How do you motivate yourself?

by Thomas Kavanagh
7th January 2014

I'm getting towards the end of completing the first draft of my current work in progress, and sometimes it's been hard to motivate myself to keep going if I'm feeling like it isn't going in the right way. How. Do you guys keep yourself motivated?

Replies

I feel sometimes you have to take a step back. I got to mid way through my book and found I was rambling. Some people say that you should not edit your book until finished but I deleted a whole chapter. It was like spring cleaning and cleared the junk. I then broke off for two days then reread the whole book from the beginning. In doing so I regained the excitement and thread of the story and when I reached the cut off point I had new ideas as to where I was going to take the lead character. I am now two chapters short of finishing.

Hope this helps.

Good luck and don't give up !

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Amanda
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Amanda Harvey
07/01/2014

I finished and published my first book 6 months ago and it was a living hell. The month it was published I discovered I was a very poorly bunny and needed to undergo an operation to help me walk again. It seems we all have a passion for writing. I always remind myself that I live to write not write to live.

I take my motivation from other writers that have made it. They were once like you and I stuck on a lonely website or searching their souls for a wonderful story. I just hope one day it will be one of us.

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damien Isaak
07/01/2014

I don't know. I'm struggling. I finished my book the first time 3 years ago and have been editing ever since. I had a lot to do as my dyslexia holds me back combined with not being taught English very well at school. I also work and am a mummy, so time is short. So if you have any advice can i have some too please. The - is this your first draft!! comments don't help either.

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Emma
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Emma Taylor
07/01/2014