Mrs Motivator

It's ironic that my debut post for the sparkly new 'Burrowers, Books & Balderdash' blog is all about motivation, but it's also very well suited to me, too. You see, people like me (people who dither quite happily for 99% of the time) really need lots of encouragement when it comes to sitting down and writing. It doesn't matter what you are writing for - be it a debut novel, a short story, a little poetry, or even a thesis - everyone needs a little cheerleading to get them through the project. The actual cheerleading needn't be literal (though I wouldn't say no to Viggo or Johnny waving their pom-poms in my direction *winks*), but encouragement of any kind really helps, no matter if you are an established author, or a struggling author-to-be. I thought I'd share a couple of things that usually help me get my Writing Mojo back on track, and if even one thing helps someone on the road to Getting The Damn Thing Written, then I'll be a happy Burrower.

Talk!

Yes, talk! We all get blocked at some point, and if the block is a particularly bad one, it can hold you up for days, or even, perish the thought, weeks. I've had blocks that have lasted months, and the longer they last, the harder it is to get back to it. I usually find that if you can get someone to talk to about your project, it'll loosen up those writing muscles. I find that just by talking about what you have done so far can really get your enthusiasm going again. I have my trusty Burrower friends to talk to, of course, so for me it is very easy to find someone to listen to my ramblings. But you don't need to belong to a writer's group to have the same support. All you need is your best friend, or a close family member that you trust not to laugh at your possibly insane mutterings (laughing is definitely not considered the done thing when you are trying to get motivated, after all). Often the other person will inadvertently pick up on something that has been bothering you. They may even say something that will trigger a lightbulb to appear in your head and make you suddenly realise that you have some fresh ideas after all. Talking is good.

Get Feedback!

Very, very important! You may not want to share every single word that you have written, but for the most part sharing a section here and there will work wonders for your Writing Mojo. It doesn't matter whether you get positive feedback or not, critiques work just as well as praise. If anything, you should be looking to get some negative comments every time you share, and get used to seeing the 'flaws' as stepping stones for improvement. You could be the most fabulously talented writer in the world, but there is always room to improve. A solid critique will highlight your strong points and make you feel wonderful, but it will also train you to realise that just because a few things have been picked apart, it doesn't mean you are a bad writer. The very best thing about getting feedback is that after you have received a few reviews, you should start to notice a pattern. For example, if one person picks something out and says it sounds a bit 'flat', it could be something or nothing, but if three people notice the same thing, you know that you need to work on it. Finding out your weaker points will make you want to work harder at them. You WILL improve, and when you start getting more positive comments about your problem areas, your Writing Mojo will feel like he's had the biggest chocolate bar in the world.

Read A Bad Novel!

Seriously, this really works. I think almost everyone can name a book that they think was poorly written, or had such a tedius plot that you needed matchsticks to keep your eyes open long enough to read it. Find this book (if you don't already own it), and buy it. You may think that wasting money on an awful book is a pretty stupid thing to do, but trust me, it's an investment. *nods firmly* On the days when you feel like you have no right to class yourself as a writer, grab the awful book (and those matchsticks) and force yourself to read it. Why am I advising you to do this? Simple! By reading a crappy book for a couple of hours, you should almost immediately begin to feel more confident about your own writing. If a book of such poor quality was accepted by a publisher and printed, then surely your own work will be accepted one of these fine days too. You may think that this sounds silly, but if you can recognise a bad novel, then you should be able to recognise whether your own work is up to scratch (which, of course, IT IS). And if it is up to scratch, then get off your butt and crack on with the project!


So there we have it. Just a couple of things that usually help me find a little motivation - why don't you see if any of them help YOU?

This blog post was brought to you by Tundiel, also known as Tara Smith; would-be author, procrastinator, ditherer, rambler extraordinaire, and blogging Burrower.

Note: Image courtesy of publicdomainimages.net