Creativity and Motivation, or the longer title; How to Stay Motivated When Working on a Long Term Creative Project.
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During any creative project, especially a longer one motivation is key to success.
How do you stay motivated? How do you keep going?
These are the questions I get asked most often about my writing process.
Whatever your creative project is, there will be times when you can’t be bothered showing up to it.
It’s important to understand that this doesn’t mean you’re a failure. That only happens if you totally give up 😉 when you stop trying.
I’m going to share some of the ways I stay motivated when wrangling with my writing. These methods could be applied to anything long-term and creative endeavour; home renovations, writing a book, building a beautiful website, developing a photography portfolio you are proud of.
First of all, I wanted to take a look at the hurdles that can be part of a long-term creative project;
- When you are playing the long game with something creative, it’s hard to keep up the momentum because you don’t have that feel good feedback, that we get with mini projects. That instant “like” that we are so used to on social media gives us a mini shot of dopamine.
- When you are playing the long game it is often a solitary pursuit, with no one getting to see it until its “finished”. You have only yourself to answer to.
- When you are creating something bigger (not always in size, but in scope, depth, or meaning) than you’ve ever done before there is a distinct swing between the feelings of invincibility and of fear. Both of these are extremes and can be exhausting.
- Distractions and procrastinating are rife in creative pursuits. We can be Kings and Queens of procrastination and have a sparkling kitchen and bathroom. pushing our creative project further down the priority list.
- We all know, comparison is the thief of joy, but also of time and brain power. Looking at other peoples success can sometimes take away your focus and momentum
“The compelling thing about making art- or making anything, I suppose- is the moment when the vaporous, insubstantial idea becomes a solid there, a thing, a substance in a world of substances.” Clare in the novel The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audry Niffenegger
So what to do?
How do you get over these hurdles?
This is easier said than done, but my advice on staying motivated is;
- Join a group, find some buddies that are doing similar things and share with them. Just small snippets, segments or mockups. Whatever your *thing* is. The right people will encourage you, will give you strong, constructive feedback.
- If there are times when you can’t face working on your creative project, then listen to your body and have a break. Go for a walk, visit a museum or simply take yourself for a coffee somewhere new. Don’t beat yourself up about it, just try to make a deal with yourself that you’ll be back at it again tomorrow.
- Reward yourself. I never used to do this, just moved on to my next project. But for long-term goals, this really works. They don’t have to be expensive things, but something you’ll feel is a treat. For example, at 40,000 words I bought Fleetwood Mac Rumours on vinyl, and when I reached 80,000 I booked a spa day with a good friend. I really felt I’d deserved that spa day by then!
- Be accountable. Whether it’s joining in a hashtag project to keep track, or sharing your weekly targets online, there’s nothing quite like having to live up to your own hype to keep you working.
- Visualise you achieving your goal. How does it feel? This is another great way of staying motivated. It pushes you on so you can feel those feelings for real when you finally complete, or surmount a hurdle on the way to levelling up.
Are you working on any long-term creative projects?
What keeps you going? How do you stay motivated?
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susan earlam ~ horror author 
I would love your input