Tricks to Keep Writing

I’ve hit a good stride with my writing once more now that I’m working on draft three of ETD. A few things that have been helping me stay motivated that might help other writers as well:

• To keep my budget and workload organized, I keep an Excel spreadsheet of the work I do every day and the money I earn for it. I’ve started including two new columns in the spreadsheet for each day: writing and exercise. Under writing, I need to fill in the name of the writing project(s) I worked on that day. If I didn’t, I have to write down the dreaded word NONE. In parentheses after NONE, I include my “excuse” (friend’s wedding; out of town; etc.) The more often I fill in an “excuse,” the less satisfied I feel. It helps me see which excuses are just that — excuses — and not adequate reason not to fill in that column. And it helps me see how often I don’t write although I SAY I write every day. At this rate, I think I can at least successfully attain writing 5-days-a-week
• Hang out with motivated people. This one happened more by chance than design, but my boyfriend has a similar work ethic to me — both when it comes to his paid work and the work he does because he wants to. When I see him staying motivated to keep going at something, and the progress it results in, it inspires me to stay up to par on my projects. (This is another reason writing groups are so wonderful — as long as the writers in your group actually WRITE.)

So today, I can successfully fill in my spreadsheet with LLWord and my latest post at Young Adults Catholics, which is about passivity in the Catholic Church. I hope I can also squeeze more writing in after work tonight — but at least that column won’t have to be filled with the dreaded word NONE.