So, I drafted ten new pages during the sprint last night and can I just say, I am really proud of myself? I was totally on a roll, and have been editing that chapter all morning. It feels good and I am surprised at how much sprints have helped me. I never imagined I was the sort of writer who would get a lot done during a sprint. But I am!
I also had something wonderful happen to me this morning. I took my children to swimming lessons and there was a lady there with one of my books. I casually asked her if the book was any good and she said that she was only two chapters in, but so far it was good. I think that made my whole day! I told her I was the author and she was so excited to meet me and said she would finish it ASAP and tell me what she thought of it. A little author payday for me. Definitely made the sun shine a little brighter in my world today. Just for today I am a happy motivated writer. Tomorrow, I'll hope for the best. :)
Today's top ten motivational tips come from bestselling author Rachelle Christensen. She writes romantic suspense that keeps you in your chair past dinner and past bedtime because you have to know what happens! You can click here to read more about Rachelle and her books.
Rachelle’s Top Ten Motivational Tools to Keep Writing (Even When You Don't Feel Like It)
Think about what needs to happen before the ending of the story, then find my favorite part—the one that excites me the most at the moment and write it. In my new novel, I actually wrote the very end of the book first and for some reason that was highly motivating, seeing the pieces falling into place toward that finish.
Eat Dove Dark Chocolate
Read a book on writing. I’m working on Save the Cat by Blake Snyder now and I also picked up a used copy of Stephen King’s On Writing.
Practice yoga. This is one of my personal favorites because it clears my mind and allows me to find that focus that I need to hone in on a complex bit of writing or anything in life.
Close my internet browser.
Write first thing in the morning. The best feeling in the world is getting 2,000 words written by 9am—now if only I could do that every day. If I do manage to get started in the morning then my mind continues to work through scenes all day and often I’ll have little “lightbulb moments” when I’m changing a diaper or doing dishes so that when I next get a chance to sit down it’s like downloading the words onto the page.
Change things up. Try writing in a notebook—yes, as in hand-writing. It’s surprising how that has helped me look at a scene differently.
Read a book for fun. I’ve been trying to guard my reading time more and it’s hard to carve out those minutes, but I love reading and I know it makes me a better writer so I make it a priority.
Study my scriptures and work on my lesson for Sunday and take a break to just play with the kids. Back to that centering thing—everything falls into place when I remember what is most important.
Use a word count spreadsheet. Mine is simple, but I love seeing those words pile up and keeping track of my daily word/page count. It helps me when I know that I only need to write 300 more words to hit my goal of 2,000 for the day and I keep pushing to hit the mark.
Thanks so much Rachelle. There's some great ideas in there that I'm going to try!
I'm an award-winning romantic suspense novelist, but in my free time I love to review books and my fave TV shows, as well as pass along great book deals, and eat Canadian chocolate---not necessarily in that order.
4 comments:
That's awesome to see someone there with one of your books. =) Hope she likes it.
I have written in a notebook, mostly out of need when I didn't have a computer handy. It feels very quaint. =)
Nobody's mentioned this yet, but I like to go to scenic places to write sometimes. There are a couple of nice places to park with a view of Utah Lake, or one of the parks up Provo Canyon. I think there's something about the solitude and natural beauty that lets my mind expand and be more creative.
That's a great day, Julie!
I love the feeling of hitting 2000 words by 9 AM! I've only done it once though, on the first day of NaNo 2011—unless, of course, you count all the writing I did after midnight the night before!
I told my husband about your experience at the swimming pool, and he asked me a good question. He wanted to know if you offered to autograph the book for her. Did you?
That close the internet browser is a real inspiration. I spend so much time checking my email and reading blogs it really interferes with my writing concentration.
Next week I'm going up to the mountains for a writer's retreat. 3 whole days of no phone, no internet, no television. Yay!
I need to start doing yoga again. I was a better and more prolific writer when I did.
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