I could swear you are thinking: “What? You haven’t started writing yet?”
Did I guess it right?
Well, the answer to that question is: Yes, I have started… but I stopped. Not entirely of course! But it’s been weeks since I last opened my book’s draft.
Before we go any further, let me first wish you a happy new year! May 2023 be a happy year for you!
Now back to the point!
I gave much thought on whether I should write this blog post or not. But, as you are seeing, in the end the winner was the option to go ahead and write. This may work as a reminder for my future self whenever I find myself in this situation again.
I have my plotting done and I know where I want my book to go (or the main character of my book) and yet sometimes I find myself stuck without knowing how to develop my story!
I’ve written before about ways to move a story forward, but none of the tips on that blog post have helped me to overcome this. Not because they are bad tips, not at all! But because I got demotivated.
I’ve been writing my flash fiction stories and have been so enthusiastic about it that my book was pushed aside. And I was not expecting this. I was not expecting to find something more thrilling to write than my book! I have been so thrilled with my flash fiction stories that I almost forgot my book’s story and at what point I was when I last opened the file. Realizing this made me feel not only demotivated, but also like I’m cheating on my big goal!
As you may imagine I didn’t like the way I was feeling. This led me to evaluate what I could do to change this and get back to my book’s draft. And guess what!? It was pretty simple! I just needed to open the file, read the last paragraph and start writing!
Pretty simple, no? No, not really! Finding the courage to open that file again was hard. No matter how much I thought about it, I would always postpone it. The solution was to plan! I’ve scheduled a specific day/time to do it, not just for the first time but for weeks to come. This way I have time to prepare myself mentally before starting. I find it easier to know beforehand what I have to do.
So whenever you feel demotivated or stuck, whether it’s on a writing task or any other task, remember, maybe the solution it’s as simple as to schedule some time to sit and work on your task!
It may also be helpful to have a look on this blog post about procrastination!
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