Angela Booth's Writing Blog

No motivation? Get inspired

One of our writers felt completely unmotivated. “My best friend made me come tonight,” she said, and smiled ruefully. “I’m glad I did, but I’ve completely lost my motivation for writing. Some days I struggle to get out of bed.”

A member said she’d experienced something like this. “That happened to me. I don’t think it’s a block. Maybe you’re dealing with burn out or a form of depression.”

Three members who’d suffered burnout or depression separated to offer help, and share their experiences and insights.

After that Beth, the group’s veteran author, shared this weird strategy: “whenever you feel stressed and unmotivated, imagine something, and describe it. Your mood will change. I’ve done this for years if I’m just not in the mood; it works.”

Discover the motivation trick.

 

Unsure about freelancing? Develop the personality for success

1. Persistence: you won’t give up on your dreams and goals

Persistence matters. Both overall—you’ve decided on a career and won’t quit—and with writing projects too.

You happily take on projects you know will stretch you, and persist, even if a project challenges you. You’re prepared to meet your deadlines (see the third trait below), no matter what.

2. Ego: you accept editing suggestions gracefully

As writers, we get caught up in our words. Every writer has a tendency to reject criticism. Let go of that, and let go of your words too, after a project is done.

Here are the other traits you need for success.

 

If you can't sell your fiction, these tips could help

Please, write consistently, and effortlessly. If you’re forcing yourself to write, it will always be a struggle, and sooner or later, you’ll give up.

Luckily, writing can be easy, and so can sales, if you’ll stop worrying, and use your creativity and imagination.

To sell your fiction, write the easy way: avoid forcing yourself

Writers and authors who think “writing is hard” are flogging a dead horse. That is, they’re calling on their logical self to create. Your logical self can’t do that, only your creative self can.

Develop the habit of free writing. From The Tao Of Writing: Imagine. Create. Flow, by Ralph L Wahlstrom:

Free writing is as close to magic as anything you are likely to experience in writing. It can give you story ideas, article topics, and more; through it, you may be able to break through writing logjams by appealing to your inner voice.

Read the article.

 

Your first scene "sets the scene" for your novel

Your first page is the most important page in your novel; it's part of your first scene.

(The first scene after the prologue, if you have one.)

 

Your first scene establishes:

• Your plot (answering your reader's "so what, why should I read this?" question);

• The novel's main character. What kind of person is he/ she? What challenges threaten him/ her?

• A setting: the world of your novel. Is your reader drawn in?

• Curiosity and tension in your reader, who's eager to know what happens next...

Do you have confidence in your first scene?

Perhaps you need guidance.

 

Writing success: failure guarantees it (believe it, it's true)

You can’t avoid failure, so embrace it. I’m offering this insight to you because I’ve had a week of writers telling me that whatever they’re doing (self-publishing, content marketing, blogging etc) “isn’t working.”

One self-publishing author said: “I can’t see how they (she named a couple of bestselling titles) did it. They must be tricking Amazon or something, because…” She continued with a long rant about her own books’ rankings on the Kindle Store.

Please, write your stuff your way, and keep writing. That’s all you need to do: keep going.

From Achieve Your Goals: Avoid Panic With 3 Tips To Overcome Failure:

I mentor writers and marketers every day and know they’re well on their way to success when they’re excited by failure, rather than depressed.

Read the article.

 

Write and achieve: writing makes goals real

If you want to achieve your goals, why is it important to write them down?

Achieve your goals: start by putting your goals in writing

You’ve heard about SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Use the SMART goals strategy to define your goals, but don’t stop there. The more you write about your goals, the more real they will become to you, and the more ideas you’ll get to help you to achieve them.

Here’s an excellent quote to inspire you from motivational guru Denis Waitley:

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, learn about them, or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable.

Start by creating one major SMART goal.

Read the full article.

Stuck: what if you just can't write?

In a recent meeting of our writers’ group, we talked about how challenging writing can be if you’re unmotivated.

Write anyway, even if you’re unmotivated… But what if you’re blocked, or depressed?

One of our writers felt completely unmotivated. “My best friend made me come tonight,” she said, and smiled ruefully. “I’m glad I did, but I’ve completely lost my motivation for writing. Some days I struggle to get out of bed.”

A member said she’d experienced something like this. “That happened to me. I don’t think it’s a block. Maybe you’re dealing with burn out or a form of depression.”

