How to stay motivated while writing a story, after the initial burst of enthusiasm?

This is a very common problem among writers and I personally experience it in two distinct flavors.

Sometimes, I fall in love with a story idea and just charge into writing it without spending any time on story design, character development or plotting. When I give in to this temptation, the results pretty much parallel what you are describing above. I get a dozen or so pages written, then loose direction. Having firmly captured the idea which originally got me interested in the story, I falter and the writing stops. This is the easier of the two flavors to deal with because all that's required is a little discipline. I'll get back to that in a minute.

The other flavor of anti-finishing syndrome springs up from an overly fertile imagination. Sometimes, I've done all of my prep-work, I know where my story is going and I'm motivated and determined to finish it on time; then another story idea blind sides me and I loose all interest in the work in process. I have found no good solution to this source of unfinished stories, but I find that jotting down some quick notes about the new idea, with a promise-to-self that I will return to it once the current work is finished, sort of helps. This technique doesn't revitalize my interest in the original story, but it does lessen the distraction of the new story.

Back to the blight of the un-plotted tale. Any story longer than a few pages needs structure. A simple one page outline is often enough, but you, the author, should know the entire scope of your story before committing any permanent words to paper. This saves you from the motivational black hole called indecision.

Stories are living things with each scene leading to the next. When your pen falters because you don't know what your character should do next, the momentum dies and sometimes the story follows it into the grave. Knowing what scene comes next allows you to always be writing towards something.

It also grants you two freedoms which are not available to the unstructured writer.

• You don't have to write your story in the order that your readers will read it. If during a particular writing session you're feeling adventurous, write the fight scene or the high tension scene. If you're in a more mellow mood, work on the love scene or some of the character development scenes.
• You can leave candy bar scenes along the path of your story for those nights when you just don't feel like writing. Candy bar scenes are those wonderful character plays which spring forth complete in every detail. They are practically self writing and they are a blast to get down on paper. Whenever I am designing an story's outline, I put a star next to the scenes that I am looking forward to writing. These become my candy bars and I go to them whenever I loose interest the hard work of writing.

Story design, outlining and plotting are tremendous tools which enhance the quality of any completed work, but they are also valuable tools in managing the author's motivation and in making sure that the work actually gets completed in a timely manner.

Writing schedules with deadlines are also useful, but this answer is too long already. I'll leave you to discover the motivational magic of writing under pressure on your own.

posted about 9 years ago

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Henry Taylor‭

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There are some very good answers posted here. I have read the one you marked as the answer, and glanced at the others, but none seem to mention the thing I find most obvious. Keep in mind they are great answers, and should definitely not be disregarded. However, I believe this is your problem, as it is with so many others:

Why do you write? What are you trying to do with your story? Are you just writing to get it out there? Or do you actually have something to say, something to prove to your reader? Based on your question, it sounds me like you lack a theme.

Theme is what you are trying to say. It is the thing you know to be true, and feel your readers need to know to be true, also. The urge to write often starts with inspiration, but the flame is kept alive by the need to tell your readers something. If you feel, really feel, that your theme is important, and that everyone should know it, you will be passionate about getting it on the page in the best form possible. You will be fired up about writing, not just for the first few pages, but from beginning of development to publishing and beyond.

So, do you get bored with your writing once the initial excitement dies down? It is likely due to a lack of theme, or perhaps because your theme is not strong enough. Here's a hint: what issue (political, religious, moral, whatever) gets you fired up? What can you go on for hours about? What really gets you where it matters, makes you feel the need to do something about? Make that the theme of your next story. You can go on for hours about it, right? How can you lose interest in that?

I would highly recommend Donald Maass's book, Writing the Breakout Novel. Chapter fourteen is entirely on theme, and the instruction is invaluable.

@Henry Taylor I would be interested to hear your opinions on this.

posted about 9 years ago

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Thomas Myron‭

1163 reputation 133 98 143 10