How to Get Motivated to Write: A Foolproof Strategy

How can I get motivated to write? I believe every writer will face this question multiple times during their career. Motivation won’t be present to help us every day. For some writers, the loss of motivation may be great, lasting months.

Massive losses of motivation can intrude upon writing for long periods of time and in cruel degrees of lethargy and fear. You may squeak out a little writing or a weekly blogpost, but the motivation to write has dimmed. 

While it’s tempting to believe motivation is out of reach, it isn’t. Regaining motivation and momentum is possible, and I have a foolproof strategy to help.

This blogpost is for writers who struggle with getting motivated to write. If you have this  problem, it’s time to make a change and return to your novel, short stories, blog, and other goals.

What Do I Know?

Why am I qualified to give you advice, you ask? Well, extreme loss of motivation is a normal problem for me. I know the associated frustration, and have researched many strategies aimed to resurrect motivation.

In the past, I have attempted to regain motivation through various recommended methods: breaks from work, mind games, refreshing my love for writing, etc., but the lethargy persisted.

Then recently, I broke the fog.

With a new strategy I’ve created, I have been successfully fighting off lethargy and crippling fear for over two weeks, and my motivation to write keeps growing. The answer to how we can get motivated to write is fresh in my mind. Therefore, it is the perfect time to write this blogpost for writers with this problem, and for when I need to remind myself of the foolproof principles of this strategy. 

 Below is the solution to how we can build solid motivation starting now. There is no time to lose! 

A Strategy to Get Motivated to Write

So, you want to get motivated to write? Well, will-power and mild desire will not cut it. For a big problem, we need a big solution. Enter, the Strategy.

The strategy is a foolproof game plan. It’s how we will escape from an unmotivated state to living energized again. The start of my strategy was to simplify my life with a plan.

I began my plan with a six month timeline. I decided my writing goals, then organized the actions I needed to take by months. The beauty of a plan is we get to think less and do more. With a plan to follow, we cut out doubts for the future.

However, knowing my habit of losing motivation, I reinforced my plan. First, I wrote my reasons for committing to my plan, and then crafted a foundation to keep me focused. 

Example of my foundation:

• Daily mental + physical health focus
• A plan-focused mentality
• An outlook of faith

Whenever I feel myself drifting, I review my plan, complete with reasons and foundation, to rekindle my motivation.

Now, it’s time for your strategy. 

Step 1: Write your reasons to commit. 

Prompt: Where are you right now, and where do you want to be? What are you escaping (example: mental blocks), and to where are you running (example: freedom to enjoy work)?

Step 2: Create a foundation to keep you focused and committed. You can adopt mine or create your own. 

Step 3: Don’t skip steps one and two. 

Step 4: Decide your goals, outline your attack plan, and organize the actions in a timeline. Set a concrete end date to your plan, because you will procrastinate less with a view of the finish line. After this plan you will create another, so don’t choose too many goals. Focus on three goals. 

Step 5: Persist through doubts and focus on each moment. The goal of a plan is to free you from thinking so you can focus on acting, but it doesn’t guarantee motivation. Your reasons and foundation are key supports. Persist through sluggish days, focus on your present task, and challenge your daily productivity.

Step 6 (Bonus): Track how many days you’ve completed since beginning your strategy. This practice will support your efforts of staying focused. I often write the number of days on my arm, because when I look at the number, I remember what I’m working to accomplish. 

When these 6 steps and the principles ahead are compounded, you will be motivated to write again.

Write in Faith

“Just have a little faith.”

Michael Scofield

When reality fails to get me motivated to write, I turn to fiction. From the TV series Prison Break created by Paul T. Scheuring and broadcasted on Fox, character Michael Scofield gives a perfect example of the truth found in fiction through the quote above.

Michael Scofield (portrayed by Wentworth Miller) urges many of his fellow characters to have faith when doubts arise concerning his ingenious escape plans. Michael always has faith in what appears impossible, and his faith wins every time. 

Faith is powerful. When we don’t have faith in writing or our ability to get motivated, neither will happen. Faith is the bridge between dreaming and doing. If we lack faith, motivation to write will elude us simply because we don’t believe. 

We must reinforce our faith in motivation and our strategy daily. Do not undervalue or underestimate faith.

Write First, Get Motivated Second

To get motivated to write, the principle action precedes motivation is crucial. I’ll begin with a real-life example. 

A month ago I wasn’t reading much. As you know, a writer who doesn’t read isn’t learning or filling one’s creative well. 

While I didn’t feel motivated to read, I knew I loved reading because enjoying novels was one of my reasons for writing. Nevertheless, reading did not appeal to me. How could I get motivated again?

I decided to experiment. 

Until now, I had been waiting for my motivation to return by itself, so I decided to change tactics. My new strategy was persisting to read every day until I felt motivated to pick up a book. 

