When the Writing Spirit Falters

"The majority of people perform well in a crisis and when the spotlight is on them; it's on the Sunday afternoons of this life, when nobody is looking, that the spirit falters." Alan Bennett

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net

This quote seems to sum me up pretty well. I have always performed so much better when I am under pressure and when there is a deadline to work to. Without that pressure it is all too easy to let things slide.

I have tried imposing my own deadlines but they never seem to work, it is too easy to keep moving the boundaries. I have also tried setting a joint deadline with my brother (also a writer), our own little version of NaNoWriMo with spreadsheets and daily reporting and pep talks. We lasted about two weeks before things began to slide again as we let life get in the way.

I tried keeping my word count displayed in the side bar of this blog but I kept forgetting to update it and then when my computer died I lost the spreadsheet with all the data on it, so now I have had to remove the widgets. (Thankfully I always save my writing in dropbox so that was saved.)

When it comes down to it though, I don't think there is any magic formula that you can follow that will give you more self-discipline. I think it is more like a muscle and the more we use/exercise it, the stronger it becomes.

How about you? What methods have you used to get yourself writing when the 'spirit falters'? Have any of them worked? Let me know in the comments section below, I'd love to hear from you.

M is for Motivational Quotes

Image courtesy of tungphoto / freedigitalphotos.net

We all need a little motivating every now and then, so to help you through the middle part of the month,
here are ten of my favourite motivational quotes to get you writing.

"Take out another notebook, pick up another pen, and just write, just write, just write. In the middle of the world, make one positive step. In the centre of chaos, make one definitive act. Just write, just write, just write." Natalie Goldburg

"Don't just plan to write - write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style." P.D. James

"Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around 'getting ready' the more time and opportunity we'll have to sabotage ourselves. Resistance loves it when we hesitate, when we over-prepare.The answer: plunge in." Steven Pressfield

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined." Henry David Thoreau

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." William Wordsworth

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." Wayne Gretzky

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Roald Dahl

"Those who wish to sing always find a song." Swedish Proverb

"The secret of it all is to write in the gush, the throb, the flood of the moment - to put things down without deliberation - without worrying about their style - without waiting for a fit time or place. I always worked that way. I took the first scrap of paper, the first doorstep, the first desk, and write - wrote, wrote ... By writing at the instant the very heartbeat of life is caught." Walt Whitman

"The only thing that stands between you and your dreams is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible." Joel Brown

Do you have any favourite quotes to get you motivated? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.

I'm going to be away on holiday until 17th April, but I have scheduled all the posts for while I'm away. I will try and log in once a day to check everything is running smoothly and reply to as many comments as I can. If you leave a comment I will visit your blog when I return and reciprocate. Happy A to Z'ing.