IWSG - Motivation

Happy New Year! 

My writing resolution is to finish my current WIP and get it polished (maybe even published?) in 2013. So, for my January Insecure Writer's Support Group post, I decided to list some ways we can motivate ourselves to write. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I don’t have room to tell you every detail. My goal is to give you a taste of what’s out there and enough information about each item so you can decide which ones are worth the click-through for you. 

If you're already familiar with any of these, please feel free to skip it and move on. (I promise my IWSG posts won't all be this long.)

Let’s start with the biggie.

I’m sure everyone has heard of NaNo WriteMo – National Novel Writing Month. Basically, NaNo challenges writers to write a whole novel (50,000 words by their definition) in one month—the month of November. You can read all about how it works here. 

Advocates say a firm deadline, contests, rewards, and community support make NaNo worthwhile. Critics are often of the opinion a novel written that fast can’t possibly be good and that the activity leaves the author with a heap of editing to do...if s/he even makes the word count goal.

It’s been my observation that NaNo appeals to people who’ve dabbled in the craft but have never been able to sit down and get a whole book finished. It gives them the push they need to finally get their story down on paper. It also appeals to writers who like to write a fast first draft, but need motivation to BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard).

NaNo's tempting, but it's not for me. Possessing the drive and discipline to ‘BICHOK’ is not my problem. Finding the time is. If I could crank out 50k in a month, I’d already be doing that.

My struggles are of a smaller scale—like tuning out social media or blasting past some writing roadblock when I finally get time to write. And there are benefits to taking a more methodical approach. Although I allow myself some wiggle room for my first draft, I’m a writer who likes to try and get it right the first time. I couldn’t turn out clean, tight drafts if I wrote at NaNo speed.

NaNo might work for you, though, especially if you do your plotting and planning homework ahead of time. If it appeals to you, by all means go for it. Of course, you’ll have to wait until next November... 

The Writer’s Dojo – ‘Where writing ninjas come to train.’

Author Ali Cross started the Dojo because NaNo only comes once a year and she wanted to recreate that environment of encouragement and camaraderie every month. But it’s not just for writing drafts...

Since writers are not always drafting, like in NaNo WriMo, the dojo has three training rooms you can join—WriMo ninjas (writing drafts), ReMo ninjas (revising), and QuMo ninjas (querying/submitting). There are even cute little ninja badges you can put in your sidebar. You can also find this group on Twitter with the hashtag #writingninja.

ROW80 - ‘The writing challenge that knows you have a life.’

ROW80 acknowledges we all have different demands on our time and, therefore, different writing goals. ROW80 (#ROW80 on Twitter) has 4 rounds a year, each running 80 days, and your goal can be anything you like as long as it is measurable.

• You must have a blog to participate.
• New rounds begin the first Monday of January, April, July, and October.
• You can read the full list of details on the site. :) 

250, 500, and 1000 Words-A-Day Challenge by Inky Girl

Writer and illustrator, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, started these wpd challenges as an alternative to NaNo. Like ROW80, her plan takes into account differing schedules and goals.

I grabbed the 500 WPD badge for my sidebar and found it to be very motivating. The only problem is: her challenge expects you to write 6 days a week. As a working mom, I simply can’t. But I’m not letting that stop me. On the days I CAN write, I shoot for 500+.  :)

Word Meters

Word / progress meters are another thing I’ve found very motivating. The ones in my sidebar not only let my blog visitors see my progress and give them a glimpse of my WIPs, they encourage me! 

I made a rule for myself that I can’t change the numbers unless the word count of a WIP increases by at least 500 words. You may say 'big deal,' but I tingle with accomplishment and sit a little taller in my chair when I get to click over to my blog and toggle the numbers.

If you don’t have word meters on your blog, consider adding some. 
I got mine at Critique Circle.  

Writtenkitten.net

This idea came from Gloria Sigountos. It's not exactly a word meter, but it rewards you for number of words typed. You get a cyber kitty for every 100 words you write. Just don’t forget to save your work! 

Writing/Accountability Partner(s)

There are many ways to find and work with other writers to increase productivity. Use your imagination. If you have experience with this, tell us about it in the comments.  

Last one - woohoo! :D

I’m going to add one more resource, even though you’ll probably think it’s silly.  
The random sentence generator. 

Sometimes when I’m blocked or stuck in one of those dreaded phrasing or wording ruts, clicking through a few sentences on this site can help. The phrases it cranks out are goofy, but, because my mind tries to make sense of them (after I stop snickering), they can be a real springboard to inspiration. Seriously—a real muse. You should try it sometime. ;)

Whadaya think?

Do you know of a resource I didn’t mention?

Have you tried any of these things?

Tell us about it!

:)