"Kill Your Darlings", and Other Less Gruesome Tips for Regaining Motivation

I don't really like the term writer's block. It's definitely a real thing, but it isn't like, a thing. By which I mean that it isn't some kind of condition that you have except for maybe the human condition. Because if you're a writer, you've experienced what we call writer's block, guaranteed, which is why it doesn't really need a name, because it's just part of being a writer. It's not a diagnosis, it's just not feeling motivated to write. It might be related to a diagnosis like depression or the flu or laziness, but it itself isn't an ailment any more than being a human is.

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, I've been having writer's block.

Ever since I finished 50,000 words of a novel back in November for NaNoWriMo, I've been struggling to make any more progress on it. Every day this summer I open my word processor, and on maybe three of those days I got anything accomplished, and it's made me feel pretty lousy, honestly. I don't say this to throw a pity party or anything, but rather, I imagine many of us have been there, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about what causes this motivation drain and how to get past it, so I thought maybe I'd share my results. This refers specifically to novel writing as a potential profession, but I think it can really apply to any creative process.

There are so many things that can result in a lack of motivation, but for me I think it basically boils down to laziness and perfectionism, and, from talking to others, I think this is generally the case in most people, so that's what I'm going to focus on. I'll start with perfectionism because it's a bit easier.

WRITE. That's all there is to it. Allow yourself to write poorly and just write, because, odds are, it's not going to be as bad as you think and, even if it is, bad writing is better than no writing. Revision is everything, anyways, so what comes out on your paper first, second, and even tenth doesn't really matter because you'll likely have time to edit it later, so just write. Skip past the chapter you're on and write something later down the line if you have to. Write something else if you have to. Just WRITE. It may be easier said than done, but Dory really had the right of it when she told Marlin to "just keep swimming", because that's all we can do.

A lack of drive is an uglier and more complicated beast. There are so many different things that can cause it - are you just more interested in other things? Is Netflix calling your name a little too often? Are you unsatisfied with what you're writing? Have you developed a nasty addiction to sock organization? Regardless of the situation, it can be rough, and painful to overcome, and not necessarily your fault. But no matter the cause, you can never overcome it without really trying and really working. I'm sure there are many many more methods, but I've come up with three that have been proving somewhat effective, so I'm gonna go through them all now.

SACRIFICE. I'm gonna start with the hardest (at least for me) right off the bat. Sacrifice. We have to give up things that we love at times in order to do things that we love more, or even sometimes for things that we love less. Is starting that TV show all your friends are buzzing about really more fulfilling than starting that new project you've been thinking about? In the short term, probably. In the long term, if it isn't, you should probably consider a new hobby. Doing our own work should hopefully be more rewarding than consuming the work of others, even if it doesn't feel that way.

SCHEDULE. This probably works a little better if, like myself, you are unemployed. But basically, set aside some time every single day for writing. If you're really serious about it, treat it like a sort of job (or completely like a job if that's what you want it to be). I've also heard that leaving the house when you do it is helpful, to make it feel like more of a commitment. Writing in groups is also be helpful to some...or detrimental, if your companions are too distracting.

ANALYSIS. I wanted to go with three "S" words but backwards ASS works for me, too. This basically calls for a bit of introspection, and this one really helped me today. You need to really think about yourself and what you're writing and ask, "Is this right for me?". Not "Do I like this?" or "Is this good?" though those are important, too (especially the former), but "Is this right for me?" which I feel encompasses the two in a more meaningful way and asks a third question. This one is especially important if you want to write as a profession - less so otherwise. Today I realized that the story I've been working on for a long time just isn't what I should be working on. I love some of my ideas, and I would absolutely love to revisit them later, but I'm just not making progress and the writing is causing me so much more stress than joy, and my unfinished draft feels so distant from me it's like it isn't even a part of myself any more. In this situation I reminded myself of something Stephen King said in his excellent book On Writing: Kill your darlings. No matter how much you like it, if there's a story or an element of a story that is dragging your creative process down, you need to remove it and move forward. Maybe you can make it work later, but as I said earlier, writing is always better than no writing, and if it isn't working for you now you don't need it. Kind of like a parasitic friend. You might love them, but at times you need to remember what's best for you. So kill your darlings.


Did that make sense? I hope that made sense. And I hope it helps, too!

- Jordan

P.S. I am the worst at ending things I am so sorry here's a kitten with a frog hat.