Three members who’d suffered burnout or depression separated to offer help, and share their experiences and insights.

Read the article, Write Anyway If You’re Unmotivated: Try A Weird Strategy.

This Week’s Writing Tip: All You Need Is Time

One of the most common things I hear from writing students is that they “don’t have time” to write.

Me neither. No one has time to write — you must take time.

What if time is all that’s standing between you and writing success?

This week’s writing tip: schedule writing time

You can schedule your time in any way which suits you:

• An hour a day (or five minutes a day);
• An hour once a week;
• Ten minutes a day, every day…

There’s only one unbreakable rule. Be consistent.

Be consistent and build a habit

Charles Duhigg’s excellent book, The Power of Habit, reports that you build the habits you want to instill in your life by creating a habit loop.

The habit loop consists of:

• Cue
• Routine
• Reward

Set a cue: schedule your writing time on your calendar.

Over time, your block of writing time will become routine. You can create your own rewards if you like, but your satisfaction from your writing is your real reward.

Once you’ve set the cue, the routine and the reward in place, you’ll build a writing habit.

As more time passes, your writing habit becomes automatic. You don’t need to think about setting time aside to write; you just do it.

Build a fiction ghostwriting business: start today

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In this new program you'll discover how to build a new business as a fiction ghostwriter in just seven days. The program includes everything you need. Get started today.

Do More With What You Have

“I don’t know what to write,” a coaching student told me. “I’ve got some ideas, but they’re boring.”

“Do more with what you have,” I suggested.

She’s been writing fiction for over a year so she has:

• Two novels, a novella, and half a dozen short stories she’s published;
• Novels she’s started;
• Unpublished short stories;
• Ideas for characters and situations;
• Advertising she’s written…

Everything you’ve written is inventory: make the most of it

If you’re wondering what to write, why not take an inventory of what you have?

Whenever I look back over what I’ve written for the year, it sparks new ideas. Taking an inventory sparked ideas for my student too.

She decided that she would:

• Develop a spin-off series from a character in one of her novels;
• Complete three short stories and publish them;
• Collaborate on a novel with her sister.

Get inspired: take an inventory today

Not sure what to write?

Take an inventory. You’ll be inspired.

Amazon Short Reads: write short stories and nonfiction ebooks and build your profits today

Have you checked out this program? It shows you how to make money from short ebooks.

Amazon has two categories for short ebooks. They are: Kindle Short Reads and Kindle Short Stories. You’ll learn how to make money with these two categories in this eye-opening report.

After you read the report, you may well decide that your income will benefit when you write SHORT ebooks, both fiction and nonfiction. Get started NOW.

Writing To Sell: When You Can’t Write, Write Anyway (3 Tips To Help)

Whenever a student says something like: “My writing isn’t selling…” I ask a question: “What did you write today?”

Writing to sell: if you don’t write, you have nothing to sell

Writers write… I’m sure you’ve heard that before. The corollary is, if you don’t write, you won’t have anything to sell. Look at it this way: you’re a writer. Writing is your responsibility. Moreover, it’s something you can control.

You can’t control:

• Your clients (whether or not you get a gig for which you pitched/ whether a client pays you on time/ whether a client changes his mind…)
• Your book sales. You write the best book you can and you promote it. You can hope that it sells…
• Your life. Stuff happens: good stuff, as well as bad stuff… Whatever happens, you’ll deal with it, but you can’t control it…

When I ask a writing student: “what did you write today?” it’s rare that the student wrote anything. He has lots of reasons for not writing — every writer has good reasons for not writing.

Write anyway, even if you can only manage five minutes of writing on your phone.

Let’s look at some tips to help you to write anyway, no matter what else is happening in your life.

1. Hate what you’re writing? Write something else

I’ve been procrastinating on a novel for almost a week, which is unusual for me. My default behavior is always to wake up, feed the dogs, make coffee, and start writing fiction.

So this morning, when I opened the novel’s Scrivener file, I read a scene and closed the file. It’s time to let this novel gestate for a while. I’m writing the novel for me, rather than a ghostwriting client, so there’s no downside.

Instead, I started on a new novella, in a different genre. I can write the novella in a week; I’ll revisit the novel once that’s done.

