Not motivated to write? Here’s what to do
Blame the myth of the muse. We’re led to believe that writing comes from inspiration and motivation. Conversely, it’s easy to think that we should only write when we’re motivated.
The trick is that the writing comes first, and the motivation comes second.
However, this can be particularly tough for perfectionists to rectify.
“I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at nine o’clock.” - Peter De Vries
Our perfectionist mindset makes us feel like we can only write when all the stars align—when the motivation and inspiration strike, when the idea feels right, and we have wide swaths of time to commit our stories to paper.
Anything less feels imperfect, like we might be setting ourselves up for failure. And we have a really hard time with the prospect of “failing.”
Remember, perfectionism is rooted in the fear that you risk shame and disconnection from others by being imperfect. So you develop a mindset and habits around trying to be perfect, but this often means that you don’t pursue anything that might be imperfect.
Writing, by its very nature, is going to be imperfect, not just at first, but always. There is no such thing as a perfect novel.
That’s really scary for a perfectionist until you realize that it can actually free you from the pressure you put on yourself to get it right.
Another issue at play here is that perfectionists struggle with effort. We think that having to exert effort means we lack natural talent or ability. Effort is a sign that we’re doing something we’re not meant to.
We think that when motivation comes, writing will feel effortless.
So we keep waiting for motivation. In fact, waiting is one of the many signs of perfectionism.
In this way, feeling “unmotivated” is one of the ways we let ourselves off the hook so we don’t have to try something challenging and risk failing. If you take a deeper look at the thoughts and emotions happening when you feel unmotivated, you might notice some surprising things:
You’re scared that your idea isn’t very good
You’re worried that by trying to write you’ll find out you aren’t very good at it
You’re avoiding writing because you feel confused or overwhelmed
You’re resisting doing hard work—especially when you don’t know your effort will pay off
These are totally normal thoughts for perfectionists to have! But they’re also the thoughts that keep us in a place of inaction. They keep us safe from imperfect effort, but they also keep us from achieving our dreams.
Recognizing what’s going on underneath “lack of motivation” is one of the first steps to overcoming perfectionism.
I want to challenge you to pay attention to what’s really going on when you feel “unmotivated.” I recommend journaling about it. Write down your thoughts as you ask yourself these questions:
What’s really causing you to procrastinate on or avoid writing? What feels scary? What feels safe?
And most importantly, what are you waiting for?
If you haven't grabbed my guide, 7 Signs Perfectionism Is Keeping You from Writing Your Novel, make sure you download it to learn more about:
What perfectionism is
What it isn’t
How it shows up in your writing
And how you can begin to change
Also, watch this space for more information about my forthcoming mini-course all about moving past perfectionism to write your novel!