Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Motivation secrets: get motivated to write

A couple of days ago we talked about procrastination. From discussions with my copywriting students, I know that procrastination is something many writers beat themselves up over.

Procrastination leads to a lack of motivation. (Of course, this is a chicken and egg challenge - it's debatable which comes first, procrastination or a lack of motivation.)

This week I'll be discussing motivation secrets on Fab Freelance Writing Ezine. Discover the secrets to boosting YOUR motivation.

Technorati Tags: Motivation

What's your mission as a writer? Discover your mission and succeed

You can achieve all the goals you set yourself as a writer, and be miserable if you don't fulfill your mission.

Here's an excerpt from this week's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine's article:"Be A Successful, Selling Freelance Writer: Identify Your Writing Mission And Succeed":

Freelance writing is highly competitive, especially in areas like magazines, genre novels, and nonfiction books. Of course you can enter these writing areas and succeed, but you need to identify the competition, and you also must decide whether you really want to succeed in these areas. Basically, you need to identify your mission as a writer.

“Succeeding” in an area if you haven’t identified your mission as a writer can be a disappointing distraction. You can succeed, but the success will feel like failure.

The article helps you to identify YOUR mission as a writer; the issue is out on Wednesday. Subscribe here.

You can read the ezine's archives at Fab Writers' Ezine.

Technorati Tags: Motivation

You're a writer! You don't need anyone's permission to write

"I'd like to try writing..."

"I've always thought that maybe one day I could write..."

"What will the editor of XYZ magazine think if..."

These days everyone's online, and everyone writes. But when it comes to nailing their colors to the mast and proclaiming "I'm a writer!" many writers (young and mature) are nevertheless beset by doubts.

Tips:

* You're a writer because you write, and because you say so;

* You can write anything you like. You don't need anyone's permission, least of all an editor's;

* If you want to write, write. If you "don't have time", write in the bath, or talk into a digital recorder while you're pedaling an exercise bike. In five minutes, you can write a couple of hundred words, which is just about a page;

* No one knows what you CAN write. That's pretty much up to you. Only you know whether you've got the stamina to plant your butt in a chair and pound away at a keyboard. And butt in chair is really all that's required. SOMETHING will come out, and it's usually better than you could imagine;

* Editors are people with jobs. If you want to know what the editor of XYZ magazine would think, drop him or her an email message and ask. The worst that can happen is that you'll be ignored. If it seems that you are being ignored, try to find another email address for the editor, or be a mad fool and buy a stamp and write a letter. Persist with your questions, and you'll get answers;

* Again: you're a writer because that's what you do, and because you're brave enough to say so.

You're a writer. Yes, you are. :-)

Technorati Tags: Motivation, productivity, writing

How to Succeed At Your Writing With Four Steps To Success

Step 1. Decide what you want.

Do you know what you want? It's important that you know what you want to achieve. Success starts with knowing your goal. Unless you know where you're going there's no chance that you'll get there.

You may have hopes and dreams, but usually these are mixed up with fears and anxieties in your mind. We've discussed setting goals, if you haven't done that already set at least ONE GOAL right now.

Step 2. Act boldly. Writing is a process of discovery - how to succeed becomes evident only in the process.

Writing is a process of discovery -- all writing -- and you can't know how you'll achieve your goals until you've actually written. Writers write, and once you've decided what you want to achieve, start writing. The HOW will become apparent as you write, not before.

The writing process will always tell you what you're writing. You don't even have to know whether you're writing a novel, an essay, or a non-fiction book. The writing will tell you.

So act boldly, and start to write.

Step 3. Next, watch for the results of your actions.

The results can be reactions from other people, or your own reactions. Everything that happens when you write is feedback. As a writer, you have to get comfortable just writing, without necessarily knowing what the outcome will be.

The most important result is your own feelings. What does your instinct tell you? Are you enjoying your writing? If you're enjoying it, keep going.

Results also come from others, often in the form of rejections. Most writers worry about rejections. However, I can tell you right now, that sooner or later you will discover that what's most important is the writing itself, never a rejection. Your writing will have unintended consequences. You'll get help that you never expected. You'll make sales that you never expected.

It all starts and ends with your writing. Unless you're writing, you have no results to watch for. So act, that is write, and keep on writing.

Step 4. Change your actions until you achieve what you decided on in Step 1.

