How can i motivate myself to write a book?

I don’t know, having a deep enjoyment for writing could probably help… there’s no point in doing it unless you really enjoy it.

I love writing, but I find getting things going to be very difficult. One thing I do is plan out the main idea of the plot. Trying to make it up as you go along is not easy. Once you have a plot to work around (and you can always change it later), it makes it easier to write. I’m just speaking from my experiences. No, I’m not a novelist, but the longest thing I ever wrote was 90,000 words, which isn’t too bad.

I have a lot of experience in procrastinating, making excuses, and just plain not doing it. So I will give you tips that I don’t follow:

1) Write something every day. Add on to what you have, even if it doesn’t seem to fit. Once you get going the story will start to take on it’s own shape.

2) Don’t be afraid of being derivative. There is very little in the world that is original. If you don’t believe that, walk down the sci-fi/fantasy aisle of a book store and read the blurbs. It’s not the idea that needs to be unique, it’s the approach.

3) Write something every day, even if you think you don’t have time. Carry a small notebook and pen and jot stuff down. Random thoughts, ideas about strangers—you never know when they’ll come in handy.

Join the rest of us who are participating in National Novel Writing Month this November.

The beauty of it is that you are forced to just write, without fretting over word choice and specific sentences. Then, at the end of it all you have something that you can edit and work on. (Otherwise, if you’re like me and a lot of people, you’ll never get to that stage.)

I just ordered the book Bird by Bird. It’s been recommended by several people for this exact problem.

Ideas are very easy to come by. Writing the ideas down pretty much requires that you have an interest in writing. If you don’t – it’s going to be much more difficult. One suggestion I have heard from famous writers is to write a lot, at least 4 to 6 hours a day.

Writing fiction is a creative endeavour, being creative is not something that requires motivation any more than being tall or being of a particular gender does. Creativity is a part of who you are.

Creative people still need direction, training, experience but they don’t need motivation. The fact that you lack motivation would seem indicative of a lack of success in writing.

Get into the habit of free writing as described in Natalie Goldberg’s books. If one can’t develop that habit, I don’t think one can be a writer (at least not a good one). The practice of free writing motivates one to write every day, and clears all the crap out of one’s head, so that s/he may get down to writing what’s really inside.

Have something to say. Write what you know. Learn to love the process.

Writing is my motivation for getting out of bed. If I had to be moved to write, I think I’d be looking for something else to do .

Forget those NaNoWriMo people. They are not writers. They are counters.

Read other books and discover the structures behind…

Try recording youself saying all the ideas and have someone else type it all out. That helps me.

Writing is not always a start at the beginning and end at the end process. You may have to make several outlines to get you started. Start with your idea, and work backwards and forwards in outline form to give yourself a framework. Flesh out the outline a little bit more, and then start writing. You may end up writing different sections at different times, and then transitioning them together.

I know someone that carries index cards, and writes down observations that she thinks might be good to include in a story.

You may have to treat the novel like a diagram: central theme, locations , characters, character back-story, character developement, conflict, conflict resolution, “plot twists”, this will basically all branch out and come back together within the story arc.

Write some scenes and charcters on their own and figure out where they fit later. You’ll probably come up with some great scenarios and lines, and that will help drive the story and give it a direction.

I always found it helpful to create an outline of what you want each chapter to be about, just a couple sentences or ideas to help unblock the idea stream. If your ideas are not motivation enough, then you probably don’t have enough to write a book anyway.

if the story grabs you at spare moments without your permission and demands audience, then that will keep you going. if you feel you must complete it, then that will give you a major impetus to do it. if you can think of anything else you can and would rather do than write the book, do the other thing and do not waste your time any more than you would trying to court a person indifferent to you.

writing a book will be a lot of hard work and there is quite a big possibility no one will want to read it…so you have to have a lot of motivation to do it. If its a goal and you think your idea will be worth the effort then just get on with it…you get out of life what you put in and the best things in life are often things that require a lot of work

Best advise I received when (not) writing my MA thesis was Just Do It! Worked for me.

Check out http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/dec99/keegan21.htm. And remember, writers write.

@antoniusestrillo @Repo_the_Genetic_Opera @Austinlad Welcome to Fluther!

I have a lot of trouble writing because I come up with awesome settings and characters, and then I can’t write a plot. I carry a little notebook with me so that whenever I have a spare moment, or an interesting idea pops into my head, I can write it down.

@Haleth thats my problem exactly

@Haleth & @jaketheripper So, a few days ago I wrote this little piece about authors being Gods of the worlds they create. Take your characters and settings and just write about them. You never know, you may find out they feel like doing something in particular once you get the words flowing.

drink. a lot.

@jaketheripper There are a lot of great suggestions here. Take them. I know you can do it. I can’t wait to read your book. Your ideas so far are very intriguing and I’m dying to hear more. =)

Develop a unique idea in your head. Keep expanding the story for several months. If you like your own story at some point start writing it down. I used a small sound recording device during my commutes. My idea was ‘what needs to be done to send frozen embryos to a distant solar system’. I was fun to just play around with all the implications. And then it hit me: the key is identical twins.