Finding Motivation



Middle child at 5, proud of his piano skills,
and oh, so motivated.

Growing up, we had a rule at my house. When you turned 5, you took piano. Hard and fast. I couldn't wait for my turn . . . until it actually came.

 

Then I hated it.

 

Hated that I was forced to waste precious daylight hours practicing the piano when I could be doing something much more important such as playing in the ditch with my friends.

 

I was 9 when I convinced my mom that I was wasting my time and her money (and I believe my piano teacher told my mom the same thing). I got to quit.

 

Which I appreciated until I found a piece of music I really wanted to play.* Suddenly I spent hours at the piano learning how to play it.

 

And then there was another song I loved, but the sheet music was terrible! I wanted to play what I heard on the radio. Next thing I know, I'm begging my dad for lessons on playing by ear.**

 

The point of all this is that when I wanted something, I found the motivation to spend time learning and practicing a skill. And it was FUN.

 

So let's get to the point. I love writing. I do. I love creating a new world that I (and hopefully others) can get lost in. I love meeting my characters and discovering their secrets. I love that feeling of satisfaction at having gotten the words just right . . . of having made someone laugh or cry or think or whatever it is. I love it.

 

Even so, sometimes I lose my motivation. I want to write. I want to immerse myself in that world, but I struggle to make myself actually do it.

 

So the question is why? Why do I struggle to make myself do something I love?

 

Honestly, I don't know why . . . but I have some theories.

• Winter doldrums: Totally real thing.*** It's cold. I'm tired. There's less daylight, and I'm getting less vitamin D. Winter is winter, and aren't we supposed to hibernate or something?
• Sheer laziness: Writing is work.**** Sometimes I just don't want to work. I want to laze about and catch up on those seasons of Sherlock I've missed.*^5 I'm sure you understand.
• My long-term goal is messing with my head: My overall goal is to finish. But when I think of the twenty bajillion more rounds of revisions I have to face in order to reach that goal . . . well, you can see why I just want to curl up in a ball, rock back and forth, and hum Kumbaya. It's overwhelming!
• I have kids: Yeah, this one's pretty self-explanatory. But it never fails . . . I'm just getting in the zone when the call of the wiley one echoes through the house: "MOM! Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum! Can. You. Come. Wipe. My. Bot. Tom." Yep, she yells it just like that. And when I go to her, she tells me that she yelled it just like that. She's pretty proud of that little rhyme. Gosh . . . I should use that in a picture book. ;)

So I could go on.*^6 But the point is, there are plenty of excuses we can use for why we didn't write. We need to find that one thing that keeps us going. We need to find that one song that motivates us. That one challenge that has us begging for more writing time. Because isn't that why we started on this road in the first place?

What is your motivation?

*It may or may not have been "Part of this World" from Little Mermaid, and I may or may not have sung this song incessantly at the time. But you'll never know for sure. ;)

**My dad's an amazingly accomplished musician and I don't mind bragging on him a bit.

***This is actually the reason that I doubt my ability to live in Alaska or anywhere way up North. How do you people do it?

****This it a totally true thing, too. ;)

*^5 That would refer to every season. So you can see why I really need to catch up.

*^6  Seriously. I swear I didn't just stare at the screen for five minutes trying to come up with a fifth theory.

Writing for Middle Graders

My ten-year old got a Kindle for Christmas. I might be a tad jealous since I don't even have one, but I guess Santa was feeling generous and understood just how much that kid loves to read. And encouraging reading? Well, it IS something I try to do.

One of my favorite things about the Kindle is watching how he chooses to spend his Amazon giftcards. At first, there were a couple of recently released books he was dying for (ones that were the latest in a series he'd been reading). The choices were easy. But with all the book suggestions from Amazon based on his buying history, he realized really fast that there were plenty of other books that cost a lot less than the $10 ones he'd been buying.

The kid's good at math, so he figured out that he could get MORE books if he got the books in the  $0.99 to $2.99 range. Unless it's a deal, I found that this range usually means self-published. I know plenty of talented self-published authors who work really hard to make their books awesome, so I had no problem with this. But I tried to go through the reviews before buying, to vet his choices. Because let's be honest . . . there's self-published and then there's self-published. Those who do it right, and those who . . . don't.

There was one book in particular where I found quite a few less-than-complimentary reviews about the quality of the writing: 'the characters are very one-dimensional'; 'the plot meanders completely from where it started in the beginning'; 'the story is very derivative' . . . Big enough issues that were brought up in enough reviews that I strongly discouraged him from getting it. That said, I let him make the final choice (since, you know, it WAS his money).

Of course he got it. "It sounds really good, Mom!" And wouldn't you know it, by the time he finished the book (later that day, I believe), he was RAVING about the thing. "This is my second-favorite book, ever!" And the kid reads A LOT of books.

This experience really made me stop. I've thought a lot about this. I mean, why do we kill ourselves to make our prose shine, when in the end, our younger readers haven't yet learned to discern the difference between excellent and mediocre writing anyway? My son liked this book because it involved dragons (his favorite subject), it had lots of action, and it reminded him of other books he loved.

Isn't that enough to strive for?

I have to conclude that it's not. When I consider the power of a book--a well-written book--how can I settle for anything less than my best? And it's not just about getting it right for the reader. The writing/revising of a book is a transcendent experience that I believe makes me better as a person. I learn to find empathy for the vilest of villains. I learn to consider ideas from all different points of view. I learn what's important to me, and I solidify my beliefs as I spend hours and hours with my characters and their views.

