Cameron Chapman

Staying motivated over the course of any long-term project can be tough. Writing a book is no different. When you’re looking ahead at weeks or even months of writing, maintaining momentum gets tricky. My novels generally go pretty quickly, but this new nonfiction writing project is moving much slower than my previous books. With all the research involved, I’m only managing a couple thousand words a day.

Photo by zilupe, via Flickr

Over the years I’ve built up plenty of strategies for keeping my motivation level high. Here are a few:

• Set yourself reachable daily goals. Whether a reachable goal for you is 200 words or 2,000 words, set a goal and stick to it. But, if for some reason you don’t make your goal one day, it’s not the end of the world. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Just get back on track the next day.
• Celebrate small successes. When you finish a chapter, or a page, or even a paragraph, celebrate. Have some chocolate. Listen to your favorite song. Watch a movie. For the bigger successes, treat yourself to dinner or a movie. And when you finish the first draft, take a few days off!
• Keep a to do list. Listing each step to reaching your goal is a good idea. Checking things off a list is a nice little boost to your motivation and keeps you moving in the right direction. Breaking things down into the smallest steps possible might look daunting at first, but you’ll check them off much quicker.
• Take a break. Sometimes, you just need a day off to let your batteries recharge. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve found that when I get writer’s block, forcing myself to take a weekend off can do wonders for opening the creative flood gates.
• Set deadlines. With so many writing projects, there are no deadlines. No one really cares if you finish something this week or a month from now or never at all. So set deadlines for yourself and stick to them. On my current project, because I’m self publishing, there’s no editor hanging over my head telling me to have the book done by a certain date. So I’ve set up a schedule for myself. I’ve vowed to have the first draft done by the end of April, and so far I’m on track for meeting that goal.
• Converse with others who have similar goals. Finding other people who are working on the same kinds of projects makes it easier to keep working. Consider setting goals and deadlines with each other and holding each other accountable. Sometimes the idea of disappointing another person is enough to keep you going.

If you have any other tips for keeping motivation high, please share them in the comments below.