2. Writing inspires writing: turn on your faucet

Truth, from my favorite Louis L’Amour quote:

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

If you’re waiting for inspiration to strike like a smack from your fairy godmother’s magic wand, chances are that that won’t happen.

It may do. You might get a sudden rush of blood to the head, sit at your computer, then write 5,000 words of sheer brilliance. If you’re lucky, that happens once a year.

Inspiration happens while you’re writing. Write, even if you’re not sure what you’re writing. Your creative self knows.

3. Not in the mood to write? Write for five minutes

What if you’re not in the mood to write?

Moods come and go.

We like to ascribe reasons for moods. You can tell yourself you can’t today write because:

• You’ve just completed a big project; you deserve a rest;
• You’re too stressed. As soon as you manage your stress, you’ll write;
• You don’t have time…

Whenever you tell yourself you’re “not in the mood” to write, set a timer for five minutes. Start writing. Stop when the timer sounds.

Oddly enough, once you’ve written for five minutes chances are that you’re suddenly in the mood to write more. ;-)

Discover what sells in mystery fiction — YOU can write it

Check out our new program, Write Your Bestseller: Write HOT Mystery, Thriller & Suspense now. You can write a mystery, even if you’re a new novelist.

Live Your Passion: Write and Sell (Ezine)

The next issue of our writing tips ezine is out tomorrow.

Our theme is living your passion.

Here's an excerpt from the Editorial:

In the ezine this week, we're discussing your passion. I know that I discuss making money as a writer, because that's the entire point of both the ezine and the blog.

However, passion is equally important. Someone once said that if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. That's very true; I don't think of my writing as work -- it's a joy. :-)

I wish you the same joy.

What are YOU passionate about?

Our three articles this week discuss living your passions.

Enjoy the issue.

Subscribe here.

 

Writing Career: Manage Your Time, Succeed at Your Writing

Want to build an amazing writing career? Perhaps you'd like to write a book, and see it on bookstore shelves. Or perhaps you want to launch your own copywriting business. Whatever your goals for your writing career, you can make them happen, and more quickly than you can believe.

I've been writing for over 30 years, so I know how devastating procrastination and a lack of motivation can be. Before I learned effective time and self-management skills, I gave up on projects which would have been successful, had I known how to motivate myself in those days.

Here are three tips which will help you to manage your time, and succeed at your writing.

1. Commit to your goals: and keep quiet about them. Do you have goals, or dreams? There's a big difference. A goal has a deadline, a plan for achievement, and daily tasks which help you to achieve. A dream, on the other hand, is just something you think you may want to do... someday.

So your first step in managing your time is to choose at least one dream, and turn it into a goal.

And please -- shush! Keep quiet about your goals. There's no need to share them with others. Talking about your goals (and defending them) takes energy you should save for your writing.

2. Write first, every day. You're a writer. However, life will tend to crowd  out your writing, if you allow it.

Commit now to making writing the first thing you do, every single day. Get out of bed, and start writing. (Yes, you're allowed to take care of necessities first, and you can grab a cup of coffee.)

You'll discover that when you write first, even if your writing session is just 20 minutes long, you set the tone for your day. You'll be amazed that you somehow mange to find additional minutes to write.

3. Clear your mind, and relax. Do you multi-task? You may want to stop doing that. Inspiration happens when you're relaxed, not when you're rushed.

I hate the term "muse", but there's no other term I can think of for the still, quiet whispers of inspiration. Clear your mind, and listen to them.

So there you have three tips, which will help you to manage your time, and succeed at your writing. You'll be amazed at the difference they make.

 

 

Are you convinced that you have no time to write? With Angela Booth's amazing "Time To Write: Build Your Writing Career Minute By Minute" you'll discover that you have more time than you imagine. Angela helps writers to succeed. Get weekly writing tips, completely free, when you subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine. Coming soon: the 100 Day Challenge. Join us for it: there's still time to achieve the goals you set for 2010.

Lazy writer's guide to goal setting for 2010

I first posted this article on lazy goal setting for writers back in 2007.

I've had many messages about its usefulness; so here it is again, updated for 2010.

This goal setting process has worked for me for many years, and it's worked for my writing students too.

