Finding the motivation to write

Pretty much my attitude to writers block or being unmotivated is simply ‘write the damn thing!’

When I am having that spark of creativity and the words flow easily and reading my prose back it feels entertaining, witty and on point… other times it feels dry, stagnant, and uninspired. It’s painful to have to write in those moments. Sometimes I’m lucky to get a paragraph down before I feel like bighting a bullet.

The thing is, editing is much easier. Adding to something feels like a more possible task. So filling the blank page with the mechanics of your story, or article is the hard part. But if you can get it down, then improving your piece becomes infinitely easier. Well, in my process it does.

I cannot ever recall a time where I wrote something straight from my head and it was instantly a masterpiece. I’ve had to edit, improve, embellish everything I’ve ever written. So why do writers have this hang up of writers block.

There is always something for me to do – jump ahead in the timeline and write a scene in a future chapter. Explore my characters motivations in dialogue, write about the world, put on some music to inspire some words, switch to another project altogether, edit, design some marketing activities, read something in a similar genre and take note in the writing style and how that reflects on your own.

Stick to a schedule. Whether it’s every day, or on the weekends, make a set time for your writing and get the thing done. I have to say that has been the most helpful thing to impact my career – forming a habit of writing. I started small, and eventually it grew to a point where I can put in a ten hour day if I needed to. I don’t do that now if I don’t have to. I like to end the day with something to look forward to tomorrow. Like teasing myself with a little cliff-hanger that I need to write. I get to mull it over in my head overnight so the next day I have a semi-formed plan and am excited to get to work.

So most of the time, lack of motivation, or writers block, does not hit me because I’m always inspired. Whenever I get new ideas, I write them down and file them away for later. I have literally so many book and article ideas stored away I couldn’t get them all written in my lifetime. So when my flow for a certain project dries up, and I have exhausted all the ways to move it forward, I can take a few days break to work on something else with ease.

I have a friend who had a massive cork board that they collect ideas, snippets of dialogue, pictures to inspire character profiles, places, mantras, etc as a source of inspiration to write – a board that is constantly changing and evolving so it never runs dry. You just have to find a system that works for you. Mine’s digital, and I like to work on a few projects at the same time. A fellow writer buddy I know can only write one book at a time and in sequential order (a pantser) and when she gets stuck tends to daydream a little with what-if scenarios, flesh out character profiles, go out to shopping centres and cafes and eaves drop on conversations and take note of peoples mannerisms for things that she could use. Or if the block is really bad, she will re-write her chapter and take it in a different direction.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, art, music, reading, movies and television, or simply switching off for a moment. It’s important to refill your well of creativity just as it is to create a habit of writing to offer longevity in your career.

If your sitting at your keyboard and nothing is coming, start asking why? Is the scene you’re currently trying to wright, not right for the overall plot of the novel? Is it a boring topic? Is there another more interesting way to approach the subject matter? Can you switch perspectives or tense? Are you just not into this whole writing thing? Maybe the content is not relevant to you, so you are not connecting with it? Like any job, you have to find ways to get things done. Make writing comfortable, methodical, entertaining and inspiring for you. If you are constantly having to struggle to fill a blank page and you can’t work out what is wrong, maybe writing isn’t for you? Try changing up your process – write the ending first and work your way backwards. Write the key scenes to your story first and then fill in the gaps later. Create mood boards for each scene/chapter to keep the emotion or tone of the writing present in your mind.

The whole thing about writer’s block is that it is all in your head. And we are wired to think, to be creative, so if you are genuinely blocked take a serious look at yourself… is writing really a vocation for you? Writers deal with fact and imagination for entertainment, information, or discussions. Maybe look at how you are delivering your prose and switch up that tone? There is literally thousands of way to re-ignite that passion. You just need to momentarily step back, re-orientate your thoughts, and get back to work.

I’m generally in the field that if I’m ‘blocked’ it’s because the scene or article isn’t working. Something is missing. It’s irrelevant in the bigger picture; so stepping back to get a fresh perspective always illuminates some solution. And if not, there is plenty of other projects to get on with, so I am always writing something.

Do you suffer writers block? What are some of the ways that you have overcome a slump in your writing habits?

© Casey Carlisle 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Getting That Second Draft Done

So you’ve accomplished that word-vomit of a first draft and it’s time to whip your manuscript into shape – here are some tips I use to get my second draft reader-ready.

Get amnesia. Put down your work and walk away. Leave enough time for you to forget about the finer points so you can re-read with fresh eyes.

Create a timeline.  Literally. If the book starts on a Monday and covers three months make sure you account for the passing of time sequentially. Weekdays, nights, weekends. It will help keep you accountable and aid in continuity.

Track continuity.  It has to make sense. Not only the plot points, but little facts you mention, names, places, character traits – track everything so it follows a logical pattern. Readers need to make sense of the universe you are creating.

Look at each character.   Are they interesting? Are they relevant to the story? Do they have their own arc? What is their reason for being a part of your novel?

Micro-edit.   Read each paragraph and seriously ask yourself ‘is this important? Is it relevant to the story?’ If the answer in ‘no’ on either count, cut it and move it to an outtakes folder. (Keep all your writing – it may be useful later in another project or sequel.)

Identify key points you want to shine in the tone of your narrative.   Is it meant to be funny, scary, angsty? Decide on these elements and make sure each chapter drags this emotion from you.

Read your dialogue aloud.   If you sound silly saying it – imagine what your characters will look like to a new reader.

In the first few chapters did you introduce all of the characters in the novel? Did you state the main characters quest, dreams, and desires? Did you put an obstacle in their way to achieve it? Did you paint a picture of who the characters are? The landscape they are in (world building)? All these things set the scene for the story/plot and is essential for a reader to get invested in your novel.

In the middle of the book have you raised the level of difficulty/challenges your protagonist faces?

At the end of the book have you pulled out all the stops for your protagonist? Have they grown and been shaped by their experiences? Did they achieve what they had set out to at the beginning of the novel?

If there were any parts you had to re-read. Re-write them.  You need the writing style to flow. If your interest wavered at any point, you may consider cutting that part or re-writing it with more punch. If your re-reading a sentence to make sense of it, that’s a waving red flag for your attention.

Mostly its mechanics and big picture stuff – you can worry about spelling and grammar later in a line-edit when you fine tune everything. Get your story engaging and paced effectively. Have it making sense and elements of unpredictability.

Although having said all that, everyone has a different style of writing, different concepts and their own methods of crafting words on paper. But the points above have helped me get from that initial frenzy of typing out chapter after chapter, to a point when I feel comfortable-ish to let someone read it to give me feedback. Because, by then, most of the time if I need to make changes, they are only small and nothing that results in major re-writes.

And as always – happy writing!

© Casey Carlisle 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.