When you're right in the middle of a project, it's easy for it to become a long stretch of struggles. Whether it's just feeling those mid-way blues, fighting that burnt-out writer's block, (Check out our post on that!) or just having a hard time staying motivated to keep going, the middle can be a difficult place to get through. Here at Fearless Type, though, we believe in you, and that's why we're here with our top ten ways to stay motivated when writing!

1. Set smaller, stepping stone goals. It's easy to feel really overwhelmed when looking at the big picture. If you've committed to writing a novel in a month, or a word-count goal of 25k in two weeks, you know how quickly that goal and deadline can start to loom over you. Sometimes, the daily word count isn't even much better-- if you're looking at a number like 5k or even 2k for the day, it can suck the enthusiasm right out of you before you even start. Don't let the numbers change your outlook, though! Break up your goal into smaller, bite sized, stepping stone goals. Writing 5k in a day might seem like a lot, but writing 250 words is easy. If you can commit to writing 250-- then commit again, and again, you'll find you reach your goal before you know it. We talk about this some in our post on how to get through a 10k Day-- be sure to check it out! 
2. Use writing tactics you enjoy. There are so many different tricks and tools out there for writing. It's important to find the ones you enjoy and then actually utilize them. If you aren't a fan of word wars or using apps like Write or Die stresses you out, then don't feel pressured to use them just because they work great for some people. Instead, think about what actually helps you get in the flow and what tools you've found helps you smash the wordcount. Do you enjoy the imagination of word crawls? Do you find that you just need to use apps like Forest to turn off your phone and help promote a deep focus? Do you need to include friends on social media in your process by asking them for prompts or word count goals? Whatever it is you know works for you, do that, and don't worry if it's not what everyone else is doing.
3. Share your goals on social media or with a friend. If you want to get others involved and cheering you on your way, you can share your goals on social media or with a friend. By going public with your commitments, it can help you stay motivated to show up and achieve your goals, and you also have that accountability if you're putting your work off.
4. Plan a reward for each small goal, and then a bigger one for the ultimate goal. Planning positive rewards for each goal you reach is a good way to keep your brain happy and eager to keep going. You can have a daily goal reward and then a larger one for the entire project, or you can even break it up to reward smaller wordcounts throughout the day. Maybe you get a piece of chocolate every 1k words, or maybe you get to watch an episode of your favorite show or make a single-serving cupcake at the end of a successful day. These are just little perks to incentivize your work, and can lead up to the final reward-- perhaps something like a new coffee mug, a few books, or some writer merch you've been eyeing.
5. Go over some mantras. Creating mantras are an easy way to instantly give yourself a boost of encouragement and help your brain start working in a positive way. You can even write these and place them around your writing space to keep you motivated as you go.
6. Self-encouragement. Take a look at what you are telling yourself. If it's harsh or negative, it's got to go! Be kind to yourself and make sure the words you are speaking about yourself whether that's aloud or just in your head, are positive and encouraging. You lack of motivation will just increase if you are beating yourself up about things, but if you flip the script and begin encouraging yourself, you'll probably find that you're that much more likely to feel motivated to write! Consider how you would talk to a writer friend, and then give yourself the same courtesy.
7. Create habit chains. This is something that has to be built on, but if you make a commitment to a daily habit, it gets harder to break it the longer you go. Get a calendar and hang it up, or have a piece of paper where you log your streak of wins. Then keep it visible and in your writing space. The more success you see, the more motivated you will be to keep that going and not break the chain. Whether this is a daily word count, simply writing something everyday, a chapter written, or a certain amount of time you spend every day on your book, habit chains are a great way to get you motivated and in good patterns.
8. Have a distraction notebook nearby. If you find that one reason your motivation wanes is because you get distracted easily, consider having a distraction notebook on hand. Every time a thought pops into your head that feels like it's pulling you from your project, write it down in the notebook. At the end of your work time or during a break, you will have the chance to review what you've written and see if any of those things still interest you enough to pursue. Doing this not only helps you stay focused when you need to, but it also helps your motivation stay strong by giving yourself permission to look at those distracting things later. Just saying "ignore it" can easily be a motivation killer because it feels restricting, so by promising yourself that you can chase those distractions-- just later-- can help you stay on track.
9. Stay organized. A messy writing space is not only distracting but it can also negatively impact both your brain and your writing. The clutter will begin to extend into mental clutter, and before long, you'll find yourself distracted, tired, and unmotivated. Staying organized doesn't have to be an ordeal, either. Simply tidying up for a few minutes before and after each writing session is usually all you need, and having a place for everything to belong (like pens, notebooks, snacks, and more) will help keep things in order. 
10. Just start. At the end of the day, sometimes the best way to beat that feeling of no motivation is to just sit down and start moving those fingers on that keyboard. While it might feel like a grind at first, the more you go, the easier it gets. Isaac Newton was right-- a thing in motion stays in motion. It's a lot easier to keep going if you actually begin.