A world of possibilities will open for you when you act -- when you write. All you have to do is choose the next actions, which will achieve what you decided on.

This is perhaps the hardest thing for most writers, both new writers and highly experienced professionals, to learn -- to keep going in the face of obstruction. It goes against everything that seems instinctive, but it works. Our tendency when we're obstructed is to stop. Resistance to writing builds up.

Ride the horse forward!
I learned to ride when I was very young. Every rider knows that you ride the horse forward. No matter what the horse is doing, you ride forward. This stops rearing, bucking, shying and other bad habits that horses develop. You make the horse go forward, always. When the horse is moving forward, you have control.

It's the same with writing. No matter what the challenge, obstruction or resistance is, you write -- you keep going forward. You keep writing – the obstructions will magically melt away.

When you keep going forward -- you will succeed.

These four steps to success work with anything, not just writing – try them. You'll be stunned at the effects, I promise. :-)

Technorati Tags: 100 ways to be more creative, be more productive, creativity, practice your writing, procrastination, productivity, write more, Writing Tip

Develop contempt for your 2007 goals - and succeed

I've been reading writers' 2007 writing goals on various discussion groups and blogs, and what each writer wrote was revealing. I'd take a $100 bet anytime on which writers achieve their goals, and which do not.

What you say to yourself (and others) is vitally important to your success. The writers who won't succeed were beaten in their own minds already.

Dodo words, and no task list or specific time line

The writers who doubted themselves were easy to spot. They sounded tentative... as though their goals for 2007 were nice dreams. They used dodo words like "plan", "try", "aim", and "think". (By "dodo" I mean dead words.)

They "aimed" to "try" this or that market, or would "try" to write such and such.

They were beaten already. No offense to the writers. They were all new. From their voice, I estimate that they were all in the first three years of their writing careers. Writing is such a complex endeavor, no matter what you write, and there's so much to learn, that this tentative approach is completely understandable. If you don't KNOW, you don't know, right? You can only "try".

Wrong. You never try, you DO.

The most worrying aspect of these writers' goals was the tone of defeat. You can't win if you beat yourself! More to the point, if you REFUSE to even consider defeat, no one can beat you. (Viz the Australian cricket team and the prospective Ashes whitewash.)

I started my "real" writing career with a bang. I decided at age 29, that since I was selling my writing here and there, I could make a success of writing if I put some effort into the process. So I did. I gave myself until I was 40 to do it. I did it (sold a series of romance novels) in ten months.

I had a considerable amount of CONTEMPT for that goal.

It wasn't a matter of "trying" anything. It was a matter of planting my butt in a chair and DOING it. So I did.

Create goals with a task list and time line

To ensure success, you must translate your goals into specific tasks, and enter those tasks into your diary. See my post on how to "do goals" in Fab Freelance Writing.

Technorati Tags: get started freelance writing, make money writing, novel, Planning, productivity, publishing, Writing Tip

Six Secrets For Writing Success

This week a writer asked me whether I could guarantee her success as a writer. "Of course I can," I replied. "Just develop these six attributes. And by the way - these attributes are not just for writing. They apply to anything you care to apply them to."

Here you go:

One: become committed to your writing
Make time and space for your writing in your life. This isn’t always easy, and on some days you may only find five minutes, but it's the solid commitment and perseverance that counts.

When you're committed, you keep writing, even when your writing is (you think) going badly. You keep writing, even though you’re not sure why, or what you are going to write. All writing is a process of discovery. Commit yourself to discovering the writing that YOU were meant to write.

Two: be honest in your writing
Not only is your writing honest, you're also honest with yourself.

Three: be passionate about your writing
Writing is hard. You must write what you enjoy, if you don’t write what you enjoy, your readers won’t enjoy it either. The first rule of writing, is “be interesting”, and it’s impossible to be interesting if you’re not passionate about what you’re writing.

Four: be present to your writing
Being present to your writing means that when you’re writing, you’re really writing. Take time to relax before you write, do some relaxation exercises. Relax your body completely, when your body is physically relaxed, it’s impossible to be tense.

For many writers, anxiety is part of writing, but I’ve learned over the years that anxiety can be completely removed when your body is as loose and as limp as a noodle.

Five: be positive about your writing
One of Hemingway’s rules for writing was “be positive”, but you need to be positive about your writing as well as in your writing. This means that you regard every rejection as valuable feedback.

