 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Kristin Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources, and you are listening to the Well-Sturried podcast, where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life. Always in 30 minutes or less, so you can get back to writing, of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking. Hello, hello again, writers, and thank you so much for joining me for today's episode of the Well-Sturried podcast. Today is Thursday, August 5th, 2021, and as you might be able to guess from the title of today's episode, we are talking about how to maintain momentum in your writing practice. This is something that I have long struggled with in my writing life. I am not naturally a workaholic, and I've spent a good amount of time and effort over the past several years really working to build good habits when it comes to my writing practice. I'm still working on this. I don't going to be perfect, but I have picked up a lot of tips and tricks and techniques and tools and all the fun keywords for maintaining momentum that has really helped me write with more confidence, more focus, and most importantly, more consistency. So without any further ado, let's dive into today's episode. If you would like to read along as you listen in, simply visit well-sturried.com-life to find the article that goes with today's episode. Alright, now let's dive in. Can you visualize an ideal day in your writing life? If you're like most writers, then I imagine that day looks something like this. You sit down with your beverage of choice, crack open your manuscript, and slip into an easy creative flow. Words fly from your fingertips as you lose yourself for hours in a deeply fulfilling and highly productive writing session. Isn't this how you imagine your writing practice should unfold? It's certainly the image that society has sold us concerning what a real writer's creative work should look like. But if that's the case, then what happens when you don't crank out words with ease? When writing proves painstakingly difficult. When you turn to avoidance and procrastination rather than doing the damn hard work. There must be something wrong with you, right? Maybe you aren't really cut out to be a writer. Maybe the writing life just isn't your calling. Maybe you should wallow in self-loathing for a while or just even quit the writing practice altogether. Do any of these thoughts sound familiar to you, writer? If so, then know that you aren't alone. It's only natural to experience doubts and fears when feelings of inadequacy come out to play. The good news is that you aren't any less of a writer for struggling to find your creative flow. Multiple studies show that fewer than 25% of long-distance runners experience the famed runners high. That is, the relaxing state of euphoria that can make it easy to run for miles. Yet no one would claim that runners who feel the burn of every step aren't, in fact, runners. So why should you call yourself anything less than a writer for finding difficulty and challenge in creative work? Today, I am here to tell you that you can feel the creative burn and still enjoy the process. Moreover, you can learn to find a sense of ease and momentum in your writing life even when the work itself isn't easy. To build this momentum, we must first ask an important question. Why do we procrastinate creative work in the first place? Allow me to reiterate that writing is often difficult. Those who claim otherwise are probably the type of writer who believes that their work is beyond reproach, and that's a shame. Because if you aren't willing to criticize your work or have others criticize it in return, then you're never going to experience growth in your craft. That said, writing shouldn't feel like constant torment either. We're not aiming for self-flagellation here. Our goal in seeking creative momentum is to develop the willingness, and dare I say, the desire, to write even when we know that writing may be difficult. Unfortunately, it's that knowledge that often leads us to procrastinate creative work. As humans, we are wired to choose the path of least resistance. If we are safe and fed and whole, then we aren't going to take any unnecessary risks. And writing? Writing puts our pride on the line. When creative work gets difficult, we tend to procrastinate the challenge rather than face it head-on, because our egos are terrified that we're going to embarrass ourselves. Their worst fear is that we're going to lose all sense of pride and dignity by proving to the world that we're incapable. To save face, our egos begin to whisper ugly stories in our ears, stories about how we aren't good enough to be real writers, about how our work is too silly or stupid or cheesy for people to ever take it seriously, about how we'll never be successful, about how making art is a selfish pursuit. Even when we address these limiting beliefs in our writing lives, it can be difficult to overcome the urge to procrastinate because of what psychologists call the present bias. It's the human tendency to choose small, short-term gratification over bigger, long-term gratification. The present bias holds true for most people even when they know they'll be punished in some way for taking the easier reward. Unfortunately, this same principle applies to our writing lives. Most of us are more likely to watch another episode of our favorite TV show than sit down to write, even though we know we'll feel disappointed in ourselves for failing to put pen to paper. How, then, are we supposed to summon up the will to write even when we don't feel like writing? It's time to examine the myth of motivation. If you're in the habit of procrastinating difficult creative work, then there isn't going to come a day when you magically feel like writing. You may happen upon inspiration that momentarily motivates you to write, but you're unlikely to stay motivated for long. Why is that the case? Well, most people conflate motivation with desire. They want to feel like doing the thing they know they should do. But humans aren't wired to choose a challenge when there's an easier path to survival. The vast majority of us aren't going to feel like doing difficult creative work just because we can. We might momentarily have a reason for taking action, such as a shiny new story idea or a powerful pep talk from a fellow writer. But once