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Young Writers Society


No time to write...?My own tips on getting motivated



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Tue May 13, 2008 4:16 pm
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Eimear says...



From my own personal experience, using the excuse that I simply 'have to no time to write' is one of my strongest writing blocks. For most of us, it's a way of self-reassurance- (you could be a best selling writer, if you didn't have to do the washing up, play basketball three nights a week and try and keep on top of your homework).

News flash. This is not a legitimate reason for not writing. We only have to look at probably the most sensational rags to riches stories in the writing world of our very own J.K. Rowling to see that a novel can flourish in even the most hostile environments- whether it be lack of money, social support or even paper (although she strongly denies writing on napkins!)

Another quite remarkable example is Scott Turow, an attorney in America who wrote his first published novel 'Presumed' as he rode the 7.39 a.m. Chicago and North Western train, his desire to write simply to strong to ignore.

So when you think about it, do you really lack time to write your dream novel? Or is it our old friend procrastination that's stopping you?

Here are some tips for busting the block:
1. Get a piece of paper and a pen, and write down these three sentences, and finish them so that they apply to you.

I am not writing right now because…
The reason I can’t overcome this is….
A good thing coming from not writing is…

2. Time management. I can’t stress this enough. Accounting for the hours of the day is essential if you want to be as productive as possible, and still have enough time left over to relax. Drawing up a table for study, leisure, chores, socialising and writing (most importantly, of course..) will help you allocate enough of your energy for each task, and is a good way of decreasing stress so that you are not either running around like a headless chicken at ten o’clock at night searching for your history essay or ripping up your writing in a blind rage due to lack of sleep.

3.Routine. Getting into a habit of writing for the same length of time, at the same time of day is highly beneficial as you will be mentally and physically prepared to write.

4.Relax! Forcing yourself to write can be destructive too. Try to remember every time that you get disheartened why you started to write, and gradually the words will flow. And remember, if you write from the heart and try your hardest, it shines through.

So why aren’t you writing right now??
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Oscar Wilde.
  








True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are, it requires you to be who you are.
— Brené Brown