It's the lazy person's way of goal setting; I prefer to let my subconscious mind work out the details. You'll find that using your imagination to set goals is much easier and more effective than using will-power. It's a right-brained process, so it's ideal for creative types. :-)

I set three kinds of goals for each year: creativity goals, productivity goals, and financial goals. You can set goals in any area of your life; these are the writing-related goals I set.

When you're following my lazy writer's process, setting your goals for the year takes around half an hour for the basic process.

The basic lazy writer's goal setting process - it's fun

You'll need a large sketch pad, pencils and pens.

Choose a time when you're alone; close the door and turn off the phone. Play some relaxing music. I like Early Music - that is, Medieval / Renaissance / Baroque music, so I put on a CD, and set the volume low.

Write "2010" as the title on a blank page in your sketch pad.

Now close your eyes, and imagine yourself on today's date in 2010. (You can lie down if you wish, so you can really relax.)

You're daydreaming, and reviewing what you've accomplished in 2010. Just let your mind drift. Take several deep breaths, and listen to your music.

Relax, and dream... It's today's date in 2010. Where are you? Are you at home? Somewhere else? Just follow wherever your imagination leads you. Perhaps you're having a conversation with your partner or a friend, and are discussing your writing achievements in 2010. Perhaps you're at a dinner party...

You may be surprised at what you hear. Just pay attention to what's happening in your imagination, listen to who's talking, and what they're saying about your writing successes in 2010.

Without breaking the connection to the scene you're imagining, draw balloons on your sketch paper, and write your accomplishments in the balloons - "completed my novel", "sold an article to X magazine", "my Web site attracts copywriting clients", "sold a nonfiction book proposal"...

Just relax, listen to your music, and let yourself imagine. The scenes may change several times; you're daydreaming. Just go with it - don't try to direct this process, just let yourself imagine.

After ten minutes or so, sit up and look at the balloons and read what you've written in them.

How do you feel? Are you inspired?

If you don't like what you see, turn to a new page in your sketchpad, and do the process again. You can repeat this process as many times as you like.

If you're feeling a little scared and excited at what you see in your balloons, that's great! That's what you're aiming for. Often what's in your balloons amazes you.

Next: write ABOUT your goals

Put your sketchpad aside for a few days. When you have time, look at your balloons again. This time, set some goals for 2010 based on your balloons.

Write each goal at the top of a sheet of letter paper, in this form - "I choose to__________"

Viz:

* I choose to complete my novel in 2010

* I choose to write articles for X magazine in 2010

* I choose to sell my novel to a major publisher in 2010

* I choose to become a successful Web writer in 2010

For each goal, write 250 words about the benefits that achieving this goal will bring you. Don't censor yourself - write whatever comes to mind. As you're writing, you're imagining your achievements, and are making the goals real to yourself.

So there you have it: my lazy writer's guide to goal setting and writing success. Try it. It's very easy and it works.

Enjoy - you'll be amazed at how many of your goals you've achieved when you look back on 2010.

Develop a great income writing for the Web - start by writing simple articles

I've developed "Sell Your Writing Online Now" (SYWON) to help you to start making money writing online in 24 hours or less.

Each week, for one full year, you'll receive a lesson, with an assignment which will build your Web writing income – you EARN as you learn.

SYWON is totally unique, and if you want to write for the Web, it's your ticket to success.

New poll: your biggest writing challenge

Please share your challenges. Once I have the results, you'll find solutions to your challenges on the blog, and in the ezine.

Develop confidence in your writing: think positive

Want to improve your writing skills INSTANTLY?

You can.

Just think that you're a brilliant writer. 

No, you're not being foolish. You're managing your mind in the way it should be managed.

Try this simple exercise -- it only takes a moment.

Part A:

Think: "I'm so depressed, life just sucks..."

Part B:

Think: "Wow, my life is great! Iove my __________ "(fill in the blank with something you just adore.)

Notice the difference?

When you think negatively, you feel as if you're carrying the world on your shoulders. There's no way you can write well when you're suffering.

When you think nice thoughts, you feel better, instantly. And your writing improves too.

Here's a great, short article on the problem with positive thinking that you should read. Then resolve to think positively -- for your writing's sake. :-)

The reason, I think, is that negative thinking feels good. In its own way, we believe that negative thinking works. Negative thinking feels realistic, or soothes our pain, or eases our embarrassment. Negative thinking protects us and lowers expectations.

In many ways, negative thinking is a lot more fun than positive thinking. So we do it.

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