After only a few weeks of persistence, I began to feel motivated to read again. My motivation was rekindled simply by persisting to read when I wasn’t motivated.

Rarely will motivation return when we wait. Instead, we must aggressively seek it. We need to grit our teeth and push through difficult writing sessions to practice this strategy. Yet with persistence this principle will show its fruit and become easier. Have faith in the principle, and hold fast to the strategy until momentum builds and revives motivation. 

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12 Actions for Motivated Writing

Let’s put action precedes motivation into practice. Below are 12 simple actions to start your strategy right. By these actions a shift in your mindset will follow almost immediately.

Each time you practice an action, remember your commitment to get motivated to write. Make these actions a trigger to focus on the strategy, and nurture this relationship.

Physical Actions

1. Posture: Don’t hunch your shoulders, but draw your shoulder blades down. When we aren’t motivated, are shoulders roll forward as we slouch. But a confident, motivated person stands (and sits) tall. Keep your head up and back tall, and you will automatically begin to feel better.

2. Walk With Purpose: Don’t stroll. Walk around the office or your house with intention. This act tells your mind and body you are ready to be motivated. 

3. Get Enough Sleep: A valuable lesson I learned from reading The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum is “Sleep is a weapon!” Our minds work best with sufficient sleep, so be sure to get 7-8 hours a night.

4. Drink Water and Eat Right: When our bodies don’t feel well, we aren’t motivated. Dehydration and bad eating habits make us sluggish. Don’t overeat, be conscious of your sugar intake, and eat more vegetables and fruit instead of processed snacks. 

Mental Actions

5. Produce Work: Following our action precedes motivation principle, production combats lethargy. We feel better after completing work, because the need to work is ingrained in human nature. Make your bed or answer an email, but complete a task and then another, and another.

6. Retrain Your Negative Thought Patterns: Notice negative thought patterns, then kill them with a positive thought. For example, replace “writing this piece is too hard for me” with “I can do this.” These thoughts are lies. Throw them away. 

7. Fill Your Calendar: Keep busy. Excess time does not promote motivation. To get motivated to write, we fill our calendars with writing.  

8. Beware What You Consume: We reflect what we see and hear. If others or ourselves talk without motivation, then we won’t change. Don’t consume unneeded negative news, complaints, and social media. Replace these interactions with healthy and positive flows of information. 

9. Look for Experiences: Don’t settle for experiences behind your TV. Interact with the world, and trade the TV entertainment for the real thing. Take a walk, grab some coffee, read a book, or connect with motivated friends. 

10. Write Goals Daily: Every morning I write my goals. Without aligning our mindsets with our goals, we lose sight of our plan. Keep your goals, plan, and strategy at the forefront of your mind.

11. Practice Courage: When we fear something, we need to face it immediately. Because procrastination allows fear time to grow, we must practice courage—acting despite fear. 

12. Take Responsibility: Don’t blame your circumstances, living conditions, family, friends, etc., for not being motivated to write. You are responsible for what you do, and you have the ability to change. Claim responsibility for what will happen next.

Healthy Solutions vs. Myth

When life becomes busy, stressful, or we feel burned out, the common advice is to take a vacation. However, a break is often the wrong solution. When we don’t feel motivated to write, and haven’t been writing much, the solution is to push forward.

When breaks fail to refresh your spirit, kick your life into high gear and take a vacation from procrastination and a bare-minimum work mentality. The health advice thrown about is not always accurate. Examine who is giving you advice, then decide if they are the standard by which you want to live. 

Take advice from people you admire, not because a piece of advice is popular. 

Natural Setbacks

What happens when the motivation we’ve nurtured begins to fade? When our plan is behind schedule, how can we keep motivated to write?

Setbacks are natural. No amount of planning and strategizing will account for every circumstance, but these setbacks aren’t important. 

What’s important is our next action. Will we give in to discouragement, or will we accept the challenge? I quote Michael Scofield, “just have a little faith” in yourself. When you feel stagnant and unmotivated, faith is your best friend. Continue having faith, producing, and experimenting, and don’t give up over a mistake.  

Related: What Do You Want? Find the Motivation to Write

Ready to Be Motivated to Write?

I’ve known dark times without motivation, and this strategy has helped tremendously. I’ve tried many tactics, but this strategy is the cream of the crop. Use this strategy, and I guarantee your level of motivation to write will display a difference.

Now, you asked how to get motivated to write, and I gave you an answer, but will you do the work? Ask yourself, is investing your time and energy in a strategy that will revive your motivation to write worth your effort?

If your answer is Absolutely, yes!, don’t wait to start! Begin formulating your strategy, enacting your plan, and practicing the 12 actions. Have faith and you will get motivated to write!

Featured photo by Oliur Rahman from Pexels.