Three Steps To Keep Myself Motivated

“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

Sometimes writing feels like that for me---there are days when I'm flying through the pages, days when i'm running, then walking, and finally just crawling to the keyboard to write a page or two if I'm lucky.  This has been tough sometimes when I'm under a deadline or needing to finish. But then I discovered something.

I am much more internally motivated.

I can promise myself all sorts of external treats and rewards for finishing things, (and that's not a bad thing) but for the most part, it comes right down to the feeling of satisfaction I get when the writing is flowing as opposed to the feeling of frustration when it isn't.  I want the satisfaction more than the frustration, and that's where my internal motivator comes in.

In order to keep the frustration at bay, and to want to sit down and get my story out and have it keep flowing after the initial chapters, I have to have a plan.  I have to have done some research and a general outline to know where I'm going.  Then I'll get the satisfaction and inner motivation I'm looking for.  If I've missed a step, all I'll get is frustration as I crawl along aimlessly.

So, today I am going to follow three steps to motivate myself:

• Visualize the ending.
• Do my research for character and setting purposes.  Use notes to keep myself focused.
• Make a plan to get to the already visualized end in the form of a general outline.

I know if I follow these steps, my motivation will increase and I'll have more than zero to report at the next Word Count Wednesday.

What motivators do you use?