How do you keep writing when the motivation fades?

[Demesnedenoir]

My brain immediately leaps to:

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition... Cardinal Fang! Fetch...THE COMFY CHAIR!

I really need to rewatch all of the Flying Circus.

My biggest secret to getting the writing done was to ensure my writing desk had the most comfortable chair in the house.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

My writing chair is wherever I plant my ass, which could be in the Jeep, beneath a tree, a rocker, a recliner, or every now and again an actual desk chair! I'm currently converting the loft into an office, but we'll see how much writing actually gets done there, heh heh. I plopped out about 1k words sitting in the Jeep today while waiting for my youngest to get off work.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

My biggest secret to getting the writing done was to ensure my writing desk had the most comfortable chair in the house.

Same! lol I had this chair for several years that was so very bad, it gave me sciatica and warped my spine. When it finally showed up and wanted to knife fight me, my wife got me the best chair that I've ever entrusted with my ample behind. I love this thing so much.

Gaming Chairs | Secretlab TITAN Evo | Secretlab US

 

[Diana Silver]

One of my favorite First Draft quotes is, "I need to remind myself that the first draft is just me shoveling sand into a pile so I can make it into a sandcastle later."

Have to be honest, I relate to this less than 0%. Probably shows that everyone's process is different ^.^

 

[Mad Swede]

Same! lol I had this chair for several years that was so very bad, it gave me sciatica and warped my spine. When it finally showed up and wanted to knife fight me, my wife got me the best chair that I've ever entrusted with my ample behind. I love this thing so much.

Gaming Chairs | Secretlab TITAN Evo | Secretlab US

It was when I'd got my publishing contract thgat I splashed out on a good height-adjustable desk, a good desk lamp and a very good desk chair. Sure, when I was in the army I wrote in some very strange places. Crouched behind a pile of rocks whilst under fire, sitting in a bunker with artillery rounds landing all around, sheltering under tree in the middle of a tropical downpour whilst trying to keep the paper dry, armed to the teeth (almost literally) in a contour flying helicopter on the way in to the DZ, bouncing along in an APC across muddy fields, and in the middle of the night whilst flying in the back of a C-130. All without coffee. None of this did my back any good at all, which is why I love my desk chair. But I don't need the chair, the desk or the lamp to write...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Have to be honest, I relate to this less than 0%. Probably shows that everyone's process is different ^.^

There's only one actual rule, here. Writers write. All else is process.

 

[Karlin]

It was when I'd got my publishing contract thgat I splashed out on a good height-adjustable desk, a good desk lamp and a very good desk chair. Sure, when I was in the army I wrote in some very strange places. Crouched behind a pile of rocks whilst under fire, sitting in a bunker with artillery rounds landing all around, sheltering under tree in the middle of a tropical downpour whilst trying to keep the paper dry, armed to the teeth (almost literally) in a contour flying helicopter on the way in to the DZ, bouncing along in an APC across muddy fields, and in the middle of the night whilst flying in the back of a C-130. All without coffee. None of this did my back any good at all, which is why I love my desk chair. But I don't need the chair, the desk or the lamp to write...

Back in the day, i would read on the firing range. Light arms and machine gun fire was ok. I could not concentrate with mortar fire. I wasn't writing back then.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

It was when I'd got my publishing contract thgat I splashed out on a good height-adjustable desk, a good desk lamp and a very good desk chair. Sure, when I was in the army I wrote in some very strange places. Crouched behind a pile of rocks whilst under fire, sitting in a bunker with artillery rounds landing all around, sheltering under tree in the middle of a tropical downpour whilst trying to keep the paper dry, armed to the teeth (almost literally) in a contour flying helicopter on the way in to the DZ, bouncing along in an APC across muddy fields, and in the middle of the night whilst flying in the back of a C-130. All without coffee. None of this did my back any good at all, which is why I love my desk chair. But I don't need the chair, the desk or the lamp to write...

I've been thinking about how I want to say this, something cool and observant, but I figure I should stick to being me. I know there's a tremendous amount of suck written in between those lines, but there is also an exceptional amount of complete cool. You're bringing some epic experience when you write, and that's amazing. Like, my dad broke a Soviet submarine in the Med, once, with an experimental sonar system, that kind of epic. My dad was also a flight medic early on, Navy of course, because Fly Navy is awesome and boats suck eggs. Battleship + Ocean Waves + Motion Sickness = Oh, So Much Bad. When his crew had a guest on board, his favorite game was the ol' placing a $100 bill - but usually a $20, it was the late 70's - on the console and tell the guest they could have it if they could grab it. And then the pilot hit the accelerator and the guest discovered g-forces. He Being able to bring those details and perspectives into your stories - Malik, too, and Karlin - and produce wonderful, rich narratives.

I hope that I'm not being too forward. I can understand, but only to a small degree. My best stories involve strippers, which is better than knowing what a plaster wall feels like when it crushes under your body. It takes a whole lot of childhood trauma to be this funny.

 

[SamazonE]

When I was a kid, I read a series about a writer, and his writing. There are other examples besides the Wally Mcdoogle series, but I always found that my stories that began with reading under a tree, to be the best.

There is a small problem with my room, it is small. So: bookcase, screwed, desk space, non existent, television, wall mounted.

There are the other issues, like my way too old chair, that needs constant reassurance, and my massive desk, purloined...No, I’m serious, it is like my shoes fill up the nonexistent remainder of my dungeon.

 

[Mad Swede]

I've been thinking about how I want to say this, something cool and observant, but I figure I should stick to being me. I know there's a tremendous amount of suck written in between those lines, but there is also an exceptional amount of complete cool. You're bringing some epic experience when you write, and that's amazing. ... Being able to bring those details and perspectives into your stories - Malik, too, and Karlin - and produce wonderful, rich narratives.

I hope that I'm not being too forward. I can understand, but only to a small degree. My best stories involve strippers, which is better than knowing what a plaster wall feels like when it crushes under your body. It takes a whole lot of childhood trauma to be this funny.

Sure, that writing discipline I learnt in the army ensures that I write when I set out to do so. And yes, everything that I've been through ends up in my writing somewhere. It seems to make for something the readers like and appreciate.

Yet it's that personal pain, that intense sense of loss, which drives me on in my writing.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Sure, that writing discipline I learnt in the army ensures that I write when I set out to do so. And yes, everything that I've been through ends up in my writing somewhere. It seems to make for something the readers like and appreciate.

Yet it's that personal pain, that intense sense of loss, which drives me on in my writing.

This thing needs a *hug* emoji.

 

[minta]

I break it into tiny goals. write anywhere from 200-500 words at a time. Momentum beats motivation and consistency keeps the story moving.

 

[xena]

That is normal, I think. I push through small pieces. Reread only enough to reconnect, not to judge. Just get there gently for ten minutes, and the inspiration usually crawls back.

 

[DanGreen]

You make writing a habit. You write at least a few lines every day, even if you don't feel like writing, even if you think it is horrible.

This is what I do, some days it feels like a drag. But then there are those days when you don't feel like writing at all but when you start you get a surge of inspiration and manage almost a full chapter in an hour or two.

That's my experience anyhow.