Hi everybody!
I just wondered if I could ask your advice. I used to be a die-hard creative writer, every minute of every day (okay - slight exaggeration) was spent writing but over the past few months I feel like I'm too busy to even pick up a book to read! I’m either working or doing jobs for the family and for the first time in years I don’t even feel like I’ve got the motivation to type. Has anyone had this before? How can I get back into my favourite hobby?
Many thanks!
- Cate
First, stop treating it as a hobby. If writing is what you want to do, it's your calling, your dream, the one thing you have to do to be happy. A hobby is like that gym membership you take out in January with good intent but give up on in March because other things are more important, and anyway it's raining, and you can always go another day.
Your writing has become a victim of time: or has it? Isn't there an hour in each day that you could devote to it? Is the TV really that important? Will the world end if you miss an episode of a drama and go and write instead?
Maybe you don't have anything in your head that you want to write - no storyline burning a hole in your brain, no character you want to develop. You can think up things like that when you're washing dishes, or vacuuming, or brushing your teeth. You can wake up half an hour earlier than usual and write a few notes on a pad beside the bed. Before you know it, you've got the germ of a story, and you want to go on with it.
There are many ways to keep writing; but it all begins with wanting to do it. If you wanted to go to the gym, would you find a way? If you wanted to go shopping, would you find a way? Is there anyone to whom you can delegate some of the household tasks just for an hour, and get some 'me' time of your own?
There are times when life gets in the way - everyone has those. You may want to postpone your writing career until a more relaxed time; but the fact that you're asking this at all suggests that you miss that bit of life that involves living exclusively inside your own head, creating a world that no-one else knows. Writing is, after all, intensely personal, and all the demands on your time deny you the opportunity to be just yourself.
You give time and effort to everyone else: maybe you should demand (not ask!) that they give you time for yourself now and then. To be a successful writer you have to be selfish, or you'll never find the time.
Good luck!
Lorraine
Best way I've found to keep up motivation is to make it part of your day. So write at the same time in the same place each day until it becomes a routine to be creative at that time. You'll feel grouchy if you don't manage it.
Also, it may be time to switch to a different, new project. Something that you've had dangling at the back of your head for the past few weeks/months. Just trying something new can sometimes jump start your motivation and excitement.