How to Maintain Momentum in Your Writing Practice
Photo by Oleg Ivanov on Unsplash
Can you visualize an ideal day in your writing life?
If you’re like most writers, then I imagine that day looks something like this: You sit down with your beverage of choice, crack open your manuscript, and slip into an easy creative flow. Words fly from your fingertips as you lose yourself for hours in a deeply fulfilling, highly productive writing session.
Isn’t this how you imagine your writing practice should unfold? It’s certainly the image that society has sold us concerning what a “real” writer’s creative work should look like.
But if that’s the case, then what happens when you don’t crank out words with ease? When writing proves painstakingly difficult? When you turn to avoidance and procrastination rather than doing the damn hard work? There must be something wrong with you. Right?
Maybe you aren’t really cut out to be a writer.
Maybe the writing life just isn’t your calling.
Maybe you should wallow in self-loathing for a while — or even quit writing altogether.
Do any other these thoughts sound familiar, writer?
If so, then know that you aren’t alone. It’s only natural to experience doubts and fears when feelings of inadequacy come out to play. The good news is that you aren’t any less of a writer for struggling to find your creative flow.
Multiple studies show that fewer than 25% of long-distance runners experience the famed runner’s high (i.e., the relaxing state of euphoria that can make it easy to run for miles). Yet no one would claim that runners who feel the burn of every step aren’t, in fact, runners. So why should you call yourself anything less than a writer for finding difficulty and challenge in creative work?
Today, I’m here to tell you that you can feel the creative burn and still enjoy the process. Moreover, you can learn to find a sense of ease and momentum in your writing life even when the work itself isn’t easy.
To build this momentum, we must first ask an important question:
Why Do We Procrastinate Creative Work in The First Place?
Allow me to reiterate that writing is often difficult. Those who claim otherwise are often the type of writer who believes their work is beyond reproach, and that’s shame. Because if you aren’t willing to criticize your work, then you’ll never experience growth in your craft.
That said, writing shouldn’t feel like constant torment either. We’re not aiming for self-flagellation here. Our goal in seeking creative momentum is to develop the willingness (and dare I say desire) to write even when we know that writing may be difficult. Unfortunately, it’s that knowledge that often leads us to procrastinate creative work.
As humans, we’re wired to choose the path of least resistance. If we’re safe and fed and whole, then we aren’t going to take any unnecessary risks. And writing? Writing puts our pride on the line.
When creative work gets difficult, we tend to procrastinate the challenge rather than face it head on because our egos are terrified that we’re going to embarrass ourselves. Their worst fear is that we’re going to lose all sense of pride and dignity by proving to the world that we’re incapable.
To save face, our egos begin to whisper ugly stories in our ears. Stories about how we aren’t good enough to be real writers. About how our work is too silly or stupid or cheesy for people to ever take it seriously. About how we’ll never be successful. About how making art is a selfish pursuit.
Even when we address these limiting beliefs in our writing lives, it can be difficult to overcome the urge to procrastinate because of what psychologists call the present bias — the human tendency to choose small, short-term gratification over bigger, long-term gratification.
The present bias holds true for most people even when they know they’ll be punished in some way for taking the easier reward. Unfortunately, this same principle applies to our writing lives. Most of us are more likely to watch another episode of our favorite TV show than sit down to write — even though we know we’ll feel disappointed in ourselves for failing to put pen to paper.
How, then, are we supposed to summon up the will to write even when don’t feel like writing?
Examining The Myth of Motivation
If you're in the habit of procrastinating difficult creative work, then there isn't going to come a day when you magically feel like writing. You may happen upon inspiration that momentarily motivates you to write, but you’re unlikely to stay motivated for long. Why is that the case?
Most people conflate motivation with desire. They want to feel like doing the thing they know they should do. But humans aren’t wired to choose a challenge when there’s an easier path to survival.
The vast majority of us aren’t going to feel like doing difficult creative work just because we can. We might momentarily have a reason for taking action, such as a shiny new story idea or a powerful pep talk from a fellow writer. But once that initial excitement and enthusiasm wears off, there’s a good chance that we aren’t going to feel like writing all over again.
