How do you motivate yourself to actually write something? I always get stuck, even when I sit down and force myself to write in a document, or on my phone. Even if I have a vague idea of where things are going, I can’t get into the swing of the story a lot of the time.
How do I overcome this?
Honestly, what works best for me is telling someone else, “Hey, I’m going to write something.” If they’re interested I’ll tell them about my vague plots and notes and what I want to do. And somehow someone else knowing—the story doesn’t entirely exist just in my mind, it’s out there somewhere in someone else’s too, and that motivates me to write, because now that someone else knows it feels like a waste to do nothing.
Sprints also work well for me. Or just sheer boredom as a a motivator—leaving myself with nothing else to do but write.
I don’t always overcome that. Other times I write nonsense until something sticks. Rarely is what is on paper what I thought up in my head.
Interesting. For some people, that does the opposite. It makes them not want to write it after discussing it.
Sprints can work because I am competitive but I need to be in the mood for them and have something worked out. And how bored is too much–bored enough to write? 
Yeah, same. It changes so much and it annoys me to the point where I wonder why I even had a rough plan in the first place, lol.
Writing shouldn’t feel like doing homework. If you have to force yourself to write, why not just wait until you’re in the mood? Or if you’re on a deadline and have no choice, then have you tried making an outline or a timeline to organize the major events? What about carrying a digital voice recorder with you so you can just dictate the story whenever something pops into your head? Some phones have recorders in them too, I think. If you’re stuck on just one particular part, you might rummage your mind for interesting things that have happened to you or to people you know. Sometimes that produces good ideas. Or use something you’ve seen in a movie or TV show, but change it so it’s not a complete ripoff. Also, you might picture all those books you’ve read that disappointed you and think about what you wish had happened in them instead. That might give you some usable ideas too. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
I’m lucky to have friends who are incredibly supportive of my writing. They’ve got full commenting access to my entire folder of stories and tend to pop in randomly, leave a bunch of comments, and go. Just like. As I’m writing. It almost has the same effect on my wriitng pace as, say, a constant threat of a pop quiz. They’ll also ask questions, engage with the story, etc, and a lot of time after talking with them I’ll end up with even more of an idea of what to write!! Sometimes having other people to hold me accountable ends up being what I need to write.
That accountability is very important for people with low motivation or high distraction.
And I have both!!
Sometimes I feel that having a concrete idea is a big help. Right now I’m mostly in the planning phase, telling myself the story.
That resonates with me so much in ways I can’t explain.
Dear lord…
The difference is I’m ok with it.
I’ve had no motivation to write stories for the last two years, but recently I’ve taken an interest in classics like Anna Karenina. After reading just a few chapter, I flew back into rewriting an unfinished story about a pianist.
Reading can help and motivate you to continue writing. Try reading some very popular books or even books you have at home.
btw, how’s it going? we haven’t talk for a long time lol
I need some people to do that 
ask more questions, along with the feedback lol. I like questions and giving myself some minor direction. Doesn’t have to be a lot, just enough to have a clue on what I am doing. Like with my ONC entry. Which I need to write more of, lol.
You tell yourself the story? If you get to a boring/unfinished part do you fall asleep?
That’s another idea. I have a PILE of books that I need to get through and rate. Maybe that will inspire me. Even some (old) books on Wattpad have helped me before, which is weird.
I will try and do that soon.
Good, how about you? I’m gonna go driving soon!
There’s a small combination of things that can help:
Sometimes, you may not feel like writing or can’t write simply because you may need to create a routine to get yourself into the mood. This can be making sure your work space is clean, if you like to set up ambient noise or background, if you want to get cozy, etc. For example, I usually get into the mood when I’ve been showered, have PJs on, have a rainy cafe ambience on the TV, and a drink (usually Monsters) by my side. I also tend to light a candle or two, and then a good way to help motivate myself, I’ll post a picture or video to my Snapchat story.
It can be a strain on your mind to always write in the same place every day, because honestly, it can be draining. So, you can try to write somewhere new that can make you feel excited. This can be writing in your living room instead of your bedroom. Writing at the park or in your backyard. Or, personally, somewhere in town. If you can, see if you can write at a local coffeeshop, bookstore, library or somewhere like that. Because you’re writing somewhere new, it can not only make you feel excited to write, but it also can give you inspiration on a scene or just the itch to write.
I believe they’re the same or similar to sprints, where you put a timer on and just go at it. Personally, this helps me so much whenever I’m stuck mostly because I focus on just getting words on the page than anything else. And you can start small, too, like with ten minutes, and see what happens. I’ve had dozens of times when I couldn’t get passed a certain scene, but then I’d put ten to fifteen minutes on my timer and write whatever came to mind because of the pressure I felt. And it worked wonders. I’d get down 500 words here and there when it took me days, weeks, months to even write that much.
I think the biggest problem many face, myself included, is that we think too much—we want the first words that come out of us to be golden and flawless, but the truth is… that’s far from reality. If we think too much about what we’re writing, we get stuck and believe that it’s not good enough, which is why we’ll just stare at blank pages. But like, you can’t have a story without something written down.
The purpose of these crawls is to help you not think about it too much. It’s a way to force you to sit and write, but it’s not meant to sound like a draining process. And some scenes can be hard to write, but if you let your mind go, let your fingers just type whatever comes to mind in those few brief minutes… you’ll be able to actually have words on the page. They also don’t need to be perfect because you can always revise it. You can’t revise a blank document.
A vague idea may not always cut it. If you have written stories before with a vague idea, then by all means skip this section. But in many cases, some kind of outline is typically needed for various reasons such as to help motivate you and to help keep you in the know of how the story is coming along. If you’re not too sure where the story is going, perhaps you need to dig a little deeper because it can help get you unstuck.
This topic was automatically closed 14 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.