H. D. Dodson

It has been a busy week in the world of Holly.  We’re gearing up for moving into the big 4-K class on Monday with Super Spawn, starting violin lessons (along with daily practice sessions), Write On Con, end of year party cupcake baking and, you know, sleep.

Thanks to Erinn, I didn’t miss this amazing video, hosted by Write On Con, done by Beth Revis.

Then last night Super Spawn had his first official violin lesson — complete with a mile-long list of things to practice for next week — and between the two, my mind started churning.  While I was coming up with ways to encourage practice for Super Spawn, and keep it from turning into a battle, I realized something about writing.

When you’re in the middle of drafting with no end in sight, your last book didn’t work out quite like you hoped… Sometimes the grass on the couch in front of the TV looks a whooooole lot greener than the stuff on the computer screen.  Which is kinda the same battle I’m gearing up for with Super Spawn, at least to start with.  There’s tons of stuff you’d rather do than sit and practice something that feels endless, right?  I mean, I’ve been there.

We’ve talked before about rewarding ourselves for hitting milestones.  Completing a draft, finishing revisions, whatever.  I think that’s great — and it’s something I do for myself.  But I also think it’s important to celebrate the small victories.  I practiced (wrote) for 30 minutes tonight, I deserve ice cream.

Even then, the real reward for our devoted writing is improvement.  Just like Super Spawn’s bow hold will get better and better each day, so will our prose, and that’s the best reward of all.  Because one day when the Spawn is standing on stage for a recital, playing his Twinkle variations, he’ll be glad he spent that time with his violin instead of the TV, even if it takes him years to get to that point.

And one day when you’re holding a shiny book in your hands, you’ll be glad you did the same.

Happy writing, guys.  Don’t give up. 

Mondays always seem to be my slowest moving day of the week.  My brain wants to remain in relaxed weekend mode, and my day job (er, and my MS) wants me to get off my butt and get to work!

So, I thought for this most unmotivated day of the week, I’d share some things I use to kick my motivation (and my writing) into high gear.

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. ~ Winston Churchill

I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.  ~ Isaac Asimov

What gets you motivated to dive into work?