So there you have it! Our top ten ways to stay motivated and stay writing! Do you have any tips or tricks that keep you motivated? Why don't you share them in the comments below!

Stay Fearless!

Ten. Thousand. Words.


One. Day.

It sounds crazy, maybe even impossible to a lot of people. The truth is, while it does take a lot of dedication and resolve, it can be an extremely rewarding experience, and many writers love their 10k writing days.


Should YOU do a 10k Writing Day?

That said, it can sound intimidating, and you might question whether it's a right fit for you. We have 5 good reasons why it might actually be a great idea for you to try.

1. It helps you get a LOT of writing done. Whether you're on a deadline or you just want to finish your project, committing to a 10k writing day can help you crush the word count goals. While you may end up throwing some of those words out eventually during the editing process, that's bound to happen anyway no matter how quickly you write, so why not go for 10k and reach some insane word count goals?
2. It's extremely motivational. While it is definitely tiring to write so much in one day, it's also exhilarating to see the story moving along beneath your very eyes. When you complete the goal, you'll find yourself farther along in your story and proud of your accomplishments. This rush of positive feelings often fuels the motivation to keep going even on the days after your 10k writing day.
3. Writing fast will help you banish your inner critic. Why? Because you absolutely have to. If you don't abolish your inner critic from the beginning, you just won't get far. Since you have that commitment to 10k, there's no choice but to put the inner critic away so you can really get down to writing, and when you banish your inner critic, your writing will flow much easier. We have a whole post on how to banish your inner critic, LINK in case you want all the tips and tricks, and we also talk about why it's so important and so beneficial to your first draft writing.
4. It creates a "have to" focus day. When you have a large word count goal (like 50k), it's crucial to break it up into smaller pieces if you want to actually get any progress. Not only are large word count goals overwhelming, but it can be hard to focus on the day to day without any structure. If you create a day where you decide you WILL reach your goal, you're forced to focus on that smaller goal and more likely to actually accomplish a lot.
5. It gives you the chance to make a large goal exciting. Especially if you're behind and looking at thousands of words you need to make up to reach a larger goal, setting aside a day to do something that almost feels insane can be extremely exciting, which in turn is motivational. By saying you will take the time to make an overwhelming goal a fun challenge creates a positive environment that feels like an exciting goal rather than trying to catch up from "failure". 

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So maybe now you're excited to do a 10k, but you have no idea how to do it in order to win? We have all the tips and tricks for you! ​

You have the ideas, you have your computer open and the cursor is blinking on your brand new document. Suddenly, you're at a loss. You type in a sentence only to delete it, or you just stare at the blank page without any idea how to get started.

Sound familiar? If it does, don't worry, you're not alone. First things first, read this post all about how to banish your inner critic. It's imperative to get started without that little companion, so get rid of that voice in your head right now.

Now that you've got that in hand, let's talk about that blank page again. What if you just don't have any idea how to start, or no matter what you do, you seem to still be having trouble with the beginning?

Beginnings can be tricky. There's a lot of pressure weighing on the first few sentences-- we read articles and advice all the time about how it important it is to hook your reader right away. That's all true, but here's a radical thought: the first draft is not for your reader. It's for you.
It's important to give yourself permission to write this first draft for yourself, for your story, and just that. This first draft is just to get those words out. That means it's allowed to have a cheesy first sentence, or start your book off with a less than exciting intro. All that can be fixed in the editing stage when your focus turns to polishing the book for your reader. Right now, though, give yourself the freedom to simply write, even if its done badly.
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Need some more ideas before setting pen to paper? Here are our top tips for how to start your story!

