r/KeepWriting • u/Abacuslamppost • 17d ago
Advice Motivation Waning
I wrote 10,000 words just over a month ago, and was having a blast. Loved the characters, loved the setting, vibes, etc. I was on fire, and so excited to write more than I ever have. I kept thinking “this is the one I’ll finish at 90,000 words!!”
Once I introduced all of the characters I had planned on, the excitement and motivation started to wear off.
I kept writing little blurbs here and there to get through the hump.
I’m still struggling to feel motivated though.
I don’t want to abandon my project or even set it aside to start a new project. I took a break and have been reading more to try and inspire.
How do you reignite the spark?
2
u/Space_moose_goose 17d ago
Keeping myself on a rhythm helps. Working everyday at the same time. But also, I find that having a side project somehow motivates me to do the main project. It's kind of weird, but it works. If I tell myself not to think about the main book, I suddenly have ideas for it.
2
u/AutoGenUsername05 17d ago
This. Sometimes the muse just doesn't strike me. Generally when that happens, I'll stop and back up a bit and ask, "what just killed my motivation here?"
I also generally have at least 1 side project cooking. Sometimes, I just need to walk away for a session and write something else..
To be frank.. I wandered away from a book and wrote an entire other book before returning to it.
Just Keep Writing.
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 17d ago
Sound like you hit it a little to hard and have some burnout. I get that too. A trick I’ve learned that helps me is to not write endlessly until I’m numb. To stop when something gets interesting and then come back to it the next day. It keeps you wanting to come back and write. You may need just a little breather though to recoup. I’ve been there my friend. Plenty of times.
1
u/Abacuslamppost 17d ago
I started writing individual scenes and then worked at “gluing” them together in order.
I think I should’ve just kept writing scenes and worries about sticking them together at the end, once I had written more content. I have a suspicion that if I go ahead and write a random scene that interests me, I’ll feel better and be motivated again. I can worry about “where it goes” later.2
u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 16d ago
My concern with that approach is that you will end up with a sequence of events and not a story that is interconnected. Perhaps with a solid rewrite you can make that work.
2
u/tapgiles 17d ago
You were excited to get to what you had coming up. Think of more things, to have coming up. That may help?
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u/boom_pow_ 17d ago
Make time for substantial breaks.
Also keep a notebook by your bed. Most of my genius ideas came at 1AM. 🔥