I’ve mentioned multiple times that I’ve been sick for several weeks so I haven’t had the desire or will to write. My brain has been cloudy and I’ve been exhausted, so I’ve spent a lot of time watching TV.
I’m not going to complain about the TV-watching thing. My boys and I have been watching season 1 of Ash vs. Evil Dead, and it’s been awesome! I love all of those movies, and I’m really enjoying the series. I’m every so happy that Netflix has both seasons in their lineup.
However, despite the fun and bonding my boys and I are doing over Deadites, as a writer, I still have a deep-seeded desire to put words on a page. I’ve had ideas running through my brain, but they’ve all seemed horrible and I had no energy to figure out how to make them better. As I regain my health, I regain my desire to write.
Being sick isn’t the only obstacle that stands in a writer’s way; there are many things that pull away from writing or suck away our motivation. Family and job obligations can take precedence. Life can get in the way. Depression can play a major role. Feelings of failure or stress can make it difficult to write.
The world will always attempt to stand in our way when we are trying to achieve our dreams—no matter what those dreams are—and we can either let it stop us or find ways around it. However, sometimes those obstacles can seem really hard to surmount and our motivation can get lost along the way. When this happens, how do fight back?
There is a lot of advice out there to help writers find their motivation . Some of it may work for some, and some of it may not. When it comes to writing, the writer has to find the drive within themselves to get a project done. Each writer is unique when it comes to finding this motivation, and they have to do what works best for them.
For me, a lot of my motivation comes from finding the energy. If I don’t have it, I don’t force it. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break, and when I’m sick, I really need a break. I want writing to be fun and stress relieving, so I only pick up a pen and paper when I feel the juices flowing.
What are some other ways you can find the motivation to write? I’d love it if you shared!
Showing posts with label finding motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finding motivation. Show all posts
Finally Feeling “Normal"
The month of January has been a tough one for me. I’ve spent the vast majority of it coughing. After 2.5 weeks of dealing with my lungs trying to leave my body through my mouth, I went to the doctor. They put me on a heavy-duty dose of antibiotics, and I’m on the road to recovery.
Because I’ve been sick, I haven’t had a lot of motivation. I’ve been spending a lot of my time sitting in front of the TV or sleeping. There’s been no desire to write because my brain hasn’t been able to form a coherent thought. Now that I’m feeling better, my motivation is returning.
If there was anything good that came out of being sick it was that I was sleeping more and was taking medication, both of which had an impact on my dreams. I’ve mentioned previously one of the dreams I had, but I also had another one recently. This second one feels like a real contender to become a story.
It’s hard to say if the story will be good or not until I get it on paper. However, I’m excited about the prospect. Until I start, I won’t know if the story is worth finishing.
So, as I return to “normal,” I will get back to writing. As always, I will keep you informed of my progress.
Because I’ve been sick, I haven’t had a lot of motivation. I’ve been spending a lot of my time sitting in front of the TV or sleeping. There’s been no desire to write because my brain hasn’t been able to form a coherent thought. Now that I’m feeling better, my motivation is returning.
If there was anything good that came out of being sick it was that I was sleeping more and was taking medication, both of which had an impact on my dreams. I’ve mentioned previously one of the dreams I had, but I also had another one recently. This second one feels like a real contender to become a story.
It’s hard to say if the story will be good or not until I get it on paper. However, I’m excited about the prospect. Until I start, I won’t know if the story is worth finishing.
So, as I return to “normal,” I will get back to writing. As always, I will keep you informed of my progress.
Slowly Making Progress
Well, I finally got Edge of Humanity typed. I’m now going through and doing the next round of edits, which takes just about as long as the initial step. Since the story is still bare bones, it needs fleshed out, so there’s still a lot of writing to do.
My original plan was to do two chapters a day, but life has decided that’s not going to happen at the moment. It’s been a major struggle to do any work on the story. I’ve gotten through Chapter 5, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
My original plan was to do two chapters a day, but life has decided that’s not going to happen at the moment. It’s been a major struggle to do any work on the story. I’ve gotten through Chapter 5, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
Not that I have a deadline for this story. Heck, Humanity’s Hope isn’t even out yet. Telling myself that doesn’t really help with my motivation. Humanity’s Hope will be out at some point, and I prefer to have Edge of Humanity waiting in the wings, but I just can’t find the desire.
It won’t last forever. Soon, I’ll get my butt back in gear and get to work. I just need a little break right now.
If you missed the cover reveal for Humanity’s Hope, have no fear! I’ve included it in this blog post. I’m really thrilled with how it turned out. I think it look mahvelous!
If you missed the cover reveal for Humanity’s Hope, have no fear! I’ve included it in this blog post. I’m really thrilled with how it turned out. I think it look mahvelous!
Get My Groove Back
I hadn’t realized how low my writing confidence had sunk until I tried to sit down and work on the sequel to Humanity’s Hope. The words were there, but the motivation wasn’t. After handwriting a page and a half, I quit. I couldn’t find the will to write anymore.
