Staying motivated...or re-motivating one's self

[bex]

Okay, so I haven't written since like...July. Yeah. July.

I can explain. I really can. See, I was busy with other things and I just didn't have any creative juices flowing, so I decided to give it time. Five months later, I think it's time to get back into the story, but I have no idea how to jumpstart myself again.

I tried rereading the whole thing, so I could get an idea of the momentum. I tried looking over my outlines and plans, hoping I could get excited about something. I tried listening to music that helped me write in the past. Nothing.

Help me. What can I do to really kick myself into high gear? I really want to get back into this!

[thelunarfox]

Just start writing. I went through a phase recently where I felt the same. I did give myself some permission to slack off, but I forced myself to write something everyday. It doesn't matter what you write either. Sometimes I'll write my thoughts on the story, pondering where I want it to go. Other times, I will let all the negative thoughts out so I can concentrate. Other times, I might see a random starting point between two characters and give it a try.

Sometimes I'd even take a break and write a completely random story scene just to refresh myself. I think it also helped me that I set an update schedule and stuck to it. I did it weekly. Maybe you might want to start updating monthly? That way you have a goal. It seemed to help me. I made sure to prepare an update. It was a lot like doing homework, lol.

[mdpthatsme]

I have to have more than one project going on at a time so I can bounce back and forth with stories to never have writer's block. If you want, we have prompts in the Exercises section. They can help you break out of your chains. Having a theme really helps in directing writing and to organize your thouhts.

Hope my advise is of some assistance.

[rad]

As the others said, just write. Write something different - a side story, blog post, poem, something using one of the prompts in the 'exercises' section. It doesn't have to be a new chapter, but keeping on writing in some capacity is really helpful.

[laura]

Everyone here has some wonderful advice. I think it also matters to define what exactly is blocking you in the first place. Maybe kind of freewrite through your problems with it. There's a difference between not knowing what comes next in the story, and just being blocked because you're in a writing funk.

I find it helps to discover something and inspiring about the piece. Sometimes for me, it's just as simple as a vivid image I didn't notice before. There was this one time, I was just in a funk, like a bad hair day. And I just came here, and wrote through it, and whined at people, lol! Within an hour I had gotten back into it.

So I agree with the others, just write - anything at all, even if it's just a whine about how you're not writing. Or try some character freewrites, prompts, flashbacks, or whatever. And eventually, the words will come back.

I'm also one of those who juggle several different projects at once. It really does work, for some at least. There's really very rarely a time when I don't feel like working on something.

[bex]

I have another scifi-ish story I'm thinking about...maybe i'll start formulating that and come back to this when I feel more inspired. The only problem is I'm rather OCD and I tend to have a very one-track mind when it comes to creativity. I shy away from starting more than one project, because I'm afraid I'll drop one in favor of the other.

Maybe I need a good kick start, though...I'll give it a shot. Thanks so much for all the advice, everyone.

[heredoncove]

I find rereading things you've written helps too. I tend to get a kick start when I'm dissatisfied and I want to improve on things or expand further.

Since I've been Sims laptop less its been hard to stay focused on the fact that I want to come back to my blog but when I read past things or notes I get that spark in my belly again.

[Stacy]

Losing my ability to write for a couple of weeks helped me. I don't recommend spraining or breaking a wrist on purpose though, lol. But I guess you could imagine - okay, what if I couldn't write? How would I feel about that?

It showed me how important writing is to me.

[bex]

Yes, I can imagine that losing the use of your hand to write is a huge motivator! Luckily, I haven't had anything like that happen to me (yet), but I can only imagine how much that sucks.

In happier news, I was able to take the suggestions of many of you all! Chapter 21 is done, and at almost 8k, it is the longest chapter to date. Thanks so much for your advice, guys. Much appreciated.