Writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint. Anyone who has actually completed a marathon can testify that running is only half the battle—the effort it takes to stay motivated for 26.2 miles straight deserves its own medal. The same goes for writing. Coming up with the idea for your book is easy, but actually writing it? That’s an entirely different story.
As with any time-consuming and labor-intensive process, it’s easy for your motivation to become muddled once the shininess of your new goal wears off. Here are five tried-and-true tips from Ballast Books’s team of writers and editors to help you stay motivated while developing your manuscript.
Writing a book is a big undertaking. It’s a pursuit that is always rooted in a deeper purpose, even if it’s not immediately obvious to you. Think back to how excited you were when you first decided to write a book. What factors and life experiences led to that decision? Who are you writing your book for? What do you want readers to take from it?
Your purpose is your North Star. If you find yourself getting lost or discouraged in the day-to-day work of writing your manuscript, remind yourself of the greater reason you’re writing to get yourself back on track with a renewed sense of motivation.
In her 1994 book Bird by Bird, novelist Anne Lamott writes that the only way she can get anything written at all is to write “really, really sh*tty first drafts.” A blank page is a writer’s worst enemy. You know you have brilliant ideas, but you may not know the best way to express them. Write them down anyway.
You are not committed to whatever you write in your first draft, and no one but you has to read it. The act of writing always involves rewriting. You may try six different versions of a sentence before finding the wording that sticks—but that’s part of the process! Just don’t slow yourself down by rewriting before you’ve even finished writing the first time. You’ll have plenty of time for that later. And remember, Ballast’s editing team is here to help you make the final draft of your manuscript shine.
To stay motivated while writing your manuscript, especially a longer one, it can be helpful to vary elements of your writing routine. If you always write at home, venture to a coffee shop or cocktail bar instead. Do you always write at your desk? Try writing at your kitchen table. Write with the sunrise one day and with the sunset the next. Making slight changes to freshen up your routine can unlock a whole new wave of motivation.
Don’t try to write when you’re not in the right headspace. Doing so will make writing feel like a chore, effectively zapping your motivation. You might even end up feeling unhappy with the quality of the work you wrote for the sake of feeling productive.
You can’t force creativity to strike, but you can give it room to flow. Rather than staring at your screen in frustration, do something—anything—else. Walk your dog. Reorganize your sock drawer. Spend time with a friend. (Personally, I come up with my best ideas in the shower.) Allowing yourself to step away from your manuscript takes the pressure to perform off your subconscious, allowing ideas to come to you naturally.
When those ideas do come, write them down! One of the most satisfying experiences you can have as a writer is feeling like your mind is working faster than you can type. Don’t worry about grammar or even whether your ideas make sense; just get them all down on the page while you’re in your flow state (remember Tip #2?). Inspiration produces stronger writing (and more of it). These are the moments writers live for—make the most of them!
What are you waiting for? Put on your headphones, open your laptop, and get writing! If you’re feeling extra inspired, submit your book idea to us today. We’ll run this marathon with you every step of the way.