My Writing Ramblings: Finding my Motivation

May is finally on the horizon.

April has seemed such a long month.

There is certainly a strange atmosphere right now as we all try and navigate our way through this situation. To me, it feels like that week between Christmas and New Year where you’re waiting for something to happen but not quite sure what to do with yourself.

I am naturally the type of person who likes being at home, preferably with warm pyjamas, a duvet, a cup of tea, a snoozing cat and a book although I am slightly obsessed with Animal Crossing right now. Despite being this type of person, even I am beginning to struggle with the lockdown. It’s necessary to stay at home but we’re only human. It’s natural to find it hard, even when you know it’s the right thing to do.

At the beginning of April, I was struggling with motivation to do anything (my enthusiasm to do housework is never there.)

It’s amazing how tiring doing nothing makes you, right?

I have been reading a lot which I love. I am also finally writing and I am so proud of this fact.

If you’re struggling to be motivated, I wanted to share something that has really helped me in the last few weeks.

Since discovering a website called Unchained Writer, I have managed to write every day since 9th April. My aim is 1,000 words each day and for the most part, I have managed this with a couple of exceptions. Regardless, it all helps to get me closer to writing and finishing a novel I have been trying to find the confidence to write for years.

Unchained Writer has been a real game changer for me. It’s made such a difference.

One of the main things I use it for are the live writing sessions. There you can connect with other writers via a chat function. You declare your goal and then a timer is started. For the next hour, you write, knowing that the support is there if you need it.

Right now, they are holding sessions every day. For me, it has provided support and more importantly, accountability. I’m now 20,000 words into my novel, further than I have ever got before.

This website isn’t free. I pay a fee every month. For me, this is good. It pushes me even when I don’t want to go anywhere near the keyboard. It gets my bum in my chair and that’s half the battle isn’t it.

That’s not to say that it’s all be plain sailing. There have been days where motivation abandons me in a big way. I’ve even had to break that 1,000 words goal down further by setting a timer and writing two hundred words at a time until I reach that 1,000.

I realise that this isn’t going to work for everyone and that’s OK. I know it has helped me and thought it may assist you.

However, whether you’re managing to write or not, don’t be too harsh on yourself right now. As someone who suffers from anxiety, I know how difficult this is to achieve but it’s an important point to remember.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. We need to give ourselves a break and take one day at a time. After all, a duvet day is never a day wasted. That’s my opinion anyway.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.