Tag Archives: motivation

Guest Post: Why Writers Give Up on Their Novels


“Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve heard from her,” you say. 

Yes, I heard that. And, yes, it has been a long time indeed. Yes, yes, I missed you too, believe me. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m back for good. If you’ve read my previous post, you’d know that I intend to start a new blog on a website independent of WordPress for reasons I mentioned before. Until then, however, please be patient; know that I am working on some amazing things– fingers crossed; and enjoy this informative guest post by Patrick M. Greene. 

1More and more people try to become writers and create their own book nowadays. Singers, politics, dancers and average citizens have a strong desire to add their names to the history of literature and that is why they produce tons of papers which have no use and value (quite often) and reach no success. In some cases, these people give up soon after starting their novels. Sure, this is not a great loss for literature and readers. However, it sometimes happens with young but talented authors who can bring some new trends and ideas into belles-lettres. It is a pity because public loses a great chance to read a masterpiece and maybe become witnesses of a birth of a new bestsellers’ writer. Thus, everyone is interested why these well-skilled authors give up quickly and cannot finish their novels. Sometimes even famous, well-known writers become the victims of this issue. They simply stop working in the middle of a book and may even feel depressed because of it. Why does it happen?

No Inspiration

For people who are far from writing and have never tried it, the lack of inspiration seems to be a minor problem. However, it is impossible to produce something wonderful without this abstract thing. No one knows exactly how to get it and not to lose it in the process of work. Why? The ways of getting it are different for everyone and there is no common scheme. Sure, you can write a book without inspiration but it will be banal and probably have low quality. Thus, it is better not to create such a terrible novel at all. Your task is renewing your energy and finding your personal and effective way of getting inspiration. It may be anything you like from visiting museums to listening classic music. The main point is that these things should influence you and propel you to continue writing.

The Lack of Motivation

Sometimes a person cannot see through hard times because he or she has no reason to continue working. You have probably had a kind of encouragement at the beginning of your writing. However, it could be easily depleted soon after the start. There are lots of conditions which influence your personality and make your earlier goals look minor and useless. As a result, a young author is not motivated to continue creating his novel and decide to give up. In some cases, the problem is the absence of a certain great target. For example, it can be winning a certain award after publishing this book or selling a record amount of its copies.

Bad Time Management

It happens that young writers cannot finish their novels because of the lack of time. It seems to be a banal reason but it is widespread. Usually, they have bad time management skills and simply do not dedicate enough hours to creation of a book. It is not enough to do this activity only 20 minutes per day. In such a way, you will quickly lose motivation and become discouraged. Moreover, it is very important to organize the daily schedule correctly in case you have a full-time job and writing is just a hobby. Remember that the longer you postpone the process of writing, the less motivation you will have. As a result, the lack of time is one of the most common reasons why people do not finish their books. At first, they find excuses and then simply cannot urge themselves to do anything to complete this work.

Disappointment

It is true that young writers often encounter huge disappointment while creating their first novel. They might expect that it is a quick and effortless activity and they will produce a perfect manuscript after one attempt. However, things are not that easy as a rule. Sometimes, people who review the work of such an author may leave some negative remarks and criticize this paper. Sure, it often has a great influence on young writers and can even make them quit literary efforts. On the other hand, they can decide not to complete a novel after bad comments about it in someone’s revision of the first variant of a manuscript. In some cases, writers do not appreciate enough the part of a book which they have already done. As a result, they are disappointed and think that there is no reason to continue this work.

2

Underestimating Yourself

It is true that many young people who try themselves in belles-lettres very quickly start underestimating their own skills and talents. This is a typical problem of authors who have never published their books and do not know on which public’s reaction they have to expect. As a result, they find themselves worse than others and are too shy to present their works to the readers. It may become the reason why these writers give up their novels in the middle. Sure, it is very unpleasant as in the most cases these talented people simply need more self-confidence and courage to publish their books.

How to Make Yourself Continue Writing?

