42 thoughts on “where is my motivation?”

1. If your motivation is anything like mine, it’s hiding in a dark corner.
   But I have more motivation in you than me, so MORE POWER TO Wil!!

2. Uhm, by motivation I obviously meant confidence.

3. man, i hear you, Wil. i had to put down the controllers, and stop the media influx of blockbuster/iTunes/iPod Touch/BitTorrent that was taking up my time.
   Turn off the XBox, turn off the DS, put the Tivo away. IT’ll all be there when you go back to it. AFTER you hit a smallish deadline.
   rock on.

4. I think you need to get out of the house for a bit. Take a day to go somewhere; it doesn’t have to be far. Just look at something besides the 4 walls.

5. I totally understand the desire to want to give your brain some R&R but I have found that is a very slippery slope.
   My first book is being released in Oct of this year (EEK!)and I have found that sticking to the schedule is the only way this is going to happen. (My next one is scheduled for release in Feb 09.)
   I wish I could be a full time writer, but for right now that is not possible. Take advance of the time you have! Can’t wait to see what you have coming!!!

6. Uh, sounds familiar… To me to whole problem is all the stuff I should do. Should. And then I start to find something “better” to do. “Oh, look, Wheaton has wrote something new and interesting… That web-project can wait!”

7. I consider it like a dog. Give yourself a daily deadline: get to this page count, or plot point by the end of day, and then reward yourself with a movie or some video games. And that takes a shit load discipline.

8. I’m not sure if it will help at all, but you may want to consider attending the “Chronicling Mars” Conference at UC Riverside. Listening to the writing processes of other authors is always a good way to develop your own! Or improve your own.. Or whatever. Anyway, just an idea. I know I want to go!

9. Err… oh yes.. Not that you aren’t capable of using Google, but here’s the link…
   http://eatonconference.ucr.edu/

10. Are you at all motivated/inspired by the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles shows? I find that they do not suck. In fact, they approach teh awesome. I’m curious to see where it goes from here….

11. Could be the moon or the time of year or something in the air? I’ve been unmotivated for weeks now! Just today, I read a post of at Tom Johnson’s superb “I’d Rather Be Writing” blog and podcast (hosted at the cleverly-named site http://www.idratherbewriting.com)called “How to Get Out of a Slump, and Handle Pressure Situations Calmly”. He’s talking about Malcom Gladwell’s book Blink and the idea that forcing yourself to smile can bring about good feelings (and in theory, help get or keep you on track). Another excellent way to avoid doing real work!

12. I’ve been struggling with the same motivation problems as a first-year phd student. I’m finding that grad school requires a lot of self-motivation and direction that I don’t seem to have at the moment.
    One tip I’ve found helps if I’m really sucked into the DVR void is to camp out at the local library. At least just by being there, I’ve achieved escape velocity from my couch.
    Of course, now I’m home again because the library is closed, and here I am commenting on your blog instead of studying for Friday’s exam. ARGH! Wish me luck and monkey mojo, please.

13. I’ve also decided to get some serious writing done this year, and not just in November. I know that you’ve never really been keen on the idea of Nanowrimo, but I think I know why it works for me, and I’m trying to adapt it for the whole year.
    The reason I think Nanowrimo works for me is because everyone knows I’m doing it. I have a goal, and if I fail, everyone knows.
    So, I’ve set up a little blog and pretend that people will someday read it and I’m trying to keep myself in line by telling everyone what my goals are and how I’m going to get to them.
    Anyway, long story, um, over, I think if you let the world know what your goals are, or at least when they’re due, it may give you the stimulus you need.
    It worked for Jonathan Coulton.

14. It’s fear. You’re aiming yourself into unknown territory, and you’ve expressed your doubts about writing fiction in the past.
    So your get up and go got up, ducked, and covered.
    Solution: make a decision, and formalize matters for a while — same time every day, set period of time, write in whatever manner you have to. Do not fuck around with it, or fuck off; that’s deadly. You may find yourself wound up practically to screaming and wanting to beat the shit out of something for a little while — keep doing, it will pass, and so will the hurdles.
    You have the balls for it; you’ve demonstrated that well for years.

