Writing a Book? 8 Ways to Stay Motivated and Inspired

Creativity and Inspiration, Editing and Writing

One of the hard parts of writing a book is keeping yourself on task so the vision in your head becomes words on the page. Here are eight ideas for how you can keep your will to write strong and steady when you feel it starting to slip away.

  1. Set aside time every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes, to write, and make that time a priority. Other things can wait. If you wait to write until you’ve done everything else you need to do that day, it’s hard to feel motivated because now you’re tired. Think about the time of the day when you feel your best. If that’s 2:00 in the afternoon, write then. When you’re feeling alert, you’re more likely to approach your time to write more enthusiastically.
  2. Make sure you’re enjoying what you’re writing. If you feel bored, your reader will sense that. See if you can approach your topic or idea from a different, more exciting angle to renew your motivation.
  3. Don’t worry so much about word choice and grammar when you’re getting your first draft on paper. Your first draft will never be perfect, and trying to big perfect can be a big obstacle to staying motivated. Just keep writing. When you have a big chunk done, you can go back and edit it. And keep in mind that it won’t be the last time you edit it. It gets better every time.
  4. If you’re having trouble staying engaged with a particular part of your book, skip to a different part. It helps to have an outline so that you can jump around if that’s how you work best. That way, you can write about the topic that motivates you most in that moment.
  5. If you have writer’s block—in other words, you feel motivated to write but nothing’s coming out—try getting some exercise. Some of our best ideas have come during workouts. The exercise can clear your mind and make room for your creativity to come through. And creative ideas are very motivating.
  6. Cultivate a creative space. Consider if there is somewhere specific where you find your ideas flow more easily. Make sure you have a comfortable place to sit. Consider what sounds or songs motivate you to write or help you establish a mood for your writing and make a playlist of them. Light a candle, open a window, or make yourself a cup of tea to help you relax. Whenever possible, try to make the space in which you’re writing as encouraging to the process as possible.
  7. Carry a notebook with you or keep a memo app on your cell phone. Whenever an idea pops into your head, whether it’s a snippet of dialogue or a setting description or a story concept, write it down. This will not only help you keep your ideas close to hand, but it will also help you pinpoint what your motivation feels like, so you can recapture that spark later.
  8. Gather inspiration for those motivational slumps. Start a vision board or a smash book to fill with images, quotes, and words that inspire you. Keep a list of new words you’ve learned that pique your inspiration. You could even try sketching your characters (and yes, stick figures count). When you feel like you’re losing the drive to write, revisit this well of inspiration and see if it gets your story flowing again.