Life got in the way. New ideas came up. I forgot. I know these are all reasons not excuses. I really wish I was the type of person with a backbone of steel who could say today I’m going to whip out 10k words, but I’m not. I’m the type of person who sees a new episode of Big Bang Theory and becomes a vegetable on the couch for the next 4 hours (because you can never watch just one episode of Big Bang Theory). I hope to remedy that though.
There is a Chinese Proverb that states “the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” In writing terms that means just because you slacked off for the past two months without making your goals that you can’t change that.
Today my internet went down (you may all gasp at the horror), but I think that might have been a blessing in disguise. Technically, my internet was only down for like a second, but I gave up trying to restart it and started working on this post (on Word). It’s amazing how much you can get done without the internet pestering you. I swear when my internet is open I am like Gollum from Lord of the Rings hovering over the screen going “my precious”. Without my internet, I have the chance to write which I am planning on doing the second I finish this post.
Anyways, back on topic, with my internet closed, I’m getting so more done now. I can’t change that two months ago I procrastinated writing, but I can change what I do today and whether or not I write today. Today is all we have. Nothing is set in stone. The past is the past. Unless you have a time machine, you can’t change that, but you can change how you spend today.
Now maybe this post motivated you into writing, but what happens when you become unmotivated again like New Years? Well here is the Jewel’s Method for Motivation. Jewelry! Get it Jewels jewelry? Yeah, bad joke.
Anyways, jewelry is a strong motivator. (I know guys reading this might not get it but keep reading. You might get inspired maybe in a more masculine way. Leave a comment if you did. I’d love to see what y’all thought of.) I was online shopping the other day flipping through pages of cute accessories. Every now and then I would stop and think “my character would so wear that” or “those earring completely fit with my plot.” This got me thinking about how often I mess with my necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, etc. I’m always twiddling with my necklace charms or my hair causing me to smack my earrings. What if I wore an accessory that my character would or that goes with my plot? How many times a day would I be reminded to write? For example, I have a pair of angel wing earrings. If you are writing a book about angels but was constantly getting distracted, wouldn’t being constantly reminded of your story by messing with your angel wings earrings remind me to write especially if touch your earring out of habit? I have a specific pair of earring that I wear when I write. If I’m sitting on the couch engrossed with Big Bang Theory, they always remind me that hey I have a WIP that won’t write itself. Sometimes having a constant reminder to write helps. Of course, you could as get duck accessories to remind you of this post *BTW This works really well for me. I almost forgot to post today, but while I was messing with my necklace, I remembered*
Other Ideas to Remind You to Write:
- On the Literary Rambles, they posted a tip about having your email background resemble your setting, so every time you checked your email you would be reminded to write.
- You could even set an alarm everyday at 7pm to signal you to write.
- You could have a friend act as your personal cheerleader and remind you everyday to write and how awesome you are
- Write reminders on your hands/ leave sticky notes all around you
- Have a rubber duck in your bath tub/ shower to remind you to pro“duck”ive
There are a lot of other ways to remind you to write. I know I constantly have my characters bicker in my head. Sometimes I don’t have a pencil handy. I put it off until I do, but sometimes I need a reminder to write down that bickering. You can’t write an amazing novel unless you take the time to write. Maybe you didn’t write yesterday or the day before but you will always have today. Today is all you need to start writing your novel.
