A Writer's Motivation for the Dark Days...

Guest Post by Michael Priebe

 

 

This past May I finally pulled the proverbial trigger on pursuing my writing dreams full-time. After spending most of my adult life making respectable money in education but feeling creatively unsatisfied, I’d begun looking in the mirror and noticing how time was going forward for me and not the other way around.

“Now or never,” said a voice in my head that would barely shut up long enough for me to sleep soundly. So after searching my soul, checking my gut, saving a little money, and rallying the support of my wife, I replied to that voice representing the phantom of my latent aspirations.

“Now it is,” I said last spring, and I quit my day job, downsized my living arrangement, and got behind the controls of my true dreams.

So what has happened in my life since that dramatic period? Have I secured a big-time agent? Have I inked back-to-back book contracts for both of my in-progress manuscripts? Have I enjoyed the appearance of a cult-like following for my blog? On all counts the answer is not quite yet, but I’m hopeful that a blog post from me in a year or two might boast such accomplishments.

In the meantime, I’m resigned to doing the real work of any up-and-coming writer, which is keeping my own motivation (and productivity) inflated while refusing to wither away in the valleys of the inevitable disappointments. And there have been disappointments.

Although my days as a full-time writer have barely just begun, I’ve already experienced the following heartaches:

* Short-fiction rejections from respected literary magazines

* “Not interested” responses and disappointing non-responses from literary agents

* Technical frustrations with the creation of my author website

* Technical complications with the functionality of my new blog

* Sleepless blocks of time spent wondering about the financial future of my family

Notice I referred to the above disappointments as inevitable, because I’m pretty sure that, save a few miraculous exceptions, any writer who is determined to enjoy publication and cheers from an audience will experience them.

So how can writers fight through the emotional lows of the dark days? Where should we direct our minds to stay motivated despite the lows?

What follows is a short list of things that I think about to (hopefully) ensure that my disappointments will someday become footnotes to a successful writing career. I encourage you to take what you can from my “dark day” list and to create one of your own.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT ON WRITING’S DARK DAYS

1. The pain of the alternative

There were a number of years when I didn’t write all that much, and I can tell you from experience that there are few heavier burdens to carry than that of trying to deny your dreams. In my mid-twenties, I took the first of several non-writing positions I would hold at a large technical college, and for a year or so I worked on a novel after work. However, life got busy and I never saw that manuscript through to publication.

Over the next dozen years, I wrote occasional sports and political articles online, but my non-writing periods got longer as deep down I became convinced that my day job of “office worker” was the real me. Those periods of not writing were depressing, and that depression is the alternative to not pushing through any current rejections or disappointments.

Whenever I’m starting to spend too much time questioning my decision to pursue writing now—in my late thirties—I think about my last cubicle, and I think about the countless hours spent wondering if that cubicle was the end of the line for me: that’s how I get my motivation back.

When you’re feeling down, you should think about how low or confused you’ve felt if you’ve temporarily abandoned your writing efforts (or even thought about it for too long), and I bet you’ll quickly get back on track, too.

2. The creations that didn’t exist prior to their conception by me

Over the course of the past year and a half, I’ve imagined and then put together some pretty awesome stuff (note how my motivational voice added pretty awesome to that last sentence).

I’ve authored a short story about Facebook addiction, one about the emotionally unstable life of a football superfan, and one about the health hazards of cubicle life titled Sick Building Syndrome (I know, where in the world did the idea for that last one come from?). I’ve also put together a respectable website to showcase my work, I’ve started a blog that has (hopefully) inspired others to reflect on life experiences and laugh, and I’ve continued to finalize the 260 spiritual inspirations that make up my in-progress manuscript of daily motivations for stressed workers.

These works of mine are products of the creative process! Reflecting on these finished products reminds me of exactly why I love writing.

Writing is an opportunity to create, and it is an opportunity to leave the world a richer place than it was when you found it. Writing is leaving your mark on the world. If you are ever feeling too discouraged about any aspect of the writing life this year, just take a look at something you’ve already written (maybe even print it out and hold it) and think about the ideas and the energy that went into that piece. Remember, without your talent and determination, that piece would not exist! That line of thinking always proves motivational for me, and I suspect it will for you as well.

3. The external bits of encouragement, no matter how tiny

A compliment from a friend, a social media like or a retweet from a stranger, or a nice online comment from anyone at the end of blog post: these things really do matter. These things really can keep a writer going. This year, meditate on any bits of encouragement you’ve received regarding your writing instead of dwelling on any negativity. I think you’ll find that those pieces of encouragement can be potent fuel for your creativity.

*****

Upon packing up my desk and exiting the office of my day job last May, I was faced with intoxicating liberation: my life was finally a blank page! I was also faced with trepidation—my life was now a blank page. The writing life can be a touch unstable (for example, opening a rejection e-mail first thing in the morning can suddenly invite discouragement to settle over the entire day), but thankfully, the stability can be regained for us when we fill our heads with the right thoughts and fill our blank pages with great writing.

 

Here’s to living our writing dreams in 2016. Keep positive and keep working!

What thoughts and reflections get you through the valleys of your writer’s life? What does your motivational list look like?

Author Bio: Michael Priebe is an American writer who is currently working on manuscripts of short fiction and spiritual inspirations for workdays. His fiction has recently been shortlisted at MASH Stories, and you can find his blog, Awkward Observations, and more of his writing at www.michaelpriebewriter.com

Contact: michaelpriebewriter@gmail.com