How to Stay Motivated?

Hello all. I know, I’m a day late. Apologies. Huh, looks like I’m doing that a lot lately. Well, to tell you the truth, this past month has been pretty hectic, what with me trying to finish my novel and . . . and that’s it. Sigh. It’s pretty sad, isn’t it?

Yes, the thing is, I’ve realized that motivation comes to me in cycles, and not all of the same length. Which makes things pretty difficult.

Granted, that’s a nice way to say that I have a major Lazy Gene that’s part of my DNA, and I’m having the toughest of times eradicating it (I mean, seriously, how can ANYONE resist watching Korean drama, huh?).

But now it’s back on, and right on time to put the (I hope) final touches to my bebeh before the World Fantasy Convention. Yep, I am pretty much looking forward to that one.

But let’s get back to our sheep, shall we (sorry, couldn’t resist doing a literal translation of a French expression a teacher of mine used to say all the time, back in the olden days) . . .

Motivation. That one’s a slippery suckah. If I don’t concentrate, it just escapes me and I have to hunt for it all over again.

But there are some tricks to catching it (Motivation is a Very Wild Beast, I have found, and thus not easily tamed), and I figured I’d share a few of them with you:

1) Think about the final goal you want to achieve and break it down into smaller parts that are easily and realistically manageable. Then you won’t feel so Sisyphus-sy.
2) Find a point about the task at hand that you find really exciting and focus on that.
3) Think of the hard parts as mini challenges and you are a mighty night of the round table about to bring that beast down. Boo-yeah!
4) Surround yourself with positive people who give you energy instead of taking it--this step is VERY crucial and constantly plays a major role in my life. (Yes, I thank you ALL so very much for being so supportive!).

Well, that’s all folks for today. If you have any other ways you can come up with that help keep you motivated, please share in the comments section.

--The Writing Apprentice

PS: I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a “research” article in here. It’ll come, but probably not till November as I find these Quest Posts way easier to write than the others (I take it it probably means these are also a lot easier to read, huh?).

For those of you who are stellar procrastinators, like me :)