Much of your writing happens below the surface, in your subconscious mind, and you can’t know what’s happening down there. It's not important that you do. A pathway of rejections is always nudging you towards writing that succeeds. Just follow the path.

Six: trust – have faith in your writing
Following a pathway of rejections requires trust.

Trust that you're writing what you're meant to be writing. Trust that you're exactly where you're meant to be, right now. Whether your trust comes from your spiritual life, or from your positive nature, is not important.

When you trust, you’ll realize that you don’t need to force things. When you keep writing, things will happen, events that you could never have predicted, and that you could never have organized for yourself.

For example, my first novel was purchased by an editor because another editor sent my proposal to her. I'd already sent several proposals which didn't work to this editor. If I had taken these rejections to heart, and stopped sending proposals, I would never have made my first sale. I didn’t organize anything, it just happened.

I’ve noticed that over and over in writing, you need to trust that you're where you should be. Because you are.

So, there you go - six secrets for writing success. Develop these attributes. You can do it. :-)

My gift to you: Holiday Season Writer's Gift Pack - Santa's sleigh is packed with gifts for you, dear writer. I wish you and yours a joyous holiday, and your best writing year ever in 2007.

Technorati Tags: creativity, Motivation, writing

My gift to you: Holiday Season Writer's Gift Pack

Here comes Santa, and his sleigh is packed with gifts for all good writers.

This holiday season, for three weeks only, until January 1, 2007, all four of my current Special Reports For Writers are available in one pack at a very special price– it's my season's gift to you.

Each of the reports usually includes a half hour consultation with me (a $125 value), so of course as a Holiday Season Writer's Gift Pack purchaser, you get a completely FREE half hour consultation too. Your consultation can be via email or phone, and you can take it any any time in 2007.

Enjoy. I wish you the compliments of the season, and much success with your writing in 2007. :-)

Technorati Tags: 100 ways to be more creative, be more productive, copywriting, get started copywriting, get started freelance writing, Motivation, writing, writing ebook

Just write it: make peace with your writing self

Many writers are not writers by choice. There's something in them which "forces" them to write. It's a compulsion.

This compulsive-writer part of you is not sensible, in fact it can sometimes be downright contrary. If you're a freelance writer, it refuses to write high-paying material. If you're a hobby writer, it refuses to write elegant material that you can read with pride at your writers' group.

The worst thing you can do is to force your compulsive-writer self to write what the "sensible" part of you demands. Eventually, this will lead to a writing block, and depression. I discovered this early in my writing career. I was writing romance novels, and they were doing well. However, suddenly my compulsive-writer baulked. I couldn't write romance at all. Where previously words streamed from my fingertips, I had to force myself to squeeze out 50 words over a two-hour writing session.

Inevitably, I became blocked. The block lasted for at least a year, until I gave up trying to force myself to write. I relaxed, and before I knew it, I was writing copy for businesses, and articles for magazines.

The key to a happy writing life is to relax. Accept whatever material your writer-self (whether you're a compulsive writer or not) presents. I've been blocked several times over my career, and what I've learned is that I'm happier when I'm writing. For me, writing equals happiness. I've learned to accept that, and to accept whatever my writing self wants to write.

If you're blocked, or are forcing yourself to write, try relaxing. The more you try to control your muse/ inspiration, the more blocked you'll feel. Make peace with your writing self.

Technorati Tags: Motivation, writing

Practice your writing skills to achieve your writing goals

The more you write, the better you get at writing. Writing more will cure just about any writing ill, and writing more helps you to achieve your writing goals, whatever those goals may be.

From the archives:

* Writing practice

* You don't have to be a genius, you just have to practice

* Writers create inventory, and sell

* Access your creativity at will: drop down the rabbit hole of your imagination

* Change a habit, change your writing -- and life

Get lots more writing practice with my ebook: "Top 70 Writing Tips To Help You To Write More".

Technorati Tags: be more productive, Motivation, practice your writing, write more, writing

Write With Confidence - Ten Tips To Increase Your Writer's Self-esteem

Fab Freelance Writing Ezine Issue 7: Write With Confidence - Ten Tips To Increase Your Writer's Self-esteem is now online.

Not a subscriber? Get the ezine in your Inbox each week.

Technorati Tags: be more productive, freelance writing, get started freelance writing, make money writing