I set a goal for myself, finish writing my novel by the end of summer. By that I mean writing, not editing, but still an accomplishment to be sure, if I get to that point. But I find myself struggling to sit down and write out the remaining chapters. There could be many things preventing me but I don’t know what to be exact. Maybe I don’t know what I want to happen quite yet, maybe I want to delay having to possibly write a character’s death, or maybe I’ve just been struck with a case of lazy.
I’ve tried to do other things to remain productive, maybe even get some inspiration. I’ve tried a bit of painting, doing homework and playing a couple video games to kill time. Surprisingly it was one game, Darksiders 2, that gave me some great ideas for my own story.
The Darksiders universe is quite intriguing and I can’t wait to play future installments to learn about the world(s) and their back story. It made me consider one element of my own story, life after death. I had always pictured it as simply a depiction of heaven or a blank whiteness, but now I have an idea. Now I could make this life after death into a new world and a new experience. The only problem now is deciding which character is going to kick the bucket.
The great thing is inspiration can come from anywhere, even being lazy and playing video games can flex that old imagination. Motivation though, that is harder to induce.
How does one get motivated to write or do anything? I want to write this story for myself, to publish one day and share it with the everyone (a personal accomplishment really). I’m not motivated by profit so the possibility of making money via publishing doesn’t really help me. It makes me wonder whether or not it is more effective to be motivated by profit than ambition. There are times when I feel incredibly motivated and start writing like crazy, but it’s very inconsistent and sometimes has intervals of 2 weeks before I get that motivated! I set this deadline for the end of summer because I thought it would motivate me to sit down and write. I have the story in my head, the plot line thought out and everything leading up to a satisfying conclusion. Another reason I chose the end of summer was also because I have been writing this story for almost 3 years now. I want to finish it and start on the sequel immediately. Ambitious and maybe a little too fast, but I feel that if I don’t finish it soon I’ll keep pushing it off further and further, which is the one of the worst things that can happen to an author in my opinion.
However I remember the last time I felt very motivated to write was when I went to see the sunset with my girlfriend. It was a peaceful serene moment that allowed me to clear my mind and focus on writing. It’s simple things like this that I find really help.
I hope to feel more motivated this weekend to write a couple chapters. Hopefully sharing my frustrations and resolutions may have helped anyone else in this situation.
– Raphael
Raph's Cozy Musings 