The next question which appears is how to urge yourself to continue writing and do not give up in the middle of your way. Sure, it is not easy but it is possible to do for everyone. Keep in mind that a writer’s career is full of challenges from the lack of inspiration to angry publishers who refuse to release your books. You have to be ready to these issues and do not become depressed after several minor problems. This is the only right way to fame.

Be Disciplined

Probably the first thing you have to learn is how to stay always disciplined, especially if you decide to build a writer’s career and have no full-time job. It means that your income depends on how quick and effective your write. Discipline is an essential thing for being productive and release texts regularly to satisfy your publisher and meet deadlines. How to cope with this? Set a certain schedule and decide how many pages you have to write per day. Keep in mind that you cannot break these limits in any case. After several weeks, you will develop a habit and there will be no need to urge yourself for writing.

Break Your Outline

Of course, without any doubts, it is important to have a certain plan of writing and the majority will advise you not to break it in any case. However, it is necessary sometimes if you feel that your plot is in the dead-end and make you get bored. Thus, you can completely change your story. Such unexpected things may encourage you and greatly improve your productivity as it is much more interesting to improvise while developing your story. You can be sure that readers will be amazed because of such turns of a plot.

Read Something

It is a pretty good idea to read some novels of the same genre with your book in case you feel the lack of inspiration. Such stories can make you write better and bring you some new ideas. Sure, you should not plagiarize any elements of these books. However, reading some classical novels may improve your knowledge of a genre at all and make your work easier. For example, if you think that you break some requirements of style, you have to make sure that everything is normal and reread its examples once more.

3

Take a Break

It is important to take a break if you want to give up and quit writing at all. Maybe, it happens because you are under stress or too many emotions are accumulated inside you. Thus, you have to rest as much as you need. There is no wonder why some writers become depressed. They write during days and nights and have no relaxation at all. Sure, it negatively affects your mental and physical heath. As a result, a person may even start feeling ill, have headaches and lose motivation to do anything. It is vital to protect yourself from tiredness and remember about breaks in work.

Set Small Goals

It is a pretty good way to motivate yourself for writing day by day. For example, you may decide to write 50 pages per week. After achieving this target, you can reward yourself with something pleasant: even a delicious ice cream may encourage you for better work. The common mistake is setting too big and far goals which demand a lot of time to reach. In such a case, you can lose your desire to write very quickly as there are no clear aims.

To sum up, there are lots of reasons why really talented young writers give up writing and decide to pick another activity to do. They simply cannot cope with all the challenges which this career has. Unfortunately, no one is guaranteed to be successful after publishing his first novel. Moreover, many famous authors who are appreciated by everyone nowadays have been poorly read and had no positive revisions on their books. It is a part of writer’s life, and you have to be ready for this in case you choose this kind of job. Sure, it is possible to create something after your full-time work. However, it means you will always suffer from the lack of time on this hobby and probably reach no good results. Anyway, it is worth trying, and the fame of bestseller’s author is really attractive.

 

Author Bio

auhtor

Patrick works as a contributor at EssayTwist. He is a former editor of a small town newspaper publishing. He is an avid fan of social media, and runs his own page for writing enthusiasts for his college. With the rising clamor for healthy living, Patrick immersed himself with water sports.

 

How the Worst Thing that Happened to You Could Be the Best Thing that Happened to You


Overcoming coming tragedy is a painful process but let’s take a look at the bright side. Visit The Positive Nation where I talk about turning tragedy into opportunity. This is my most popular post to date on The Positive Nation. Visit link NOW!  And don’t forget to share!! Thank you 🙂

This Time-Management Tip Will Help You Get Things Done


Ever wonder why you can’t finish what’s on your to-do list. This tip will increase your productivity by 100%. Please, visit my other website, read about it, try it, and let me know how it works out for you. Don’t forget to follow The Positive Nation  for more motivation, tips on success and productivity, and more.

Source: This Time-Management Tip Will Help You Get Things Done

Meet the New Beauty Writer for Cliché Magazine


Hello everyone!