15. Some times you just have to take it easy. Last week I put in around 90 hours to meet some big deadlines. This week my brain is fried. I’m still working, just with frequent Xbox 360 breaks.

16. You need to go somewhere (outside of your office and house) that is a work atmosphere, where there is little else to do besides grinding out some projects. A few hours of that will actually translate nicely into productivity at home. That’s the formula I’ve been using for almost a year that doesn’t fail when I hit a lazy rut.

17. Discipline isn’t easy even when you aren’t a freelance writer.
    What’s worked for me in many situations is, well, assignments…
    I know there are certain chunks of work I need to do. I know some are bigger than others, and some are due sooner than others. I list them out with estimated effort and due date, and then just start decimating the list any way I can.
    It’s *amazing* the amount of motivation that comes of “if I just finish this then I can highlight that entire item and turn on the strikethrough font effect”.
    All said, it’s still hard.

18. Lifehacker.com has a suggestion for you:
    http://lifehacker.com/345234/complete-large-projects-with-the-martini-method
    It is in essence what DavePress said, but attributed to Anthony Burgess (of Clockwork Orange fame).

19. I do believe you’ve just described the daily struggle that is my life.
    Fun, isn’t it?

20. An old boss of mine once gave me great advice for jump-starting yourself out of a situation like this.
    Make a list of the things you feel you really need to get done, prioritize it, and do 1 of the easiest items on the list that is highest priority.
    Repeat as necessary. Almost always works for me.

21. —
    Captain – “Lieutenant Prostitute. In charge of… discipline!”
    Sailor – “A, heh heh heh”
    Captain – “Nail that mans foot to the deck!”
    —

22. Hey, Wil, I have a couple worksheets that might be helpful. One is a list of questions about why you want to write — the other is a list of questions about why you want to write a particular project. I find when I spend a little time focusing on why, my motivation returns naturally.
    They are in the free Writing Solutions Preview at my site, http://www.annaparadox.com/from-wishing-to-writing/. You can download it directly, without even giving me an email address, at least for now. Or email me, and I’ll mail you the worksheets.
    Wow, there’s a lot of good advice in this comment series. Amazingly good posse you have here!
    Great news that you plan a lot of writing this year! I’m looking forward to seeing it!
    Anna

23. I don’t think you’re undisciplined. It seems from reading the site that you’ve been working really hard for a long time now and it seems like your 2008 schedule is just as busy. (Good for you on that! I’m excited to hear about your projects.) Perhaps you *do* just need a small break? To decompress and pump yourself back up again?
    I don’t really have a good suggestion for you (because I feel rather unmotivated right now and don’t know how to break it) but I just wanted to chime in and show some support. As long as you love the projects you’re working on I think it will eventually work out. I think that’s the most important thing you can do right now. You can’t go wrong if you work on things you love. 🙂
    P.S. Are you going to post some of your fiction here? You used to sometimes and it was great to read. 🙂 Cheers!!

24. Man, I know that unmotivated feeling. I just started my last semester as history major and have major work to do on my senior thesis and I have written about half a paragraph in the past hour and a half. I actually found this site trying to be motivated. (my thesis is observing American society in the twentieth century through Star Trek, I was trying to determine how to properly spell your name) Good luck with all that though, as someone else mention, I sometimes find it easier to find a new place to work. I pick a new spot on campus every few weeks because I find change focuses me. Good Luck, I look forward to following this blog now that I have found it.

25. Sometimes, you just need to give in and say, “Today” (or “next thursday” or whatever) “is officially a Day Off. No work will happen that day. I will not clean, I will not accomplish chores, I will not pay any attention whatsoever to the list of things that I *should* do. I will sleep if I feel like it, I will eat comfort food if I feel like it, I will spend hours playing Solitaire if I feel like it. And I will NOT feel guilty about it.”
    I find that when I hit a really spectacularly unmotivated period, one good solid day of relaxing is enough to recharge the batteries for a good long stretch of productive work. But it only works if I give myself permission to really goof off for a day and not feel guilty about it. If I goof off but allow myself to feel guilty, it doesn’t help at all.

