How Do I Stay Motivated?

[KafkaF]

I mostly plan to end it. However, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to do it yet. So in the meanwhile I have to take into account that I may never be able to summon up the courage to kill myself. That being the case makes me think about what I'm going to do with my life if I can't do it. And mainly I want to become a professional writer.

From the start of 2022 until very recently, I basically couldn't write at all due to how bad my depression was. Over the last few weeks (maybe month?) I've been writing again. Not very much, but a little bit every day.

Anyway, in the beginning I wrote maybe a paragraph or two a day. But now I find that it is becoming harder again. There have been a few days where I've only written a sentence or two. And I'd rather not go backwards.

A lot of it is due to my depression making it really, really hard to keep myself motivated and also making me tired a lot.

So I was just wondering, does anyone have any advice on how I could stay motivated?

Ideally I'd actually like to write more every day. Until I'm back up to my pre-depression pace (which was a chapter every day).

 

[CuriosityAndCat]

It's about showing up everyday. Not the quantity you write.

 

[KafkaF]

It's about showing up everyday. Not the quantity you write.

I hear what you're saying and you're not wrong. But it's not enough.

It is true that my number one priority is to just write every day. I wasn't able to write for almost 2 years. So that in itself is huge progress. However, I also recognise that at the current pace it is going to take a thousand years for me to finish a novel. If I want to make my living someday with this, that doesn't work. So I need to find a way to increase my pace.

 

[CuriosityAndCat]

I hear what you're saying and you're not wrong. But it's not enough.

It is true that my number one priority is to just write every day. I wasn't able to write for almost 2 years. So that in itself is huge progress. However, I also recognise that at the current pace it is going to take a thousand years for me to finish a novel. If I want to make my living someday with this, that doesn't work. So I need to find a way to increase my pace.

Oh. Sometimes you get stuck in a rut, and need creativity flowing again.

Do something unrelated that you aren't familiar or completely comfortable with.

Balance based and adrenaline activities are my go-tos.