Did I mention to you guys that I am now the new beauty writer for Cliché Magazine? That’s right. I’m very excited for this new opportunity and I’m learning a lot every day. My first article, 5 Ways to Stay Healthy and Fit This Year, was published recently. Click the following link to read it: https://www.clichemag.com/5-ways-to-stay-healthy-and-fit-this-year/

Stay tuned for more lifestyle and beauty articles from Cliché brought to you by yours truly. Also, don’t forget to follow my new blog and my precious project: The Positive Nation for posts that will inspire you, motivate you and put a smile on your face.

What are you guys up to this weekend?

The Best Thing That Happened to Me as a Writer


After I finished writing my latest novel, I went through a dry spell. The novel I worked on was an emotionally and physically draining project that I have worked on relentlessly for most of 2015. Unfortunately, however, through that entire year, I wasn’t able to finish anything else—except for a screenplay that I co-wrote which is turning out to be a total waste of time but more on that later.

Things were changing. My living situation turned 180 degrees, my savings were running low, bills were piling up and I was unemployed. It’s safe to say, I had a lot to figure out and my writing had a setback.

For months, I looked for ways to make money. I modeled for the most part and I thought I could sustain that lifestyle of working a few days a month in a convention or something, making enough to get by, and writing the rest of the month. It was easier said than done, especially since I wasn’t signed up with an agency and had to look for gigs all on my own. So between searching, applying, going on castings and calls backs, and daily trips to the gym to make it all possible, I had the equivalent of a full-time job without even knowing it. So I decided to sign up with an agency, get employed and try to fit writing into my schedule somehow.

  

Finding the perfect job was a challenge on its own. Living in Vegas, the natural choice would’ve been for me to work as a cocktail waitress in one of the casinos or bars and since a good job in that industry would earn me a lot of money from tips. But that kind of job would demand a lot of time and physical effort, I doubted I would’ve been able to find the energy to make myself dinner by the time I got home let alone write—and I’m big on making my own dinners, by the way. 

It just so happened that my landlady had a friend who worked in the real estate business and they wanted an assistant. I applied and got the job. So now, for four hours a day, five days a week, I process mortgage loans. It’s a boring desk job that requires minimal thinking and offers an annoying boss that goes with it. And it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me as a writer and entrepreneur. 

  

Here’s why. First of all, being that I get off work around 2:00 p.m., I arrive back home at a reasonable hour. It’s crucial to remember that I don’t have a car and a trip that takes 10 minutes in Vegas, takes me at least an hour with the bus. Being home early gives me time to cook, unwind and work out. Since the winter timing, I don’t go to the gym anymore, but I do have time to do at least an hour of exercise daily at home. After that, I have the evening to edit, read and work on an entrepreneurial project which I’ll share with you in due time. Also, since my job isn’t very demanding to begin with, I sneak a little note-taking time during work when my boss is gone or not looking.

  
 

“So when do you write?” you ask. Well, in the morning, of course. My work starts at 10:00 a.m., so I wake up at 6, sometimes at 5, write till 8:30, grab a bite and leave my house by 9:15. It’s all planned to the minute. I recently finished a screenplay. By writing two and a half hours in the morning I averaged around 5 pages. Not bad, right? Also, I get weekends off. So if I’m not shooting a movie or commercial or working at some convention, I get a lot of writing done as well. 

  

Oh, and did I mention that I’m now a writing intern for Cliché Magazine? That’s right, I’m their new beauty writer. Add that to my list of tasks. Within a few month, I went from an unemployed girl who had all the time in the world and didn’t know what to do with it, to a girl with three careers, two jobs and a nascent business who is able to take care of all her responsibilities with a little organization and the sacrifice of a few hours of sleep. 

It was important for me, being newly-employed and all, not to get discouraged by the relatively slow progress I was making as a writer. Usually, I’m much more prolific. But I had to lower my expectations and put less pressure on myself given the little time I had to accomplish what I wanted.

