In the last two months (December and January combined), I’ve written over 120,000 words. Between my creative projects, blog pots and newsletters, I have sat down each day to put words to the page minus a couple of days here and there stretched between holidays and needing to recharge my batteries. Besides the exclamation from those in my life who call me “prolific,” the question I most often get is what keeps you motivated to write?
“Motivation is the reason or reasons for writing coupled with the desire and willingness to do it.”
For a story about this book and motivation check out my IG: @cl.walters
The simple answer (which won’t offer any clarity) is that writing fulfills me and when I’m writing I feel like the best version of myself (which means on the flip side, when I’m not writing I’m horrible to live with because I’m a shade from the twelfth circle of the Underworld).
A more complicated answer is that I’m addicted to the feeling of seeing words come together to express an idea (I could probably cite something scientific about endorphins here). I love the thrill of meeting new characters and discovering their adventure with them. I live in my head most of the time, so writing offers an escape valve. My spirit is happy when I am creating, but I know this isn’t a helpful answer.
I have a feeling that this motivation question has been posed, because the asker is interested in the magic elixir to help with their own motivation (Huge assumption, I know. Forgive me if I’m wrong). The unfortunate truth is that there is no magic potion. Sorry. But let me come back to this after offering a bit more from other authors and what gets their butts in the seat and the words on the page.
Brandann Hill-Mann, the New Adult Speculative Fiction author of The Hole in the Universe Series shared that “The voices in my head won’t shut up until I let them run amok. Someone has to write that incident report, and apparently I’m the only witness.” (She’s hilarious, by the way, and her books have just as much snark which I’m a sucker for). Ally Aldridge, YA Fantasy author of Ocean Heart, shared a similar sentiment to Ms. Hill-Mann, “The voices (story ideas) get crowded in my head and I have to let them out, otherwise they drive me crazy.”
For many of the authors I chatted with, writing was as much of an escape as a need to share a story. Rayna York, YA Contemporary author of When Life Gives you Lemons Instead of Lattes as well as Everything I Thought I Knew, said “Writing is another form of escapism. When you write, you're in control of that escape. As I mentioned before, my stories are based on dreams, which are extremely vivid [...] the character’s voices continue on in my head and their words need to be written, eventually turning into a full manuscript.” Sophie Fahy, author of Through Her Eyes, a YA suspense novel, expressed that “[Writing] is everything to me. My ideas consume me that sometimes, I don’t want to leave the house. When I was younger, I did it because I believed I was good at it [...] but when I write, sometimes I do it for therapy. To ease my anxiety and depression. For escape.”
There might be an assumption that most authors are internally motivated to write. While many are, I loved how Julia Scott, YA/NA Dystopian author of The Mirror Souls Series shared that for her the driving force behind her writing is external. “Knowing that people love and find value in my stories is such a driving force for my motivation, and that’s why I always encourage people to write reviews for the books they love because I know how much it helps some authors to keep on keeping on! Being hassled by readers who have enjoyed the first book and now want to know the rest of the story has really helped me push through the mental blocks that I seem to put in place for myself. I’m an all or nothing writer, so writing little and often doesn’t work for me. I just have to throw myself head first into my projects and barely come up for air until they’re done [...] I need the external motivation from others wanting to hear my stories[.] I’m eternally thankful to those who have given my books a try and to those who want more!”
An interesting perspective cropped up when Piper Bee, YA Contemporary author of Joy’s Summer Love Playlist, linked both that extrinsic motivation with the internal drive. “I tend to ride the waves of excitement when I am hammering out a book, but when the fatigue gets me, deep down I [push through] because stories change people [...] I think about the people who will be able to cope better or be closer to personal revelations, [and] I find the will to keep going.”
And like all creatives, Ms. Aldridge hit the heart of what motivates many of us. “I need to write [...] if I go too long not writing, it really gets me down.”
Six different authors, seven including me, and each of us explore our own spin on the driving force behind sitting in the chair and putting words to the page. Every creative can provide a list of motivating factors to explore their motivation, but what motivates each one is different. The key to finding that drive is discovering what motivates your momentum forward. Ultimately, that magic elixir isn’t something purchased or bestowed upon you like ancient wisdom. The magic potion is YOU.