Today’s article is less a matter of practical storytelling advice, and more a small thought on motivation.
I’ve seen a lot of aspiring authors crash and burn because they are only fueled by one emotion. And when they’re not in that mood — whether it be a nebulous state of “inspiration”, or rage at injustice, or — they really struggle. They leave projects half-finished and delete stories that were truly promising, tripped up when their underconfidence scraped against the rough reality. The truly desperate try to induce this emotion in them just to make themselves write again
But just as you’d want any character you write to be multi-dimentional, just remember that you too are a creature of many higher needs.
I promise you, you can be motivated by many things.
If hope fails, then you have spite. If spite fails, then you have hope. You have your desire to make the world better, and your desire to make assholes eat their words, and your desire to make people you love proud of you.
(And if you’re consistently having motivational problems related to your mood, it might be a good idea to consider therapy and mental health treatment. I’ve needed it too at several points in my life, and there’s no shame in taking a break from your writing to take care of yourself.)
And that’s it for this meandering little motivation meditation. If you find this helpful, then you can support me as a creator by buying me a Ko-fi. Thank you, and have a lovely day.
J.L. Heeren 