4 More Ways To Stay Motivated While Writing

Millennial Writer Life is here to guide and uplift new writers. Our newsletter provides valuable insights, tips, and resources, creating a welcoming space to navigate the path to success. In other words, a newsletter to help you become the writer that you are or that you want to be.

1. Take yourself on an Artist Date.

This is something I learned from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a well-known book to guide a creative through the artmaking process. The book describes the artist date:

But what exactly is an artist date? An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist. In its most primary form, the artist date is an excursion, a play date that you preplan and defend against all interlopers. You do not take anyone on this artist date but you and your inner artist, a.k.a. your creative child. That means no lovers, friends, spouses, children—no taggers-on of any stripe.

An artist date can be as simple as walking to the local record store or going to a gallery opening or seeing a movie alone. When I travel, I love to see movies alone, especially movies from other cultures with subtitles. Something about this act is both relaxing and stimulating to me.

2. Develop a non-writing habit to give your writing brain a break.

As creatives, we sometimes become so indebted to our identity as artists that our ego becomes involved. The necessity to make good or well-received art overpowers our ability to fall in love with the process of outlining, drafting, revising, and savoring the mere act of creation. One way out of this hamster wheel is to cultivate another part of your selfhood or identity.

In addition to side-stepping the pitfalls of the creative ego, developing another hobby can provide skill sets or a release that helps your writing once you come back to the page. Maybe training in self-defense helps inspire you to write a fight scene or learning to cook might lead you to write a character that’s a chef.

Some ideas for non-writing habits to explore:

• Learn a new language with an app, like Duolingo.

• Explore a new form of exercise, like running or some form of self-defense.

• Take a dancing class.

• Get involved in your local community on a political level.

3. Listen to a podcast episode about craft, character, or plotting.

Since the pandemic began, the world of podcasting has exploded. For writers, there are countless podcasts that explore craft, publishing, querying literary agents, and so much more. Some of my favorites are definitely Write-Minded, Black Writers’ Studio, and Helping Writers Become Authors.

I’ll share a few of my most recent favorite writing podcast episodes below:

4. Look into the routines of other writers.

Another source of inspiration is mining the routines of writers that have come before you. On Youtube, there are countless Youtube videos that explores various writers’ routines and how they tackle their work when they have the time, ranging from Liselle Sambury, who posts writing vlogs and resource videos, to Mel Torrefranca, who has posted countless videos about the process of being a self-published author.

Another avenue to learning about the routines of writers is to read Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, a book that breaks down the routines of numerous artists.

---

Now a TIME Magazine’s Most Anticipated Book of Fall

Preorder When They Tell You To Be Good: Tin House | Bookshop | Amazon

---