(i'm the real) master of karate and friendship

Motivation and Where to Find It

totalrewrite:

Okay, so I might not exactly be the best to talk about this because I’m a lazy bastard with next to zero motivation. However, I will do my best to provide awesome advice.

1. Set a quota for yourself. Quotas are the best thing I can think of when I’m editing to keep me on track. If you do a solid 1K or 2K every single day. It might seem like you’re slowly chipping away at your manuscript, but it works. A little work every day all adds up.

2. Keep your goal in mind. What’s that one thing you’re working toward? Publication? Being able to claim you’ve written a novel? Becoming a New York Times bestselling author? It doesn’t matter what it is, just keep that goal in your mind, because spoiler alert: you’ll never achieve your goals if you don’t work toward them.

3. Make sure you’re writing what you love. Love for the craft is one of the most important things you need. If you get bored of your manuscript, it does show, and that isn’t a good thing. If you get tired of your plot or your characters to the point where you dread editing every day, it might be time to set the manuscript aside and start something fresh. You can always come back to it at a later time.

4. Don’t doubt yourself. Of course, this will be inevitable down the road. You read over your work and think “This is terrible, I don’t know why I even try.” But don’t. Your story is awesome, and you’re awesome for being able to write it. When it comes to criticism, you are your own worst enemy, so punch yourself in the face and keep on typing because you are awesome.

5. Reward yourself. I don’t care how much you want that cupcake, you aren’t allowed to eat it until you’ve edited at least 500 words, missy. And don’t even think about getting on Tumblr until you do another 500 after that!

6. Talk to other writers. There’s plenty of forums and websites out there that connect writers. You can keep each other motivated, ask for advice, ideas, and all sorts of things. Personally, I like to go and watch John Green’s videos about his novels because they motivate me. I’m also a bit socially awkward when talking to people, so I like that I can just listen to him talk and not be expected to reply.

(via chainedtoacomet)