Beyond Passion: Incentivizing and Motivating Yourself to Write

As writers, we write because it's what we love to do. We feel passion and excitement when we think about the stories we want to put on paper, the creation of characters, building worlds, crafting perfectly planned plot points. And it’s true; most of us can speak easily about how much we love (or feel compelled) to write.

However, no matter the enjoyment we feel or the passion we have for our favorite forms of fiction, sometimes writing feels hard.

Some days, the negative feelings may not last long. But other times we sit down to write and just can’t. Maybe it’s writer’s block or life events. Whatever the cause, sometimes it's difficult to motivate ourselves to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write the words.

There's a perpetual meme that writers are always doing anything other than writing, and it's funny until it's true. Writing doesn’t always feel easy, but that's ok. 

The good news is you can incentivize yourself. Here are some ways you can motivate yourself to get back to writing, one word at a time.

How to motivate yourself to write

Writing Sprints

Take the pressure off and instead of focusing on the number of words, focus on writing in a set amount of time. This may mean fewer words during each writing sprint, but trying to beat the clock can motivate you to set aside other distractions and just focus on one section at a time. If you find yourself sitting down for a sprint and are still stuck, read this post about writer’s block.

Enter a Contest

Writing contests are a great way to stretch your writing skills, hit a deadline, and ensure you are within a set word count. It’s not about winning, it’s about the craft and the practice!

Goal Setting

Choose how you want to set your goals (deadlines, number of words per day or week etc.) and start writing. We shared some tips on writing goals in an earlier post. (Spoiler: There’s no right or wrong way to set your goals!)

Join Writing Communities

Being a part of a writing group, or community (online or in-person) can be extra motivating. Not only can you chat with other writers about the joys and struggles of writing, but you can work together to sort through scene issues, character concerns and plot twists. These groups are also a great place to find beta readers and critique partners!

Reward Yourself

We hope you celebrate all of your wins as a writer, no matter how big or small. Keep track of your progress as you write, cheer yourself on, share your successes with friends and family and find the incentives and rewards you need to help keep you going.

If you need some extra motivation to write, try some of these steps. Reduce the pressure, ditch the expectations, and rekindle the passion you have for writing by taking it word by word.