WRITERS: How do you stay motivated?
This is something I've struggled with as a writer for decades; staying motivated. Motivated to write, motivated to imagine. When it strikes me, it usually does so with a vengeance and I'm able to conjure ideas and scenarios to the point that it excites me to have such creative control over whatever world I create.
I imagine this experience of being overcome with inspiring creativity to be not unlike that of people who claim to be divinely inspired, as if to provide a mode of dictation for the word of god. Even more so due to the fact that I've never been good at hanging onto that motivating inspiration, and thus I have to fit as much into it as I can before it goes away.
Once it's gone, everything I feel towards a project seems as if it goes into a kind of pause - waiting for the next wave of motivation, which may or may not come. Therefore it sits on a shelf, slowly rotting away - it becomes a race between the arrival of the next wave of inspiration and the deterioration of the original concept.
If I try to force myself to create and become motivated and inspired, I find that it actually works against me. Like trying to smooth rough water with a flat iron, or like trying to force yourself to fall asleep - it just makes the original problem worse.
But music helps.
I've found that if I'm able to find the right tunes that put me in the mindset I need to be in to work on any particular project, I can actually truck through it much more smoothly. In fact, this has been the case for me since I was a kid. When I was 10 years old, I and my teachers discovered that by simply letting me listen to headphones during schoolwork hour, I was able to get it all done, where before I was barely interested to even do it at all. Not because I didn't understand it - I just wasn't interested, it bored me.
These days, I've found that - depending on what I'm writing - I can go to Soundcloud and look up the tag "film score" or "soundtrack", and find music from relatively unknown artists who create some amazing work. In fact, for my screenplay I've been able to secure the rights to a track I found there that was composed by a guy from Buenos Aires who went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I listen to this one a lot.
In the off-time, however, I have a hard time coming back to my project as much more than "just another thing that's on my plate". So, writers - how do you stay motivated? How do you keep your project on the forefront of your mind without turning into another chore you've given yourself? That last question is not to imply that I don't love what I'm doing, because I do. But my love for it seems to have little to do with whether or not my motivation to do it sticks around long enough for me to complete it.
It goes about the same way for me. Usually write in waves as motivation/inspiration takes over. However, there are times I must write things that have a deadline. Those moments it does feel like work.
How do I push through? How do I create motivation?
Well, it's a grind. But I focus on a topic and gather info. It becomes more of a analytical task and then force pen to pad. After a short while the creatives juices get going and I'm on my way again. Other times, not so much and it just feels like a chore the whole way through - in those cases just gotta put your head down and push through it.
I wish that my creative inspiration would work much like laughter. In other words, I can walk into a room where people are already laughing, and after a few seconds I will find myself laughing as well. I don't even have to know why they are laughing. It's contagious, so I fall right into it. You can also make yourself laugh by faking it first. The endorphins in your brain don't know the difference, and eventually take over and the laughter becomes real. But I haven't been able to get my creativity to work that way. It would be so great if it did.
I move from project to project. Stuff still floats in my head from ten years ago that hasn't been finished, otherstuff flows effortlessly.
Its interesting that we don't use the term verbal constipation, but we do generate verbal diarrhea.
I recommend "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Haruki Murakami.
Writing a book or whatever is like running a marathon. You just got to keep at it everyday. Set yourself time for it. Sit down, and even if you are not inspired or motivated just sit there. You keep digging and digging until you strike a reservoir of inspiration. Relying on motivation is not a good idea for wirting. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is key. Whether it is setting a word count target or just spending time working on it whether you achieve something or not.
I like that. That feels very much like what I'm doing, but after so long I begin to feel like I got duped on the land I purchased. LOL
Ritual. I developed a ritual to help put my mind in a place where I can create or at least get things moving. I don't always feel "inspired" and do not rely on it to create my MS or SP. I use the inspiration to form an outline so I have something to work from. That is the hard part, getting the story down. One the story bones are down, it is just craft and even if inspiration is low, one can still work on the craft of writing. I tell people I teach, don't wait for inspiration, it is too fickle. Work on the craft everyday and things will fall in place. If it is not on the page, it can't be fixed and writing is not so much about inspiration as it is about craft.
I like you. We should talk more.
Would love to, please be patient as I'm still learning my way around steemit here. Just joined to day and haven't gotten to my profile yet. Should be up in the next few days.
For me, motivation is effort but try to stop me when I'm inspired to do / go something / somewhere. I love the topic!
Inspiration feels as easy, motivation is not so nice ....
nice post :)
Im very motivated on everyting i do so usual not a big problem .
The one thing that can help is rutine just do the things when the time it comes :)
Happy steeming and stay motivated!