So this is a totally ridiculous, narcissistic blog post today. I’m going full honesty here and tell you how I stay motivated to write so much during the NANOWRIMO challenge. Be prepared…you may learn something that clouds your opinion of me forever.
Okay…Taking a huge, cleansing breath…Here goes.
I bribe myself to keep writing.
I know! How awful is that?? I should be writing because I want to, not because I’ll get a reward if I do. The 50,000+ word book SHOULD be the reward. The ONLY reward.
But no, it’s not.
I start off with a mountain of motivation each morning as I sit at my laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard, giving full vent to all the thoughts and scenes and dialogue that have been running through my brain for the previous 8 hours – the time I should be sleeping but, well, you know. Chronic Insomnia. The brain that never shuts down. That’s me.
Anyhooooo….
I start off like a speeding train and about hour 2-3 I start to get a little fatigued, a little distracted, a little, well, bored. I know I have many more words to write – can feel them jumping out of my fingertips in their efforts to break free from my mind – but I start to wane. To keep myself glued to my chair ( figuratively, folks) I’ve developed little bribery rewards for my diligence. Here are just a few of the things I pamper myself with for my perseverance at the laptop:
- If I get another 1000 words down, I’ll have a cup of tea and a Peppermint Patty
- If I finish this chapter I’ll troll thru Amazon and look for new books to read
- If I hit my 2500 minimum daily word count, I’ll schedule a facial this afternoon
- If I can get this dialogue perfect in the next 20 minutes, I’ll go get lunch at Panera.
- If I exceed my daily goal I’ll go shopping for makeup/skin care products/perfume, in other words, I’ll go to Sephora.
See how this works???
And isn’t it ridiculous? I didn’t raise my child to do what’s right in life by bribing her. I would have never even thought of that. Her father and I taught her to do what is correct simply for the reward of getting it right. We didn’t say, “do you your homework and you’ll get a cookie. Get an A on a report and I’ll take you shopping.” We never even gave cash for good report cards. The end result – the good grades – was its own reward. None other was needed.
Why can’t I, then, as a fully formed and functioning adult, heed that wisdom?
See? I told you your opinion of me would get clouded.
Le sigh….
When I’m not ruminating on my hapless state or bribing myself to go on, you can find me here:
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And if you are in need of it, here’s a little distracting motivation for you to peruse and ponder…
you’re welcome………
Peggy Jaeger, Author 