26. Sounds like you have already identified your main problem. Get out of the house.

27. One thing that’s worked for me was learning to detect the difference between a fallow period, where ideas are germinating, and periods of genuine slack. The system I came up with was to go back and look at my pattern of how I work — when was I productive during the year? during the month? during the day? I made a hokey little color-coded system for days and times where I was productive, when I was burnt and crispy, and when I slacked. I did it for a five-year period to get the bigger picture, and also rule out any one year’s particularly disruptive life events (marriage, divorce, new job, college graduation, etc.).
    This helped me recognize my own personal cycle of creativity, and give it the respect it needed. It also gave me a kickass yardstick for making that hard call between ‘slack’ and ‘burnt out.’ After more than two days of feeling blah and unmotivated, it’s officially slack, for me. YMMV.
    It also lets me schedule different tasks for different times, so in the morning, when I’m not firing on all cylinders, I do all the blah tasks that need doing, but not a lot of brainpower or creativity (filing, email answering, scheduling), and do my creative work (design and writing and painting) in the afternoon and evening.
    Hope that helps. 😉

28. As an amateur writer myself (and I really only do it for fun. I’ve been working on a fantasy novel for the past year), I fell into a deep rut. I found that in order to get back into things, I had to do something that kept my body busy, but was so repetative that my brain was left to wander.
    I found myself thinking of my story. Scenes played out behind my eyes, and I was able to sit down and hash out a few chapters.
    Most recently, I’ve wanted to get my son (he’s only 7) into RPG’s like Lord of the Rings Miniature and Warhammer. I’m a producted of the 80’s D&D movement, and see huge benefits in getting my boy into that sort of ‘social gaming’. But D&D is a little TOO advanced for him and I want him to actual enjoy the experience. So i bought him (US) a starting kit of LOTR Mines of Moria – a full paint kit and a pack of Orcs and Gondor Knightsmen Miniature.
    He loves it.. we played a game for 5 hours and it engaged him the whole time. WE paint our Miniatures every night for 45 minutes – and during that time, all i think about is my story. Building scenarios for the game, flexed the creative muscle and allowed me to brainstorm my story.
    I don’t know if any of this helps, Wil. We’re all different in the ways we create. What i do know is you have far more writing talent in your little finger than I do in say, … ok — my whole upper-body (i don’t wanna sell myself too short, allow me to dream!)
    All that to say, find something like that; something that interests you, but also something that you can go into ‘autopilot mode’ to do, so that your mind can focus on your writing.
    It can be walking alone in town taking pictures of things. While doing that you can people watch, see hundreds of different poeple behaving differently. Taking in facial expressions, how they walk, how they talk to each other. When you watch a man walking with purpose across a busy city street, trying to come with — Where is he going? Who is he going to meet? And take that person and insert him into a scenario in your story – what could that man be doing…
    I do stupid shit like that all the time. We do what it takes to keep our imaginations going.. but sometimes – every-so-often, you need a break.. and nothing is greater than a shot of scotch and a round of Guitar Hero 🙂
    You’ve been in ruts before Wil – you always come out of it richer for it. Have faith!

29. Not a writer, but a fan. Just remember what you do best, which is tell a human story. Sci-fi is your backdrop, not your story. I wouldn’t strive to work out the details of spaceship travel or other hard science. I’d strive to tell a compelling story that happens to be in the sci-fi universe. Ender’s Game is a great example of a human story about Ender. The story would have been compelling in any backdrop, but the sci-fi nature fit the story particularly well.