Another reason why this job has made me a better writer and entrepreneur is because I hate that job so much. God, I hope my boss doesn’t see this; she’s already on the verge of firing me for being “unmotivated”. Yes me. But anyway, that job is boring, monotonous, mentally limiting and I can’t wait to quit. And this dire urge to quit has made me work harder on my writing and other dreams. 

  

So if you have a job that you hate, a passion that you’re hoping to turn into a career, and the will to put the effort to make it happen, all you have to do is find that small time slot every day, however short it is, and get yourself one step closer to where you want to be. How are you guys balancing writing with a job?

Interview with Kimberly Michelle Scott


I absolutely love talking to new authors and learning about their journey. Kimberly Michelle Scott is someone I stumbled upon recently and we had a little chat about her new book, The Collection: A Book of Short Stories. Here’s a brief interview with Kimberly. 
  
Q: What is The Collection about?

A: The Collection is a compilation of short stories and flash fiction. The first story, “Ms. Addie’s Place” chronicles the story of Nora, a compelling character with a deep secret, who moves into a boarding house for African American women seeking to better themselves. There she meets Ms. Addie, who runs the house. With a turn of events, her secrets grow, but luckily she has Ms. Addie, who will help her protect her secret at all costs. Below are the premises for some of the other short stories in the book: 

Set at a funeral, a young girl struggles to cope with the death of her mother, while contemplating where she will live and how to deal with family members in which she is unfamiliar all while coping with being the black sheep of the family as a striking similarity to her deceased mother.

In the story, “Wide Tooth Comb,” Maggie finds herself in a predicament when she goes to extreme measures to avoid getting her hair combed. The trouble Maggie faces for doing away with her hair comb brings about anxiety that can only be erased by “coming clean” and leaving herself at the mercy of her mother.

Living in the world of underground prostitution and balancing being a high school student is no easy task for the main character in “Kat House.” As she compare her life to her classmates, she draws from only the harsh lifestyle to which she is accustomed. Just when she thinks life could not get any better, she is faced with one last difficulty that just may break her.

Tania resents the fact that her brother basically threw his life away, choosing his girlfriend and a baby over the college and football career that he was destined to have in “Rest in Peace.” More than her brother’s choices, she resents his baby’s mother. While reminiscing about the past, the future of all the characters change one fateful night. 

These stories and a host of others will keep you turning pages in The Collection.
Q: What sets it apart from other collections?

A: The Collection is a diverse literary collection in style and content, making it the perfect read for everyone. It has short stories and flash fiction. It has historical fiction, contemporary fiction, horror, and science fiction. However, many of the themes are the same.

Q: How long have you been writing, and what advice would you give other writers?

A: I have been writing since I was about four years old. In Kindergarten, when all the other kids were drawing pictures, I was creating books with words and pictures on my construction paper! I have always loved writing! I would tell other writers to be persistent, follow your heart, and do your research. 
About Kimberly Michelle Scott

  

 Kimberly Michelle Scott is an author, poet, and educator from Montgomery, AL. She has written numerous online articles and has several projects in the works. Kimberly has been featured on Chicago’s Poetry Exhale with Pizaaz and was also featured on the Be A Bestseller website. As a previous Yahoo! contributor, she has also done guest blogs. She has received her Bachelor’s degree from Liberty University. Her book, NAKED: A Book of Monologues for African American Women was released Spring 2013. “Moments of HerStory,” a book of memoirs, in which she was featured, was an Amazon bestseller and made # 1 on its Hot New Releases list at #1.

Here is the link to her books:

Nook Press

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-collection-thomas-edward-scott/1122191664?ean=2940157933579

Amazon Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Collection-Book-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B019JK4NJ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450653361&sr=1-1&keywords=the+collection+kimberly+scott

Visit her website

http://kimberlymscott.wix.com/kmscott

                             ______________
If you have published any books that you want me to review or you want to promote on my website, please contact me via email inquiries@missbenison.com