Finishing
Day 16 of 31: 200 Words-a-Day Challenge
More words today! And your prompt as well. If you don’t need it, write about whatever … JUST WRITE.
Finishing
It’s been a challenge for me to bring my novel to completion.
In general, humans are rotten at reaching goals, not because we don’t try. Not even because the goal is unreasonable. It’s the trudge-through that gets us.
Most goals, particularly something like a book-length manuscript, involve future success. Even when we’re motivated to do it, staying enthused is hard when we won’t finish for days, weeks, months, years from now.
We much prefer immediate gratification.
I’ve been thinking this might be one reason I’m drawn to the idea of serializing my fiction on Substack. I see writers commenting on each other’s work and subscribers giving feedback and words of encouragement. Those are little hits of dopamine for the author, regular sparks of motivation that can help the writer keep going even when the middle sags.
(In the best scenario, connections also are made among the author, the other writers, and the subscribers/readers, but that’s another topic for another day.)
That sort of near-immediate response seems like it could be a good thing for me. Even comments that aren’t all ‘good’ would offer something for me to learn from, something to help make my writing better. It feels a little risky and scary too. But it also feels as if it just might keep me motivated for the duration, all the way to completion.
Your Prompt / Day 16 of 31
How are you at finishing what you start? Is there something you’re currently working on that you’re struggling to complete? What do you do (or could you do) when your motivation lags?
If you’ve missed previous prompts, navigate with the previous and next buttons to find more inspiration. Don’t fret if you don’t get to it, though. Just pick up where you can.
You’re also invited to share what you’ve written in the comments below or via Notes (a restack would be sweet, too!).
Thanks for joining me in this challenge! Please invite your friends.
The older I get and the more writing I've done, the less I believe in ye olde "brilliant solitary author" mythos. Yes, I spend most of my time alone; but I also spend a lot of time connecting with other storytellers (of both fiction and non-fiction) and that helps me so much when it comes time to the actual solitary writing process. I am definitely more likely to finish a story when I'm being public about the process, even if I also spend a lot of time cringing about being public about the process. 😂
In general I believe writers are more productive and happier when they are in an active community sharing and supporting each other. I first found that in fandom, back in the glory LJ days, and I'm seeing that develop here on substack, and honestly I feel something like relief about it. HERE ARE MAH PEOPLES!