What’s my motivation?

Help your writing group members determine what they want to write, and why, with exercises from Julie Phillips

What do you write? It’s a common question writers get asked and is often simple to answer. But the more pertinent question that writers should be thinking about is why do they write? Part of the key to a writer’s satisfaction and success lies in the writer’s motivation for writing. The exercises in this month’s workshop focus on why we write.

There are many motivators for writing, which change depending on the writer’s personal circumstances and goals. This ebb and flow of motivation is a natural part of a writer’s life, from when they get their first idea, start submitting and become published (if this is their goal).

For writers, the primary motivation might be money, to entertain others, to get things off their chest, to educate and inform, to persuade or make people think, or for fun, or because they have something to say. There are periods in all writers’ lives where the words just won’t flow smoothly, they can’t find time to write, or they aren’t inclined to write. This is where your writing group can come to the rescue and offer potential solutions to reignite that motivation.

Ask the group to spend a few minutes thinking about what their primary motivation to write is at this time. They should write this down. Then have a quick poll to see what the common motivators are in the group. Ask them to consider what their ultimate writing goal is and does that motivation match that goal? For instance, if their goal is to get paid for their writing, but they are too nervous to send any work off or to pitch any articles, they clearly have the wrong motivator in the driving seat. Could they switch the motivator to just finishing a piece of work, or article pitch, getting it appraised by members of the group, tweaking it if necessary and then just sending it out?

Sometimes, switching motivation and aims can help them to get to know their work and their own writing persona better. When the pressure is off and ‘I must write something, get it published and get paid for it,’ changes to ‘I will write something for me, just for fun, and see where it takes me,’ they relax and find their creativity spirals, confidence grows, and the work they produce is better for it.

Sometimes we might find that we are writing for the wrong reasons. Some might think that writing is a way to make a fast buck or to become famous, whereas, others might think there is no point in trying to get published because they have the misconception that their work will never be good enough to publish. Due to our misconceptions and preconceived ideas or past negative experiences, we don’t always have the unbiased eyes and clarity to see what our true motivations are. Reading out why we write, to hear it out loud, or to hear others explain why they write, opens us up to consider other motivators and be the key to unlocking our inspiration and creativity.

It can be difficult for a writer trying to write for money to take a step back from trying to get published, such are the financial pressures they may be under.

Pressures and panic can motivate writers, but can also send them into a tail spin and affect productivity and quality of writing. In order to move forward, they have to take a step back.

The opposite problem could affect writers who write purely for pleasure. Because they have no deadline and possibly no final destination for their work, they might not feel motivated to finish anything and their writing stalls. Ask these group members to enter a tip into a magazine, or write a letter to a local paper that offers a small reward for their troubles.

This will kickstart their writing and they will have gained something positive through sending something small off. It may even give them the confidence to try sending bigger pieces off if they want to.

For writers who want to inform and educate, are they choosing the right topics for the right audience? Ask them to consider writing on something completely different and for an alternative audience. Sometimes thinking about something they wouldn’t ordinarily write about can fire up creativity.

A good activity here is to write two pieces on the same subject from opposite sides of the argument. Can the group throw in any further considerations that might have been missed? This will help present more structure and balance in future writing.

Once motivation is sorted out, they will be back on the road to working towards their writing goals. If they get stuck again, repeating some of the activities here might shift motivation to nudge them back into business.