Top Ten List and a Winner!

I thought it would be fun to have some of my favorite best-selling author friends tell us their top ten lists for staying motivated even when they don't want to write. 

Today's author is Tristi Pinkston.  She is a prolific writer who has written historical fiction and the popular Secret Sisters mystery series.  You can read more about her here.


Top Ten Ways to Motivate Myself to Write
by Tristi Pinkston

10. Watch really stupid movies, make fun of the campy dialogue, tell myself I can do better than that, and then go write.

9.  Tell myself it's either time to exercise or time to write - that's hugely motivating.

8.  Assign a child to stand next to me, and every time I stop typing, that child gets to squirt me in the face with water.

7.  Pretend that the computer is hooked up to a bomb and that if I stop typing, it will explode - very Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves.

6. Tell my family I need quiet time to write. The more I work, the longer they have to be quiet. Presto! They have to do their fighting in whispers, and I get more work done. It's a win-win.

5. Put a favorite snack next to me on my desk and reward myself with some per page. Of course, one has to be careful in dosing this out ... an entire bag of potato chips as a reward for one page is probably not the best choice.

4. Rent a favorite movie (which isn't dumb and should not be confused with the idea found in #10) and use it as a reward.

3. Hit spouse up for a massage when each writing goal is accomplished. It keeps the writer happy, and it keeps the spouse happy ... they don't have to listen to the writer whine about how unproductive they feel.

2.  Enter into a deep meditative trance and envision what it will be like to have that book finished at long last. Of course, this works best if there are maids and jewels and fancy cars involved - got to imagine all those finite details to create the best motivation.

1.  Walk about the house and look at all the messes that need to be cleaned up, and tell yourself you either have to clean or write. You'd be amazed at how quickly that will send you running for the computer.

If you don't have a smile on your face after reading that and are totally motivated to write today, well, check your pulse!  Thanks, Tristi for a smile on Monday morning.

Last week we had a contest for weekly goals and I decided to enter everyone in the drawing, because, hey, we all tried!

Here is our winner:

C. Michelle Jeffries!

I hope you all found some incentives with your writing.  I think we should definitely do another writing sprint this Wednesday evening.  That really motivated me!  What do you think?