In addition, I got responses back from the #PitDark Twitter pitch I participated in. Two people liked my Tweets—an agent’s assistant and an indie publisher. The way the process works is that if they like your Tweet, you go to their page and follow their submission instructions, which I did.
Friends, I’m going to tell you now that I did not have incredibly high hopes for my queries, especially after reading what types of stories these two places were looking for. Don’t get me wrong, they are some fantastically wonderful people and publishers, but after looking at what they normally acquire, I knew my story wasn’t going to fit into their repertoire.
The responses I got were rejections, as I expected. But they were very kind rejections. The agent’s assistant gave me some feedback on what she thought was working and what wasn’t—for her. I really appreciated her taking the time to do that, and it made me wonder if I needed to change something in the novel to get my point across.
You see, with Humanity’s Hope, the story starts out with Caleb (my main character) just getting ready for the day. Pretty mundane and possibly a bit boring. But while this is happening, he has a panic attack/flashbacks to when he was fighting zombies. The story actually opens with him waking in the middle of the night because of anxiety, but he’s not sure what triggered it.
I totally get why this can be problematic. Watching a character get ready in the morning can be boring. However, it was done on purpose. I wanted to show how Caleb is attempting to return to a normal life after going through what he went through, but it’s also a struggle because of PTSD. From there, things only get worse.
Again, maybe my point isn’t coming across the way I want it to. Maybe it needs to be more exciting and action packed. I’m not sure. The story is out with some readers, so I’ll ask them what they think and if it needs to be altered. If you’re interested in checking out the first chapter and letting me know what you think, you can find it on Wattpad.
The second rejection just said it wasn’t right for them and wished me luck in my publishing endeavors. Again, after reading the publisher’s site, I figured they would send me a rejection. I was cool with it. Such is the life of submitting.
Humanity’s Hope is pretty dark. It’s definitely not your typical zombie novel, though there is some zombie carnage. I wanted to delve into a survivor’s mind and explore how they are coping (or not) with the destruction, death, and loss. But I wanted that survivor to be troubled and having a hard time. I love my heroes such as Krista who is able to take charge and fight, but I wanted to look at it from the other perspective also. I can’t say whether or not I was successful, but I hope I am.
The best thing about Caleb being the way he is (suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD) is that he has a lot of room to grow. I know exactly what’s going to happen to him throughout the Saving Humanity series, and I can’t wait to write it down. I just need to find some motivation and desire first.
To help me along the way, I decided to reread some of the young adult novels that had an impact on me as a teen. I’m hoping to find some inspiration within the pages and have a chance to escape for a little while. I’ll let you know how it goes.
In addition, I got responses back from the #PitDark Twitter pitch I participated in. Two people liked my Tweets—an agent’s assistant and an indie publisher. The way the process works is that if they like your Tweet, you go to their page and follow their submission instructions, which I did.
Friends, I’m going to tell you now that I did not have incredibly high hopes for my queries, especially after reading what types of stories these two places were looking for. Don’t get me wrong, they are some fantastically wonderful people and publishers, but after looking at what they normally acquire, I knew my story wasn’t going to fit into their repertoire.
The responses I got were rejections, as I expected. But they were very kind rejections. The agent’s assistant gave me some feedback on what she thought was working and what wasn’t—for her. I really appreciated her taking the time to do that, and it made me wonder if I needed to change something in the novel to get my point across.
You see, with Humanity’s Hope, the story starts out with Caleb (my main character) just getting ready for the day. Pretty mundane and possibly a bit boring. But while this is happening, he has a panic attack/flashbacks to when he was fighting zombies. The story actually opens with him waking in the middle of the night because of anxiety, but he’s not sure what triggered it.
I totally get why this can be problematic. Watching a character get ready in the morning can be boring. However, it was done on purpose. I wanted to show how Caleb is attempting to return to a normal life after going through what he went through, but it’s also a struggle because of PTSD. From there, things only get worse.
Again, maybe my point isn’t coming across the way I want it to. Maybe it needs to be more exciting and action packed. I’m not sure. The story is out with some readers, so I’ll ask them what they think and if it needs to be altered. If you’re interested in checking out the first chapter and letting me know what you think, you can find it on Wattpad.
The second rejection just said it wasn’t right for them and wished me luck in my publishing endeavors. Again, after reading the publisher’s site, I figured they would send me a rejection. I was cool with it. Such is the life of submitting.
Humanity’s Hope is pretty dark. It’s definitely not your typical zombie novel, though there is some zombie carnage. I wanted to delve into a survivor’s mind and explore how they are coping (or not) with the destruction, death, and loss. But I wanted that survivor to be troubled and having a hard time. I love my heroes such as Krista who is able to take charge and fight, but I wanted to look at it from the other perspective also. I can’t say whether or not I was successful, but I hope I am.
The best thing about Caleb being the way he is (suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD) is that he has a lot of room to grow. I know exactly what’s going to happen to him throughout the Saving Humanity series, and I can’t wait to write it down. I just need to find some motivation and desire first.
To help me along the way, I decided to reread some of the young adult novels that had an impact on me as a teen. I’m hoping to find some inspiration within the pages and have a chance to escape for a little while. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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