You have this amazing idea. You already see your book in the bookstores and yourself giving autographs. It’s such a cool feeling. But first you have to actually write the book. Driven by the first enthusiasm, you write a few pages. And then it becomes difficult. Writing a few hundred pages is a challenge. It can take long months, even years. You will have the moments of doubt if all this writing makes sense.

How to finish your book?

How to keep yourself motivated? Here are a few ideas.

1. Write daily

The most important thing is that you write regularly. Don’t think that you can sit one day and write 100 pages just like that. There are people who can do it, but for most that would be a mission impossible. I know you probably heard it already a hundred times, but it’s crucial that you write as often as you can, preferably every day. If you can’t, make it a few days a week, but do it regularly. Write it in your schedule and keep to it. Some days will be better, some will be worse. It doesn’t always have to be a brilliant work. You will edit it anyway. Just write.

The motivational wallpaper might help you with that!

2. Take it easy

If you write every day, it becomes something usual, normal. If you write once a blue moon, you get nervous. This tiny voice in your head says: „Now that I finally managed to find the time to write, I have to create something outstanding”. And that’s when the writer’s block appear.

3. Accept the challenge

Turning writing into a challenge can be a good motivator. You can make it yourself, with a friend or join one of the many challenges online. Set your own rules. You can decide to write daily for 30 days or to break a record of the following days of writing. When you arrive to number 100 it’ll be difficult to say ‘No, today I don’t write. Tomorrow I start counting from 1 again’, right.

4. Be like Hemingway

I read in some article that whatever would be happening, Hemingway had a rule of writing at least 500 words a day. Every single day. Be like this iconic author! If you have a bad day, just force yourself to create those 500 words. After a week you’ll have 3500 words!

5. Eat that frog

It is the title of a book written by Brian Tracy. I repeat it to myself every time I don’t feel like doing something. If you want to write, but have problems with sitting and actually doing it, make writing your first activity in the morning. Set the alarm earlier, get up, make coffee and write. Do it, before your brain wakes up enough to think: ‘I don’t know…’, ‘I don’t feel like it today’ etc.

6. Find your method

What to do when you don’t know what to write? You have to find the solution that suits you the most. If you’re a planner, you can follow James Patterson’s method. In his class this bestseeling author explains how he creates a detailed outline and later fills it with a story. Working this way you will always know what to write. If you change the story continuously and you’re just not a kind of person who plans, you can follow another suggestion. Write as you like. If you have a bad day, think about the scene you can’t wait to write or a short story you have been having in mind for a while and just write it. Find something exciting that you actually feel like writing that day.

7. Write a blog

Having a blog is a perfect way to practice your writing. You can share the new parts of your story or just post about other things. It’s important to do it regularly. Make a deal with yourself that you will publish, for example, every Friday. And keep to it! Write it in the description of your blog. Knowing that people out there are waiting for your text, will motivate you. ‘What’s the point, if the content is not connected to my book?’ you may ask. The point is that  you create the habit of writing. A blog can be also very helpful. If you have any questions or doubts about your ideas, just ask your readers. This way you can also create a potential audience for your books.

8. Make small steps

Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed by the amount of things that you want to write about. Especially at the beginning. In such situations I always think about one character from ‘Moby Dick’. The man cleaning the street says he never thinks about the whole, long street that he has to clean. He thinks about the distance to the next bench or the next lamp. That’s the point! Focus on the part you’re writing right now. About the rest you’ll worry later.

9. Keep imagining

Put your favorite book on your desk and imagine that its author was going through the same struggles you’re going now. They managed, so will you. And in some time you will be the motivation for another beginning writer.

10. Get the beta readers

Getting opinions about your work from your potential readers is a key. It can be stressing, but also unbelievably motivating. Give a few chapters or, for example, 20 pages to beta readers. On Facebook groups you can find many people who love to read and will be happy to help. Try to find those interested in the genre you’re writing. Ask them what they think. Listen carefully. Answers like “Can I get more?” give an unbelievable energy boost.

So.. I’m waiting for your finished books! To get even more motivated check out these beautiful quotes.

And what are your ways to stay tuned and actually finish the story you started? Let us know in the comments! Your idea can help creating a few next bestsellers!