Four writers share their motivation tips

Staying consistently motivated with your writing is absolutely key when it comes to finishing a novel.

Finding ways to show up and write even when life gets in the way (or we just don’t feel like it!) is all part of making writing a priority and growing as an author, but it’s not always easy to focus.

In fact, getting yourself to sit down and write can sometimes feel like the hardest thing.

To give you some ideas, I asked some really inspiring writers what motivates them and how they stay focused on their writing in the day-to-day.

Abigail Mann Colour Author Photo — Abigail Mann

Abigail is an author currently living in London after ping-ponging around the country since leaving university. She grew up in Norfolk, which is partially to blame for her sardonic sense of humour, and the reason ‘crabbing’ is her favourite hobby. Her first stint living in the capital became the influence for her novel, The Lonely Fajita, which came runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print prize last year. It’s out this summer in e-book and paperback, with another book to follow in winter.

“I gave myself a year to write The Lonely Fajita, and that deadline helped immeasurably. I’m a strong believer in working with the time you’ve got, which might seem super lame, but honestly, I wouldn’t get anything done otherwise! I use my primary school numeracy skills to figure out how many words need to be written each day to finish a first draft, and then that becomes my target. I used the CWIP competition deadline as my personal deadline (which turned out pretty well!), and now that I’m writing my second, I try to write every day, even on the days that I’m working my day job.

A huge lesson I’ve learnt is to not be too ambitious with my daily word count. 500 words on a work day and 2500 on a writing day is reasonable, with the odd ‘wiggle room week’ thrown in just in case of emergencies, like getting ill, which is fairly common when you use the London Underground on the regular.

The other thing that keeps me going is noise cancelling headphones and an app called Tide, which plays ambient sounds. I can block out distractions AND imagine that I’m in a cabin whilst a storm rages in the background.”

Katharine Schellman

Katharine Schellman studied theatre and history at the College of William & Mary, after which she went on to work in political consulting, dance professionally, and collect addresses up and down the east coast of the United States. *The Body in the Garden* is her debut novel, a historical mystery that has been called "wonderfully smart," "thoroughly engrossing," and "a perfect London crime novel." Katharine currently lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia with her husband, preschooler, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering.

“When it comes to in-the-moment focus, I find that writing with a plan or an outline helps me get in the writing headspace quickly and use my time wisely. Rather than sitting there wondering what to write about, I know exactly what needs to happen next and can immediately get lost in the story. But overall, I have to admit that focus is something I struggle with!

Like many writers, I have to juggle fiction, my day job, my family and friends, general life management, and (whenever I can manage it!) time for myself. That often leaves me feeling like I'm being pulled in too many directions to devote my energy to any one thing as well as I would like. That's life! But when it comes to the big picture, I think the key to focus is motivation. I've wanted to be a novelist since I was about six years old, and keeping that at the front of my mind really encourages me to use my time well and focus on making forward progress with my writing. When you know what motivates you — whether that's a personal goal, an accountability partner, or a story that you feel really passionate about — that can really inspire a lot of focus.

I'm also, if I'm being honest, a little bit competitive. So one thing that really motivated me to finish my first book and find an agent was reading books I didn't like! Each time I finished a book and thought, "I can do better than that," I'd have to acknowledge that the author had at least done something — finishing a book! — that I hadn't yet achieved. That really pushed me to actually follow through on my goal. Now that I have an agent and my first book coming out, that provides an additional layer of motivation. I want to keep writing and publishing, and I want to see my next book be even better than this first one. So now I'm motivated by competing with myself!”

Zoe+Lea+Author — Zoe Lea

Zoe Lea lives in the Lake District, UK with her husband, two children, dogs and peregrine falcons. As well as writing, she helps manage an animal tracking company used for raptors and other wildlife. She's previously worked as a teacher, photographer and in the television industry, but writing has always been her passion. She is currently working on her next novel. Find her on Instagram and order her exciting novel,The Secretary.

“I suppose, I tend to keep motivated with my writing in the day to day by only focusing on small parts of the process.

I'm an over-thinker, and if I don't keep a check on myself, I can easily fall down the rabbit hole of overwhelm. That voice that tells me there's too much to do, it's too big a mountain to climb, I may as well do anything else other than write because...you get the idea. It's so tempting to listen to, and to believe, and it can keep me from going near the keyboard at all!

To combat this, and to keep up my enthusiasm for writing, I try my best not to listen to that voice and instead, focus on one thing that I want to accomplish in my writing that day. Just one thing.

It might be a scene, a chapter, an edit of a thousand words, a rewrite of a couple of scenes. I tell myself to forget the end product, the thing that makes me freeze, and instead, concentrate on the one thing I'm writing that day and nothing more.

Once I've done that one thing, I then make a note of what the next step is and that's the thing I'll focus on for the next day.

I used to do weekly and monthly plans, but seeing all those days and what I had to accomplish in them really seemed to put me off, so now I just do it day by day.

The other thing that helps if I'm really struggling for motivation to get writing is to set a timer and just doing twenty minutes. Knowing that I only have to write for twenty minutes has this wonderful trick of completely changing my mindset, and quite often, when the timer goes off, I keep writing. It's all about just getting over that first hurdle and sitting down with the words. Once I've done that, the rest of it is easy (ish).”

Rosie O'Neill Author — Rosie O’Neill (me!)

Rosie O'Neill writes thrillers with a fantasy twist. She's also a creative copy and content writer. Hire her to write for your brand (including author websites or new copywriter businesses!) or even to teach you how to write more effectively for your business.
Every couple of weeks, she shares thoughts, ideas and honest life lessons on living and working as a creative. Sign up to join her for more exclusive email content - including writing tips, inspiration and priority access to resources.

“Getting focused, for me, is all about the set up. I find it much easier to get into writing mode if I can settle down with a nice quiet space, my favourite music on, and my phone far out of reach. Mindset is another important thing to consider, and a breath of fresh air or a short walk always helps me clear away the mental distractions that can get in the way of writing.

I notice that my focus and creative energy is always stronger first thing in the morning, so wherever possible I’ll plan my writing time around this - all the focusing tricks and social media blockers in the world won’t do much if you’re trying to force yourself to write when you’re overtired or thinking of everything else you have on your to-do list.

At the heart of my motivation is carrying a strong purpose or 'why' with me as I write. When it really comes down to it, I genuinely enjoy most of the writing process - whether that's outlining, drafting or editing - and that in itself is a great motivator when you need to spend a lot of time on something. I really believe in the stories and characters that I'm bringing to life, and even if I don't feel like writing at first, I can usually find my flow after getting past that initial resistance.”