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Writing Advice: What Makes You Write?

Or, alternatively titled: Why Do You Want to Write? In thinking about the next bit of advice to follow up on my previous post talking about helpful tips to consider before you get down to the writing, I hit a little blank. Not an absence of ideas, but difficulty in trying to pick what to put here next.

Think of that scene in The Simpsons where Monty Burns is told by the doctor he has every disease known to man, and cut to the model of them all trying to shove through the door representing his body. Except in this case, the door is my brain, and the dolls are ideas of what to tackle.

I've picked discussing motivation, or why you want to write, because a couple of pertinent quests made it clear as the next candidate. Much like the previous topic on practical, non-writing advice to help you get settled to write, I consider motivation to be an absolute foundation underpinning the efforts that will come next. It's also personal too. Believe it or not, I really struggle when it comes to motivation and self-belief when it comes to my writing, and despite what I've achieved, I am acutely aware that I could have done so much more if my head had been in the right place for this.

Consider this. Often when talking about elite sport, the focus is 10% on the actual physicality, and 90% on the psychology. What needs to be done, on a mental level, to be able to perform the best? Outside of writing I'm also a rock climber so I am versed in the above for sure, even at a casual level. Climbing is, whether indoors but especially outdoors, is very much a game about having great mental form - and if you have any doubts what this means in terms of achievement, go watch Free Solo. Watch it anyway, but for our purposes here it stands as a great example of how important the mind can be when it comes to achieving goals.

To bring things together a bit - I've been using a couple of terms interchangeably. Motivation. Self-belief. Mental strength. I am not being imprecise with my language, but instead trying to point to a number of ways this topic manifests. We talk in writing about the craft being hard, but I don't think we emphasize how much writing comes down to what's going on in your head. And no, not talking about ideas here.

There are, before you get any words down on the page, lots of pressures that can make achieving your writing goals difficult, things beyond figuring out the plot of your story, how to make a character sound write, or edit that tricky first draft up to the potential you know it has.

Take a moment to consider what yours may be?

In the spirit of learning, here's mine. For one, a lack of self-belief and self-confidence. I wrap those up as one for me, because I often find my motivation and ability to sit down and get good work done is hindered by whether I can wrangle myself into a positive mindset about my work and ability. It's beyond questions about whether people will like my work, but larger questions that I have a habit of dressing up with negative logic rather than calling myself out on my acts of mental self-sabotage. In an age of social media, limited attention spans, flashy attention grabbing media and uninspiring educational introductions to reading (did school really provide you with exciting books?), how can anything I hope to write possibly compete? Hasn't that ship - people enjoying reading - sailed? Am I just contributing to a dying art form and should instead just learn to draw?

The above is just one slightly less personal (I am not going to open up that much here as this is about learning, not a journal) but a useful example of where something going on in my head is putting the brakes on my writing progress. Because, before I have even sat down to get to the actual hard tasks of writing, I've sabotaged myself by weighing myself down with questions (though legitimate) are if I'm honest, me finding ways to dress up negativity. And since I think negatively about my prospects for writing, it affects how I feel about my writing, which in turn impacts my actions when it comes to writing. In the end, I could get way more done if I had a more positive headspace - if I thought more positively about my writing, I would feel better about it, and act better too. This is however, straying too much into territory that is not about writing but more about mental health, and I am not qualified to offer advice there. What, hopefully, we can see is some way in which how you think about writing is important, and so if you are struggling with belief, it is important to invest some energy looking into it and making that better.

Returning to more traditional writing territory, what is your motivation to write? Goals are more achievable when you break large ones down into smaller ones, and the same is about your motivation to write. Break it down further - what is your objective to write about this story? That scene? We often as writers talk about how you should write what you're interested in to some level, as that interest will show to the reader. That's absolutely true. From experience, the hardest stories to write were never on a technical basis. The hard ones were always the ones where I was trying to write something I wasn't really interested in, and that perhaps, showed in my writing. It's very much why I've pivoted away from writing in response to furry anthology calls, to doing my own thing here. I just often wasn't that interested in the topics of the submission call, even if my motivation came down to just wanting to get things in print.

As furries though, we fortunately have a great big advantage when it comes to this sort of investment in the stories we're looking to write. As furries, we are often spending plenty of time imagining alternative, furry realities in our heads, and that is an ample source of motivation that can drive us to create projects which keep us engaged as writers. Think about the things that you are interested in, and harness that interest. Do not get side-tracked or sabotaged by thoughts that seem like reasonable criticism (referring back to previous paragraphs of course) as your mission is to bring that story to reality. Find what you enjoy: about the idea, about writing, about your process - and celebrate that so you nurture positivity and control any negative thoughts. After all, it is better to finish a story that might not be your best over giving in and not finishing the story at all. Again, echoing the previous topic, be kind to yourself.

Ok, so how can we harness motivation? It is something you will need to temper, otherwise you'll be writing but without direction. This is where harnessing your motivation is really an exercise in planning. Think of it like booking a nice holiday. You start with that excitement about getting away somewhere, exploring some cool new place in the world. But, without narrowing the list of destinations down, considering what's in budget, how long you want to take off work for it, etc, you won't end up getting away in the first place. Motivation to write works in the same way. Take that desire to write, and start to narrow down what it is you want to create. What is the genre: are you wanting to write fantasy, science fiction, or something else? How long do you want the story to be, how many words are you going to put into it? How long, too, are you going to spend working on it? That's an important question to ask, as you can otherwise end up in a situation where your motivation wavers because the project is dragging on and on, way past what you had intended and you want to get on to other new ideas. Having that plan, and shaping your motivation into a clearer idea of what you want to do with your story will improve how easy it is to stay motivated, while also making the actual task of writing the story easier too!

Now that's all fine says the wolf, but what happens if you're searching for motivation in the first place? Where does it come from? It's slightly in the topic of generating ideas, but motivation to write comes from having that desire to tell others something new. You may want to explore an alternative reality, or a vision of a different world. You may have read another story, or come across an idea you want to provide your own take and comment on. Really, motivation as in, ideas for writing, comes from being active imaginatively, which I find, comes from being curious and asking lots of questions. A good desire to learn new things, experience new things, and have the courage to ask questions of reality (such as why is something this way, or what if things were different) will generate ideas and motivation in turn to create those stories. So, my advice there is to engage with the world around you in a questioning way. Learn plenty, read plenty, and seek out different perspectives. You never quite know what it is you're going to find out there that may capture your interest, and in turn become the spark that makes you think you want to write a story about. But, it's certain that if you don't explore, you'll limit those experiences that provide that spark. And, if you're tempted to think that will require money, I can offer you the advice that this is the best time to be a writer ever. With the internet we have a wealth of free knowledge and information at our fingertips, just waiting to be explored.

So, to consider things in sum then. Motivation to write is multi-faceted. Kindness and self-care once again, comes up in creating a supportive and accepting mindset that will help you feel positive about your work. Having a positive mental outlook will help you write, and manage negativity that can weigh you down. Being true to your passions, and focusing your efforts on topics that interest you will help the words come easier, while taking time to plan out what you want to do with your story will help break big goals down into smaller, more achievable ones. Finally, being curious and learning new things will provide you with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration that you can use when writing. Altogether these things help you to identify what makes you write, and hopefully this have given you some further food for thought on the topic.

Happy writing.