Writing a book is an immense amount of work . . . much more work than most people realize. It’s unlike almost any other job. There’s no time clock to punch, no boss to answer to, and nobody to get advice from when things get tough. So, why do we put ourselves through it? Maybe, like me, you have an insatiable need to write. After all, what’s more worthwhile than living your dream?

But, it’s easy to get bogged down with time limitations and personal insecurities when you’re living the dream. It can be difficult, but it’s critical you hold onto that itch to create your best work.

Below you’ll find techniques to help you stay motivated through the hard times. Let’s climb that hill together. Hang in there. You can do it!

Whether you’re a veteran or a novice writer, the first thing you have to do is clock in for your job. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing full-time or in the wee hours of the night after your day job. Either way, treat your writing as a job if you want to make progress toward fulfilling your dream.

Grab pen and paper, dust off that old laptop, and hunker down at a desk for a while.

This might not sound like a hard thing to do. At times, though, it seems almost impossible. We all have chaotic lives, but unless you develop consistency with your writing you’re going to have a tough time getting that book finished.

So, right now, develop a plan. Can you afford to write every day or maybe three nights a week? How many hours (or minutes) a day can you devote to your writing? Whatever goal you set for yourself, stick with it and you’ll see the benefits soon.

Being your own boss is great right? You can schedule your own hours, have no conflicts with requests for time off, and heck . . . you can give yourself excellent benefits. 🙂

But, when it comes to writing, do you want to be the kind of boss who is a push-over, or do you want to develop excellent structure in your workplace and increase productivity? Sometimes authors are their own worst enemy and stifle their creativity with procrastination. In those cases, it might just be a great idea to be that hard-nosed boss that everyone hates.

Be that hard nosed boss that everyone hates

If a novel consists of 75,000 to 150,000 words, you could make your literary dreams come true by finishing the first draft in 6 months by writing 500 words a day (this includes having some weekends off).

Don’t get too caught up on making each sentence a thing of beauty. Your job at this point is to get your ideas on paper. It’s called a rough draft for a reason, and there will always be time enough later to polish your material to a nice shiny luster.

Do what you need to do to eliminate distractions. We all have something else competing for our attention. You know what your distractions are. Write after you’ve put your kids to sleep, shut yourself in the office so you can’t see the dishes piling up, turn off your cellphone, disconnect from the internet, put on some earphones, or maybe encourage your spouse to have a girls/boys night out.

Whatever you can do to minimize the hubbub of daily life, your writing will be better off for it.

When you don’t have anyone to talk to about the frustrations of writing, it’s easy to beat yourself up. We’ve all been there, and it’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Writing is a tough business. You’re really putting yourself out there during a time when it’s so difficult to be heard.

Tough as it is, if you’re too self critical, it’s difficult to stay motivated. But, there are resources out there to help.

If you have the opportunity, you may meet up with fellow writers at a local coffee shop or think about attending a writers conference. In doing so, you can stay on top of writing trends, get inspired by others’ work, be invigorated by shared experiences, or gain feedback by sharing your work.

You should never have to feel alone

I you don’t have writer friends or if you’re more of an introvert, you may want to consider using social media as an outlet. Whether you’re into Facebook, Twitter, or maybe Google+ you can friend other authors who are struggling with the same obstacles. If you don’t feel comfortable putting yourself out there, you can be a silent observer on these social media channels or maybe even an author blog.

Writing can feel like an isolating profession, but you should never have to feel alone.

Have you noticed that all successful business have a mission statement? They do this to help guide the overall direction of the company.

Writers should do the same thing. It needn’t be long or overly complicated. Briefly jot down why you wanted to write your book in the first place. Keep this note where you’ll see it everyday (i.e., on your mirror, computer, or cork-board).

It may sound too basic, but this is perhaps the most most beneficial suggestion I have to offer.

Psychologists suggest that most people are intrinsically motivated by one of three things:

1. Challenge (ex: desire to write a 300 page book in 1 year)
2. Affinity (ex: gain social acknowledgement from family or friends)
3. Power (ex: become acknowledged as an authority in your preferred genre)

Whatever motivates you, make sure you don’t forget when you’re sitting in the trenches writing your next great book.