Writing

Writing Motivation Comes & Goes

But when your writing motivation doesn’t return, then what do you do?

The thin black cursor set against a crisp white background flashes before your eyes. Laughing…, teasing…, no, mocking you and your writing abilities.

“What are you gonna do now, huh? What are you gonna write about today? Another piece spreading the same ole message you always do no doubt, only with a slight twist to keep things looking ‘fresh’. Exciting stuff, pfft, whatever.”

Another slump. Now what?

Writing is easy when the ideas keep flowing. When you wake up each morning with something new to say, something compelling to share with the world.

Writing is fun in the beginning, it’s exciting to share your thoughts with the readers, to talk about your hobbies, interests and desires.

But what happens when the novelty wears off? When you hit a slump and your motivation to create takes a hit? Then what do you do?

Well, you go in search of writing advice of course, from those in the know.

Writing advice is in abundance online, Google search, all you have to do is go look, right?

‘Write without fear. Write about what you know. Write how you would speak.’

Sage advice, nothing like a good quote to set your wheels in motion, just what you need to drag yourself from a slump and kickstart your passion for writing once again.

And your off, tap, tap, tapping away, like the good ole days.

Then it happens again, another slump. Shit. Now what?

No need to panic, you know what to do, you’ve experienced this before, just write your way out of it like last time. Keep on pushing on.

But you can’t.

Your motivation has diminished, your drive has gone AWOL and you’ve become tired of writing the same ole content just packaged in a different way.

Is this the end of your writing dreams?

Is it time to shut up shop, go in search of a new goal, find a new vocation in life?

Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

Deal With It

Throughout the year my writing motivation has flip-flopped, much like the government guidelines on how to best deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’ve had months where I can’t get enough of writing and then others where I could take it or leave it — though when I did ‘leave it’, I’d soon feel guilty and lazy for not putting in the work.

Above is one of the many internal dialogues I’ve had whilst trying to force myself to create something new, something different from the work I’m used to producing. Perhaps you’ve had similar conversations with yourself? — don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you’re crazy, much.

But I’d hit a slump, a slow patch, a period of frustration where it felt like my brain had gone on vacation and had left no one else in charge.

Luckily, I’ve experienced such things before and while it doesn't become any less annoying it does, however, become easier to deal with it.

You see, the thing with all low points, slumps and even global pandemics is there eventually comes a time when you break free from the darkness, see the light at the end of the tunnel and regain your momentum.

For me, that time has come — thank goodness.

But before I throw gas on the flames and reignite my spark for writing again I’d like to take a moment to reflect over the past few months and share with you what I think helped me most to push through this particular writing slump with minimal worries or stress.

Accept Your Circumstances — It is what it is.

A lot of the time, when faced with a change in circumstance, our natural reaction is to push back, to fight and overcome adversity.

I love this approach to a challenge and it always makes victory taste that little bit sweeter.

But, on occasion, there comes a time when you just have to accept your circumstances, roll with the punches and allow things to naturally play out.

When faced with this recent lack in writing motivation my initial response was, as mentioned above, to write my way out of it. To push on through and hope to regain momentum.

But things didn’t quite go to plan.

So, I opted for the second option, acceptance.

Instead of stressing out and allowing frustration to take over, I accepted that it was time to take a break, to focus my attention on other interests and patiently wait until my writing motivation returned once again.

Keep Learning and Searching for New Ideas

Now, just because you’re taking a break from writing that doesn’t mean your writing momentum has to take a hit.

Improving your writing skills can come in many forms.

Of course, sitting down, putting words to paper and learning through osmosis is generally the best way to succeed, but it’s not the only way.

When faced with a slump in writing motivation take time to study the work of others.

Read books and articles, the types of content that you hope to one day produce to a wider audience.

Watch movies and T.V shows, observe how the storyline has been put together, how the writers and directors keep you captivated, wanting more.

Enrol in a writing course perhaps? Learn the finer details of writing the articles or stories that spark your interest, learn how to best connect with your audience.

The latter is the route which I have taken and as I write this I’m currently working my way through an online writing course — shout out to Dianne tipping-woods who has been guiding me through the modules and who has also recently become a Medium member, check out and follow her profile, you will learn a lot from Dianne once she is up and running on Medium.

Conclusion

Writing is a powerful tool that will be around forever, unfortunately, your writing motivation may not follow suit.

You will face hard times, the drive to write something new every day, week or month won’t always be there, but there’s no need to worry.

All too often people panic when things don’t go to plan, overreact and then become frustrated when unable to get back on track immediately, which causes more harm than good.

When faced with a writing slump that you can’t seem to drag yourself out of remain calm, it is what it is, take a break, do what you can to improve on your skills in the meantime and eventually your passion to write will return.

Life’s too short to be stressing over things you can’t control.

So, stay positive, be happy and never give up.

And just think, all these struggles will make for a grand ole story to tell when you hit the big time.

Thanks for reading.