I can't help but think of J.K. Rowling. She wrote for middle grade readers, and she captured them with a fun and adventurous book. But her prose was so excellent, the ideas she tackled so relatable, that she didn't only capture middle graders. She captured the world and caused a revolution in the world of books.

Yes, her story is rare, but isn't that what we all strive for? To write something that leaves people (including ourselves) thinking well beyond the actual reading of it? How can we possibly hope for that if we don't give it our all?

What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

The Source of Inspiration

Since I actively joined the blogosphere, way back forever ago, I've gotten to know a lot of other writers. One of the things I love learning is where they draw their inspiration from.

Last week, Kimberly Afe talked about her inspiration for her book, The Headhunter's Race. A Zelda commercial, and poof! idea.

My awesome friend, Amy Sonnichsen, talked about her inspiration for Red Butterfly (S&S, 2015!!) HERE. Her sympathy for another's plight led to a beautiful story.

J.K. Rowling dreamed of a boy with a lightning-shape scar, and Stephanie Meyer dreamed of vampires. Inspiration that served them well.

The very first book I wrote was inspired by a longing to return to my youth. To an easier, more carefree time. I'd just turned 19 which (for a reason completely unknown to me now) was a huge deal to me. I was a freshman in college, living on my own, having to be totally responsible for myself. I had no one pushing me to do what needed doing.

And I remembered. Remembered the carefree days of exploring the jungle of our backyard ditch. Of racing off on my bicycle with my brother to go dig in the empty lot around the corner. And I wanted it back. The book was a joy to write, because I just relived all the wonderfully crazy moments of my childhood. I even included the awful ones that now make me giggle: getting trampled by the whole soccer field; getting thrown in the ditch by my sister.

When I rewrote it (as my 3rd book), my inspiration came from the present instead of the past. Foreclosures were popping up everywhere, and I couldn't help wondering how kids were handling it. I needed an outlet to express myself. The two ideas morphed, and it became my first query-able book.

I was thrilled when I finally "finished," but I was worried . . . where in the world I would find another book idea?

--

--

--

Which now makes me laugh. Because they come at me from everywhere. A cold became the idea for a humorous MG. A scary dream became an idea for an MG Horror. A horrible real-life event became an idea for a YA Contemporary. A Wedding Dinner in France became the idea for a novel set in France. My soccer team became the idea for a work of adult fiction. They come at me so fast, I know I'll never actually write many of them.

But that's okay. Because some ideas rise to the top. And the best ideas will get written because they keep on inspiring until they must be put on paper for the world to see.

That's the way inspiration works. At least for me.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Blog Tour: The Headhunters Race!

So I've known Kimberly Afe for a while via her blog, and I'm thrilled to be a part of her Blog Tour for The Headhunters Race which was released Jan. 3! She's all over the blogosphere this week, and having a fabulous giveaway with a chance to win her ebook PLUS a $25 Amazon gift card and other cool prizes. Totally awesome! So if you haven't heard of it, here's the blurb:
 

Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Avene was sentenced to prison at thirteen for a crime she didn't commit. Now she has a chance to win her freedom back – if she enters the Headhunters Race. Second prize isn't so bad either, an upgrade to the Leisure Prison if you make it to the finish line. To win either prize, Avene and the other prisoners must navigate one hundred and fifty miles of dense forest, desert, and worst of all, cannibal territory.

With a mechanical collar timed to strangle the prisoners if they're not back in nine days, Avene allies herself with seventeen-year-old McCoy, another prisoner that insists on helping her at every turn and a boy she's trying hard not to fall for. Together they battle nature, other prisoners, and the timed death collars to win the coveted prize. But when Avene is tested with one deadly conflict after another, she realizes there is more at stake than winning her freedom – first she has to survive. 
 
And I love her story about how she came up with the idea in the first place. I'll let her tell it in her own words:
 
The Headhunters Race has a bit of a long journey.  The idea was born on June 26, 2011 after a Zelda game commercial inspired me.  The commercial was brilliant and I thought why can't they make a movie that cool?  And then I thought, why don't I write a cool adventure myself! 

So I brainstormed this story with my son over a dinner of spicy spaghetti a couple of nights after the idea came to me.  We worked out the entire novel:  the characters and their motivations, the world, and the details of the race as I frantically wrote it all down.  My husband and daughter also helped me brainstorm items that I needed worked out.  I then spent a little while playing around with Avene's voice and then wrote like crazy.  I finished in December of 2011.  I actually started having critique partners read it in November of 2011 and began querying agents in January of 2012 after more revising.  I also entered it into a few popular contests around the blogosphere in early 2012.  Then I took a very long break due to life circumstances with hubby’s heart and moving.  Early this year I got back into writing.  I’d been thinking about self publishing for quite awhile so when querying a few more agents and a handful of publishers didn’t work out, I decided to go for it, and now, 2 1/2 years later, the book is out there!  Wahoo!
  

 Author Bio

Kimberly is the mother of two awesome kids, wife of the nicest man in the world, and her dog's best friend. She works by day and writes middle grade and young adult science fiction and fantasy novels in her spare time. She lives with her family in the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

 Social Sites

 

Website     Goodreads     Twitter     Facebook     Blog  

 
Congratulations Kimberly! I'm really excited for you and wish all the best for you and your book. The rest of you, go forth and enter below. The last day to enter is Friday, January 10th!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

There are 3 prize packs to giveaway.   The Giveaway includes a copy of her eBook + the SAS Survival Handbook (2 of these to giveaway) and also giving away a copy of her eBook + a $25 Amazon gift card – the Rafflecopter lists all of these prize packs. :)  The Survival Handbook is awesome. :)

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway