5 ways to reclaim your writing mojo
By Jessica Brown
According to online sources, only 3% of writers finish their books. A woeful statistic if ever there was one, but maybe not all that surprising.
Often when we start a project, like writing a book, we are full of energy and enthusiasm for the task ahead… the ideas are flowing and it’s easy to get in the creative zone. Then, once the initial buzz of excitement has worn off and you settle into the ‘getting it done’ phase that initial passion can be hard to maintain... Before you know it, another year has rolled by and you’re still yet to press ‘publish’.
If you didn’t get quite as far with your book manuscript as you had hoped in 2022, don’t despair! We’re sharing some tips you can use to boost your motivation so you can avoid being a statistic and get back on track to fulfilling those author dreams of yours.
1. Get accountable
When it comes to a motivation, nothing quite drives you into action like a bit of accountability.
When I first started my master’s I was given fixed deadlines to submit my assignments every three months. It was sometimes tight and a lot (jugfuls!) of coffee *may* have been consumed but by hook or by crook, those essays were turned in on time. Then, in the second year, I switched to a flexible programme: no prescriptive assignment, no set deadlines, and no tutor checking up on me, which all sounded very lovely in principle… but with no set accountability, my schedule started slipping further and further behind. Year 2 has taken me six months longer to complete. The moral of the story: accountability works (and it’s often imperative!).
Here are some tips to help you get accountable:
- Find yourself an accountability buddy and schedule regular check-ins. Peer support can make a world of difference, and as well as serving as accountability partners, pairing up with a fellow writer means you have someone to bounce ideas off and share the journey with.
- Book an editor. This can sound like a scary step if you still feel you have a way to go but booking a realistic and achievable deadline and putting down a deposit can be a powerful kick up the bum and you’re much more likely to stick to it! Read our blog post on how to find the right editor for you and your book.
- Join a writing group. As well as offering the chance to meet other writers, who can be a fabulous source of inspiration, writing groups often run scheduled writing sessions. When you make a date in your calendar to do something and sign up, you’re much more likely to stick to it.
2. Find yourself a carrot!
Rewarding yourself can be a great way to give yourself a motivational boost, and it all comes down to a little molecule known as dopamine. Dopamine is what gives us that feeling of satisfaction and elation when we accomplish something. Setting yourself mini goals and celebrating these little wins can activate your internal reward system and give you the impetus to keep going to get another dopamine-induced hit. Rewards don’t have to be physical gifts (although they are great); getting that dopamine hit can be as simple as using a word count app to track your progress or introducing the Pomodoro Technique into your writing sessions. Give it a go and watch your word count soar!
3. Break it down
Sometimes our motivation can be thwarted because we don’t feel like we’re making any progress. If you think the source of your problem could be overwhelm caused by the mammoth task ahead, try breaking it down into manageable tasks, one step at a time, bit by bit, an approach recommended by Anne Lammott in her bestselling author memoir, Bird by Bird. Non-fiction book coach and author of Dare to Write Steph Caswell suggests breaking down your word count into manageable weekly or daily targets. For example, if you wanted to write a 30,000-word book, by committing to just 600 words a day (just over an average A4 page), you could have it written in just 10 weeks – now, doesn’t that sound pretty exciting!
4. Give yourself a break (both literally and figuratively!)
It’s okay to not feel super motivated and driven every single moment of the day. In fact, it’s totally normal to have dips – what goes up must come down and all that. It’s the human condition. So if you’re going through a phase that feels less productive than normal, then allow yourself to ride that wave, without loading any guilt onto your shoulders, because that is only going to make you feel worse.
Secondly, if you’ve tried steps 1-3 and it still just ain’t happening, take an actual break! Too much of anything can lose its appeal eventually. Let your brain and your typing fingers have a rest. Taking a few days off can give you the headspace needed to reset and reflect on everything you have achieved so far. Then you can return re-energised and with renewed creative energy. It’s often in these times of R&R, when the pressure is off, that our best ideas come to us.
5. Reconnect with your why
And finally, the mother of all motivation tips… it’s the biggie: your why.
Your why is your soul-level reason for doing writing your book, your true purpose. The research around purpose is gargantuan and fulfilling one’s purpose has been widely linked to happiness, empowerment and, you guessed it, motivation. So let’s use this to our advantage and apply it to your book writing journey… Ask yourself why you are writing your book. What is the bigger-picture outcome you want to achieve? Try to dig as deep as you can… Your purpose is something that is personal to you and may look different to the next person’s. There’s no right or wrong answer here; it’s about tapping into the things that are important to you. So spend some time reconnecting to why you started in the first place and the impact you truly want to make, let yourself get excited and see if it sparks you into action.
The road to authordom can be long and often feel relentless, but what’s waiting for you on the other side can be well worth the slog. If your attitude towards your work in progress has felt a little stagnant, you’re not alone, but hopefully this post has given you some tips to try out to reinvigorate your writing mojo so you’ll be holding your book in your hands in no time.