30. Jenna Fisher (Pam on the Office) did this incredible post on acting that really stuck with me:
    http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27753303&blogid=141657788&page=0
    She mentioned that “The Artists Way” really turned things around. The book always got me in the gag reflex whenever I saw it, but despite the vomit inducement, I picked up a copy and started doing it. Turns out the rest of the world was right and I was wrong and it’s actually been… useful… (god that was hard to type)

31. P.S. Sorry, the post Jenna wrote was about acting, but the book “The Artists Way” has proven to be really useful for writing.

32. Just want to send some “productive vibes” your way… xo

33. I second The Artist’s Way suggestion.
    And by the way, I spent my tie reading this entry thinking “Read more!” then “OK, then”, then “I’m right there with you.”
    PS Watched TNG: Coming of Age last night. Nice.

34. The best advice I ever heard on the matter was BIC: “Butt In Chair.”
    No email, no Hearts, no internet (unplug/turn it off until you break the habit). If you’re not writing, you’re just sitting there, either thinking, or doing nothing.
    It helps to have a scheduled time for BIC, too.

35. Oh and January is a shit month anyway. Nothing good ever gets done in January. So if it comes down to it, just hang in there, try to keep the house clean and the laundry done, and things will pick up once February gets here. February is a great month for Creativity. Promise.

36. Wil, this is why I started up my website dreamfantastic.com The intent is for serial fiction, very similar to a webcomic. By writing and posting there, you have a self imposed deadline that your fans will eventually work to hold you to to have SOMETHING there on time. of course, since your intending to write for a mainstream publishing project, web publishing wont work for you, but maybe a couple people you know to expect a page every m w f from you for them to look at.

37. I’m going to second the NaNoWriMo AND the “January is a shit month and nothing ever gets done in January” comments. Seriously, I’m not even bothering to start writing until February 2 this year, because it’s not going to happen and I’m still recovering from the holidays. I have some great ideas, but I just don’t have it in me right now to put them down out of my head. They’ll have to wait.
    I do agree that the write-a-novel-in-a-month thing, especially when others are doing it, will REALLY help you get productive. The NaNo folks in my area have been talking about doing another one in April- care to join us? 🙂

38. Thus Spake Wil-a-thustra:
    “[Maybe] the whole thing comes down to discipline, which I understand is one of the toughest things for freelance writers who work out of their house to maintain…”
    Truer words never spoken. Maybe it’s that I can walk to the computer and start working in a flannel robe and sweats. Not conducive to a sense of DOING something, y’know?

39. If you would like to put your writing skills to another use, please consider writing to a U.S. soldier stationed overseas at soldiersangels.com. Sorry if you’ve already heard about this. 🙂

40. A DP buddy and his girl are moving to Buenos Aires, for the same reason. His argument is, “If the best we can do is a lizard and some cavemen, we’re in trouble.” So he wants to get recharged.
    For inspiration, I don’t think anyone can answer that but you. Motivation, however, usually comes as a result of necessity, be it the necessity of finances (most people), to feed a kid, lose some pounds or the necessity to just get something out (where you seem to be or were). I’ve met very few people that have ‘that drive’ built into them, seemingly, from day one. But when I run into them, I do look at them and scratch my head and wonder, “How do I get that?”
    For what it’s worth, something that helps me to center myself comes from a short story that I read, in junior high, called ‘The Last Question’ by Isaac Asimov. It was part of a self-selected reading assignment. I still reread it, every now and then. It’s categorized as science fiction. But I think the concept is a little greater.
    Cheers.

41. I was reading through some news clips, and came upon this keynote speech: “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” , and I started to watch it. I got sucked in, and couldn’t stop watching it.
    As I watched it, I thought of you and your constant search for things that inspire; be it people, events or whatever.
    The keynote is incredibly special considering that this man is 47 years old and dying of cancer. His positive outlook and the way he sees people and teaches them, I think, is inspiring.
    I’ve definitely come away far more self-reflective because of this, and wanted to share it – and I felt that you’d be one that would actually appreciate it.
    Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch’s Lecture

42. I guess my link didn’t work.. gah!
    Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch’s Lecture

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