that initial excitement and enthusiasm wears off, there's a good chance that we aren't going to feel like writing all over again. So how do we drum up the motivation to write? Well, we don't. As Jeff Hayden writes in the motivation myth, quote, motivation is not the cause of action. It is the result of action. End quote. When we sit down and do the damn hard work of writing, we cultivate a sense of pride and accomplishment that motivates us to keep on writing. We begin to view ourselves as capable of completing difficult creative work, which in turn helps us overcome our limiting beliefs and resist the powerful pull of our terrified egos. It's Newton's first law. An object in motion stays in motion. The trick, of course, is to get the ball rolling in the first place. So let's talk about how to build and maintain creative momentum. If you aren't going to feel like writing until you actually start writing, then how in the world are you supposed to summon up the will to get started? Let's take a look at three powerful tips. Tip number one, start a tiny habit. The easiest way to lower your resistance to difficult creative work is to first lower your self-imposed expectations. If writing for 30 minutes feels exhausting, then aim for 10 instead, or five, or one. Setting such a small goal for yourself might seem silly, but writing one word will always get you farther than writing none. In setting and achieving such a tiny goal, you'll begin to build the confidence and self-assurance that you need to slowly increase the scope of your new habit, ultimately helping you develop a consistent and productive writing routine. If you'd like to learn more about how to build tiny habits, we have an episode on this from the very beginning of 2021. So you can either scroll back to check that out, or head on over to well-story.com slash life to find the article that goes with that. That article and episode, by the way, are called the must-have foundation for any strong writing routine. Tip number two, trust the process. Even the act of writing a single sentence can feel like a monumental task when you pressure yourself to perfect every word. That's why trusting the process is key to building momentum in your writing life. Think of every story you write as a piece of furniture you'd like to renovate. You can't create something incredible without first pulling that beat-up side table out of the junk heap at your local thrift store. That is your first draft. It's not pretty, and it's definitely not suitable for showing guests. But it's yours. So you haul the table home and put in the dirty work, stripping and sanding and painting and resealing it before you ever think about giving it a polish and sticking it in your living room. To build momentum in your writing life, you need to trust this same process. To be willing to let things look a little messy while you put in the elbow grease to transform them into something great. And finally, tip number three, focus on deep work. Popularized by Cal Newport in his book of the same name, the phrase deep work describes meaningful work completed in a flow state. Earlier, I said that it's rare for writers to experience a flow state in which words fly from their fingertips with ease. However, I do believe that anyone can learn how to accomplish difficult creative work with focus and efficiency. To achieve this type of deep work, first consider the environment in which you write best. Are you more focused and creative at a certain time of day or in a specific location? With a little music or complete silence. With a salty snack or a beverage at hand. Try to recreate this environment as often as possible. The second step to achieving deep work is to identify your purpose. Deep work is meaningful work. You should have a strong reason for wanting to complete it. As a writer, can you identify why you want to write? How about why you're working on your current work in progress? Finally, to set yourself up for a successful deep work session, ask yourself the following three questions each time you sit down to write. One, what project or part of my project do I want to focus on today? Two, how full is my creative tank? And three, what goal can I reasonably reach given the gas I've got? Sometimes your goal will be 20 minutes. Other days, it'll be two hours or more, but never mind the scope of your goal. What matters is that you build faith in your ability to complete difficult creative work by honoring your energy. After determining your goal for the day, lean into the work you've set for yourself. Give it everything you've got. By choosing challenge over comfort, you'll build the pride and momentum that you need to write again another day. Finally, take a moment to consider how you define your worth as a creative. In Built Your Best Writing Life, my self-development book for writers, I discussed the importance of finding pride in the effort you put into your creative work rather than the output you produce. While work count goals can be a healthy form of pressure for some writers, too many storytellers steep their self-worth in whether they're able to crank out 2,000 words every time they sit down to write. Frankly, it's unhealthy, toxic even. The fact of the matter is that you will always experience challenges in your writing life. Some scenes will be harder to write than others. Some days, you'll have more time and energy to give to your work. Whatever the case, flexibility is key to weathering creative turbulence and maintaining the momentum you need to keep on writing. So recognize that all progress is good progress and give your writing your best, no matter what life throws your way. I can't wait to see where your newfound momentum will take you, writer. Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Podcast Writer. I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey. If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode and to give the podcast a quick rating or review. Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating. You can also give me a shout-out directly on Instagram at christen underscore keeper. For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life, be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses and other helpful resources for writers. Again, that's W-E-L-L-S-T-O-R-I-E-D.com. Thank you again for tuning into today's episode, my friend. Until next time, happy writing!