Ah, motivation. We have had a complicated relationship, motivation and me.

Motivation is the subject of the one question I have been asked so much, that you would think I would have a great answer to the question. I do not.

Now, I usually write my first drafts as quickly as possible. I am an over-writer, and I prefer to write far more than I need, then start to chip it down in the edits. I set myself lofty and sometimes crazy challenges. One year I wrote an entire first draft in four weeks resulting in 144,000+ words. (This was then cut by 40,000 words) Although not as many as some, these word counts are becoming a regular occurrence for me.

Now, if you are anything like everyone else I have told these types of crazy factoids to, you may have asked the question ‘where do you find the motivation?’ I get asked this so, so frequently and I never quite know what to say because the answer is complicated. Sometimes it comes from my word counts, others it is when I tell them about my query rejections, and they wonder how I still have the motivation to keep going.

Here is the brutal honest truth and I am going to be a touch vulnerable here; I don’t half the time. I struggle hard to keep going. There have been countless times I am strapping myself to my desk and telling myself I have to. Similar to homework in school. I know this answer won’t satisfy everyone, but advice is never really for everyone. It is if it works, great. If not there’s a ton more out there. Find your flow!

Now, as I said, motivation is tricky for me. Well, I’m under no illusion here. I’m pretty sure a lot of us struggle with motivation. It is hard to build it up and keep a routine when you’re knocked down with rejection. It is bloody tough when the doubt tells you the whole world is laughing at you while you’re trying your hardest, but what is my alternative? Never trying? That is a sure-fire way to land myself straight into failure. The definite ‘never’ is not an option. So I try, even when my head feeds me the image of people gathered around laughing. If you relate to that, then all I would say, if it was true how would those very same people behave when you succeed? ‘I’ll show you,’ can be also be killer for building motivation.

So, as a writer who writes like she’s running out of time, here are a couple of things that keep me going:

Force. Yup, like I said. Strapping myself to my desk. Getting it done anyway no matter how tired, sad or beat up I am about doubts or fears. For me, the starting for the day is harder than the doing. So, I set a timer for twenty minutes and I give it an honest try. More often than not, the timer is tossed aside because I thankfully find a flow. On the harder days, that timer going off is a godsend and I take it easy. (You can always have another day at writing) I also have began a journey of prioritising scenes, beats and quality rather than triumphantly declaring ‘I must write 2,000 words today or I will not be allowed to run off to play Baldur’s Gate 3.’ A good writing session does not always result in a lot of words.

My second motivator is not always reliable as sometimes those doubts are big and scary. This motivator is goal orientated. My dream is to be a published author with an audience who really got something from my writing. So, I envision it. I envision her. Not the me I am today, the ‘her’ I hope to be. Will she appreciate the work I put in today? The majority of the time the answer is ‘yes.’ Obviously. How would I manage to pull off being a published author with no work, that’d be dumb. Yes, I am querying a book that I painstakingly worked on for years and then drafted again for good measure. Still, one book? A published author needs more than one book. So I work. I work hard. I put in hours so that the future me I envision is grateful.

It also super helps that I get myself hooked on the story and if I want to see how it all turns out, I’m the only one that can write it.

Now sometimes I am lucky and I don’t need either method. There are days where I am itching to write because I love it! I can be so enthused by an idea, a concept, the characters and I am excited to explore. These methods are for the days where I am not hitting the ground running and honestly, I have found that using my doubts is a great catalyst for some emotional writing. On days I need that little reminder, I reread some of the kind beautiful words I have been sent about my writing and tell those doubts that I am good at this.

Not everyday is going to be sunshine. Sometimes it has to rain. On those days, I try these methods and if they don’t work, I remind myself that I am only human after all. Something that I implore we all do.