September 28, 2011

“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality…Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

~~Ralph Waldo Emersonson

 

Where do you get this enthusiasm? It comes from having passion for your writing.

How does a writer act who is passionate about his writing? He can’t wait to get up in the morning and get started. He is eager and energetic. This comes from loving what you do, and doing what you were born to do or feel called to do. Feeling this passion for your writing keeps you going. Quitting is no longer an option. When you’re passionate about your writing, perseverance is a given.

 

This brings us to two main questions:

• How do you develop passion for the most important areas of your life?
• How do you maintain that passion during the inevitable tough times?

First: Find It

Are you doing what you really want to do in your writing career? Are you doing it at least part of the time? (I know that for most of my writing life, it was half and half. Half the time I was writing what I really wanted to write–fiction usually–whether it sold or not. The other half of my writing time went to work-for-hire projects, teaching, speaking or whatever brought guaranteed income.) Ask yourself: Am I truly doing what I want to do?

If you’re not skilled enough to do the work you’d love to do, make time to educate yourself so you are. While maintaining your current job (either outside the home and/or raising children), do whatever it takes to prepare for your dream writing jobs. It’s very difficult to create passion for doing something you don’t want to do or a job you are “settling for” because you don’t feel skilled enough to do what you’d really love to do.

Do whatever you need to do to overcome those lying voices in your head that say you’ll never be good enough, you’re not smart enough, you’re not whatever enough. Read inspirational books, read author biographies about how they got started and grew as writers, and say “no” to whatever is eating the time you need to study and read and write.

Second: Maintain It

Passion for your writing makes your days fly by (in a good way!). It helps you get more done in less time. That being true, it deserves whatever time you need to keep your writing passion alive. If your passion for writing dies, then writing just becomes another drudge job.

So how can you maintain passion and enthusiasm every day? First–and maybe most obvious–is to spend more time actually doing what you love to do. What is your pet writing project, the one that may never sell but you love it? Spend more time each day working on it. Even if it’s only an extra fifteen minutes or half an hour, it will remind you why you love to write.

Another key to maintaining passion for all your work is to reconnect with the purpose underlying everything you do. For example, I don’t enjoy running until it’s over and I’m in the shower. But I run my miles in the morning because the weight-bearing exercise is critical to staying “recovered” from my osteoporosis, which means my bones stay strong, which means I can still upright at the computer (hopefully) for decades to come and still have energy at the end of the day for my grandkids.

The same goes for giving up sugar finally four months ago. For a gal whose blood type is Hershey’s, that was a big deal for me. But more and more, sugar was making me sick and sluggish and sleepy. It was affecting my work–both the output and how I felt during work time. I don’t miss the sweets now, but during the first thirty days I might have mugged you for your candy bar.

What does that have to do with writing? It’s about maintaining passion. I don’t feel passionate about anything–including writing–if I don’t feel well. And by getting in touch with the “why” underlying the things I don’t like to do, it is a lot easier to get enthusiastic about it.

Tricks of the Trade

I know I’m not alone in trying to find and maintain passion for my writing. Please share some tips for how YOU maintain your writing enthusiasm in these fluctuating times!

6 Comments »

1. 

   My passion is fueled by interacting with other writers. I just got back from a great conference put on by SCBWI-MI. That alone might hold me for another year….

   Comment by Judith L. Roth — September 29, 2011 @ 8:18 am

2. 

   Judith, that is a great way to fuel passion. I haven’t gone away to one (where I didn’t have to speak) for a long time, but when I did, it was almost like a writer’s retreat as well. Heavenly!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 29, 2011 @ 10:19 am

3. 

   You’re not alone, Kristi, but I don’t know if I have any tips for you. Staying connected to the writing community thru FB, Twitter and blogs helps. So does writing. Every day, or most every day. The problem I have is that my writing ebbs and flows as does my life. I can get the daily discipline going for a while, but it’s maintaining it that’s the problem.

   Comment by PatriciaW — September 29, 2011 @ 11:25 am

4. 

   PatriciaW, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Getting the habit started–and even maintaining it for a while–isn’t so bad. But keeping it doing when interrupted by “life” is the trick!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 29, 2011 @ 3:20 pm

5. 

   Kristi,

   I know exactly where your coming from. I seriously started a writing routine about two months ago with great passion and enthusiasm. Unfortunately I think I’ve come to my first barrier where I haven’t written a word in two weeks. I need to get going again, but there’s no muse in sight. I love writing, but the joy isn’t always there. My critique group is what is keeping my writing activity alive. Enthusiasm is hard to come by these days.

   Comment by Joseph Pirrello — October 5, 2011 @ 1:17 pm

6. 

   Joseph, I think one of the best kept secrets about the writing muse is that it usually shows up AFTER you start writing. If you’ve had a two-week break, you may have to write consistently for several days before the muse shows up. We tend to wait for passion to write when in actuality, the writing usually fuels the passion. Odd, but true!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — October 6, 2011 @ 3:22 pm

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