooring!) on my to-do list, I try and give it a more enticing description, based on what’s happening in that day’s chapters. Some of mine have included: Ben Gets Humiliated, Mrs. Mulligan Arrives, and Amanda Wreaks Havoc at the Spa. It a small thing, but it gets me a little more excited about the task ahead.
- Fix It or Forget It: Finally, if I can’t bring myself to sit down and write, despite all the tricks I’ve listed here, I have to consider that my lack of motivation might be a symptom of a bigger problem. Maybe I’m avoiding the manuscript because something about it is just not working. Maybe I’m not excited enough about the premise, the characters, or the plot. The only way to overcome this sort of writer’s block is to pinpoint what’s broken, which for me means going back to my outline and working through it beat by beat. I usually don’t have to look very hard to find the weak point. It’s almost always something that has been nagging me, which I pushed aside to worry about later. Well, guess what? Later is now. And, if I can’t pinpoint or fix the issue, it might be time to set the story aside, let it marinate, and work on something I’m more excited about.
So there you have it – a loooong list of tips and tricks that help get me over a writing slump. If this list were foolproof, my Book 2 edits would be finished (er…they’re not), but I’ve found these practices helpful over the years. If you have other strategies that work for you, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!