So how do we drum up the motivation to write? Well, we don’t.
As Jeff Haden writes in The Motivation Myth, "Motivation is not the cause of action; it is the result of action."
When we sit down and do the damn hard work of writing, we cultivate a sense of pride and accomplishment that motivates us to keep on writing. We begin to view ourselves as capable of completing difficult creative work, which in turn helps us overcome our limiting beliefs and resist the powerful pull of our terrified egos.
It’s Newton’s first law: an object in motion stays in motion. The trick, of course, is to get the ball rolling in the first place…
How to Build and Maintain Creative Momentum
If you aren’t going to feel like writing until you actually start writing, then how in the world are you supposed to summon up the will to get started? Let’s take a look at three powerful tips:
#1: Start a Tiny Habit
The easiest way to lower your resistance to difficult creative work is to first lower your self-imposed expectations.
If writing for thirty minutes feels exhausting, then aim for ten instead. Or five. Or one. Setting such a small goal for yourself may seem silly, but writing one word will always get you farther than writing none.
In setting and achieving such a tiny goal, you’ll begin to build the confidence and self-assurance you need to slowly increase the scope of your new habit, ultimately helping you develop a consistent and productive writing routine.
Click here to learn more about the power of establishing tiny habits.
#2: Trust the Process
Even the act of writing a single sentence can feel like a monumental task when you pressure yourself to perfect every word. That’s why trusting the process is key to building momentum in your writing life.
Think of every story you write as a piece of furniture you’d like to renovate. You can’t create something incredible without first pulling that beat-up side table out of the junk heap at your local thrift store. That’s your first draft. It’s not pretty, and it’s definitely not suitable for showing guests. But it’s yours.
So you haul the table home and put in the dirty work — stripping, sanding, painting, and sealing it before you ever think about giving it a polish and sticking it in your living room.
To build momentum in your writing life, you need to trust in this same process. To be willing to let things look a little messy while you put in the elbow grease to transform them into something great.
#3: Focus on Deep Work
Popularized by Cal Newport in his book of the same name, the phrase "deep work" describes meaningful work completed in a flow state.
Earlier, I said that it’s rare for writers to experience a flow state in which words fly from their fingertips with ease. However, I do believe that anyone can learn how to accomplish difficult creative work with focus and efficiency.
To achieve this type of deep work, first consider the environment in which you write best. Are you more focused and creative at a certain time of day or in a specific location? With a little music or complete silence? With a salty snack or beverage at hand? Try to recreate this environment as often as possible.
The second step to achieving deep work is to identify your purpose. Deep work is meaningful work. You should have a strong reason for wanting to complete it. As a writer, can you identify why you want to write? How about why you’re working on your current work-in-progress?
Finally, to set yourself up for a successful deep work session, ask yourself the following three questions each time you sit down to write:
What project (or part of my project) do I want to focus on today?
How full is my creative tank?
What goal can I reasonably reach given the gas I've got?
Sometimes your goal will be 20 minutes. Other days it will be two hours or more. Never mind the scope of your goal. What matters is that you build faith in your ability to complete difficult creative work by honoring your energy.
After determining your goal for the day, lean into the work you’ve set for yourself. Give it all you’ve got. By choosing challenge over comfort, you’ll build the pride and momentum you need to write again another day!
Finally, take a moment to consider how you define your worth as a creative. In Build Your Best Writing Life, I discussed the importance of finding pride in the effort you put into your creative work rather than the output you produce.
While word count goals can prove a healthy form of pressure for some writers, too many storytellers steep their self-worth in whether they’re able to crank out 2,000 words every time they sit down the write. It’s unhealthy — toxic, even.
The fact of the matter is that you will always experience challenges in your writing life. Some scenes will be harder to write than others. Some days you’ll have more time and energy to give to your work. Whatever the case, flexibility is key to weathering creative turbulence and maintaining the momentum you need to keep on writing.
So recognize that all progress is good progress, and give your writing your best no matter what life throws your way. I can’t wait to see where your newfound momentum takes you, writer.