1. Start in the middle of the action. This is a classic beginning for many books. There's nothing like a little action to hook your reader. One thing to remember, though, is "starting in the middle of the action" does not necessarily mean you need to begin in the center of your climactic point or even right in the middle of your first act. You can begin with action before the catalyst even happens.
2. Introduce your character in a creative way. If you can think of a way to introduce your character that will allow an inside look into who your character is or simply shows your character in their natural environment in a unique way, it can be a great way to start your novel!
3. Stay away from paragraphs of scenic descriptions and cliched intros. It's usually best to avoid paragraphs of words going on and on at the start of your story. Description is good and needed at times, but don't overdo it in the beginning. It's the character's story after all, not the description's. Stay away from cliched intros, too. They're out there all over, so be different!
4. Don't give too much backstory in the very beginning. A lot of stories definitely benefit from not revealing too much backstory all in the beginning. Even if you want a character who is an open book (which would have to be done really well in order to work), it's important not to just give a mini biography of them on the first page.
5. Make the reader fall in love with your character, or at least be curious about them. Ultimately, this is your character's story, so it's imperative that your readers fall in love with your character-- or if they're not a very lovable character, at least be curious about them enough to keep reading. It doesn't matter how amazing the narrator or author is, if the characters aren't grabbing your readers, no amount of fantastic first lines or intriguing hooks will make up for it. If this is your first draft-- make sure you fall in love with your character in the beginning. It will help your writing flow better.
6. Cause the reader to ask "What happens next?". Again, it comes down to engaging your reader. Or at the very least if this is a first draft: engaging you. Make sure your beginning causes you (or your reader) to wonder what happens next. (In fact, this is just good advice for writing every scene).
7. Establish the voice, tone, and mood of your book. The start of your book is the place where you need to instantly establish the voice of your narrator, the tone and mood of your book, and perhaps even lay ground for your themes. This can be done through description, syntax, and more.
8. Don't copy other books-- just write the story the way you know it needs to be told. We've already said not to rely on cliched beginnings, but this point takes it farther-- you don't have to write like other books. You are allowed to write the story however you want. So if you want to break a rule here and there, or you want to use some creative wording, or you choose a style that isn't common: it's perfectly alright. Feel free to do whatever the story wants.
9. Introduce the conflict of the story. Books rely on conflict to keep the plot moving forward, so if you don't start with conflict, your book won't move forward. Again, it doesn't even have to be the main conflict of the book, it could even be a smaller conflict leading up to the main one. Whatever the case, make sure there is some kind of conflict present and that it hints at what the book's main conflict will be about.
10. Show the character in his/her normal world, but present a problem. Showing the character in his/her normal world is a classic first beginning for the hero plot structure, but even if you're not using that model, it can sometimes be a good beginning to introduce your character in their normal setting. This gives you the chance to present the problem they are facing or about to face in sharp contrast to what their comfort zone or normalcy is.
11. Give important information without info-dumping. Things like setting, time period, character description and more are all important, and they're usually a good idea to reveal early on. Just make sure you do it in a way that isn't just info-dumping.
12. If you absolutely must begin with a prologue, avoid monologuing, and treat it just like you would the beginning of any story. Some stories need a prologue, and there's no way around it. If you decide your story must have a prologue though, don't use that as an excuse to monologue, share extensive histories, or info-dump. Despite the word prologue being attached to it, it is still the beginning of the story, so treat it as such.
13. If it's just not coming--jump right in and know you can always fix it later. Back to our original thought: If you are just trying to get your first draft written and absolutely nothing seems to be working, just jump right in and remember that the editing process will save the day down the road. Overthinking is the real villain of first pages, and it's important to realize that there is no room for that kind of an enemy when you are writing your first draft.

So there you have it! Thirteen tips for the first page, plus the permission to write badly, if need be, in the first draft.

We'd love to hear from you in the comments! Share the first line of your novel, OR, relate an experience you've had where you struggled with first page woes.

Stay Fearless!