Lots and lots and lots of people dream about writing a novel. Fewer people actually start. And fewer than that actually finish.
Writing a novel takes hundreds of hours, the ability to tune out distractions, forcing oneself to buckle down when the novelty wears off, and the mental perseverance to keep going when doubts and the am-I-crazies creep in.
There are lots of things that can stop someone from writing. What keeps you going?
-30- says
What keeps me going is the story. It sounds silly, but I have only a rough outline of the book. I have to keep writing scene after scene to figure out how its going to end.
I know my protagonist is going to prevail, but what I don't know is exactly how, and what obstacles are in his way. This is the fun part of writing: Sitting back to watch your characters work.
#longwindedfail
Anonymous says
I don't know – was the question about what motivates you, or what sustains you? Two different things…seems like most responses here are about motivation, rather than sustenance…?? Maybe I'm missing something…
Anonymous says
It's like if you're lost in the desert, getting back to your loved ones is what motivates you…but the water that condenses on the roof of a little tent you made out of a piece of your backpack, is what sustains you…
Transitoria says
Just when I think I'm not going to write another word, my characters wake me up from sleep, demanding to be heard. It's like thinking of the snappy comeback three hours too late. There are many nights when I'm awakened five or six times. I look like a wreck the next morning, but the story progresses.
Vicky says
The main reason I keep going is because I can't stop. I love my characters and I want to tell their stories, and I keep writing because that's what I do.
Marge says
I keep writing because if I stop, then my dream/vision dies. And the novels / short stories I write come from the 'me' that no one else gets to see. If I didn't write, I'd no doubt go 'postal'.
Angela says
Knowing that I have a great story to tell and because the story itself will not let me rest until it's finished. And because of that fact alone, I will not let myself drop the ball…no matter how many years it takes me!!!!
Trish says
When I was a kid, I couldn’t write very well, but I could read. I loved books and admired the people that wrote all those wonderful stories. I wondered how they did it and how they came up with their ideas. I decide I would like to make people laugh – and cry too. I wanted to be admired for my stories just like them.
When I posted my first attempt of a children’s story on a writing forum, I got a few laughs. This spurred me on. I was hooked. I received criticism of course as my grammar was terrible, but I enjoyed making people laugh. I decided to learn more and write more. Now I’m addicted and I can’t stop.
I love communicating with other writers, maybe that’s part of the thrill as well as the pleasure I get when I’ve developed a character and completed a manuscript.
Nicole says
The dream of becoming an author and my absolute love of writing keep me going but when I am tired and don't feel like doing anything the goals and deadlines I have set for myself keep me moving. I feel too guilty when I miss a personal deadline so I don't.
Jil says
I write because I love disappearing into those other worlds. They say we only have one life -well a writer has as many as he wishes to create. Even if I never sell them my six, going on seven, completed novels will be worlds for me to return to and read when I'm old and grey and my fingers can no longer type.
Victoria says
Writing is my 'down-time' when I can ignore all the craziness around me and forget the five billion reports that I have to write.
It helps me relax and it's oh so fun
Jil says
By the way, did anyone notice that Dick Francis died the other day? I loved his mysteries, easy to read and fun for passing away time in airplanes.
I knew him in England when he was a steeplechase jockey and rode for the Queen. He was always a real gentleman.
jessi says
Because "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." ~E.L. Doctorow
That's the best I've got at this point. 🙂
Kristen says
I write because I have to. It is as essential as breathing to me. I love being able to disappear inside myself in the worlds that I create. Once I start a story, even if I find myself getting frustrated I have to finish. I need to know how it ends and I have to end it for my characters…
Erasmus says
Maybe this is a tip, maybe it's just me, but the more writing projects I have (a picture book, a screenplay, a column, a middle grade novel), the more and the better I write. Being able to switch from one project to another keeps me going and sharp. Good writings to you all!
Meghan says
Entering the world of make believe keeps me writing always. After a day that makes me want to run my head through a wall, writing is the perfect release.
mapelba says
I've finished three novels. Not one has been published, but I keep writing. I imagine my son when he is 25. Do I want him to tell his friends, "My mom dreamed of being a writer but gave up." Or do I want him to say, "My mom is crazy. She just keep writing and writing…" I pick the second.
Jessie Oliveros says
writing pretty words and reading them out loud, finding out what happens next…
Whirlochre says
the three guys keeping me locjked up here the mad one the kind of ok one and the one inbetween say if I don't keep on with the happy endings stuff, then I'm outta here big time
so I'm outta here
Marleen says
The story has to be told.
Anonymous says
Writing is a more active way of escaping into a good book. So I guess I write to escape.
Judith Mercado says
I repeat what others have said, "I can't not do it." In addition, writing a story or novel is like picking up a good book that I can't put down because I want to know what happens to the characters. Once my characters show up, while I have a sense of what is at stake for them, I rarely know ahead of time how they will resolve their conflict. So I'm a sort of reader as well as being the writer.
GloriaAttarRNBSN says
Red Bull and Marlboros? Kidding.
Writing is how I breathe, so I guess it's the desire to take that next breath.
Orange Slushie says
small affirmations…competition wins and the like
the work of writers i admire
the satisfaction that comes from managing to articulate exactly what i'm thinking, exactly what i want to say…
Orange Slushie says
…oh, and i hate my day job
Mark Welker says
Guilt. Writing a novel is the second most soul destroying thing I can think of. Right behind "not writing a novel". Unfortunately, this seems to be something I'm hard wired with.
Tina Lynn says
I suck. That keeps me writing. If I keep doing, one day, I'll stop sucking:D
abc says
Ha, ditto what Tina Lynn said. I like writing and I suck. I better keep working at it so I can get better. Also, I started the damn thing, might as well finish it.
I'm thinking I over share. Sorry, people.
Candice says
I write because I love it. I can't not write. It's my outlet.
Marcia J Sargent says
Some people knit; I don't. Some people write music or sing; I'm tone deaf. Some people paint; I never end up with anything near as satisfying as the picture in my mind.
The reality I create on my laptop is richer, brighter, and more satisfying than anything else I stretch my life and my brain with.
Caroline Starr Rose says
I have something unique to say, and if I keep at it, my writing can only improve.
Kat Sheridan says
Bourbon. And Vermouth. And peer pressure. I really need to stop hanging around writers. They're the ones who talked me into this insanity. I used to have a nice, quiet life as a reader. Then I met some writers, and life will never be the same again…
Lucinda says
Selfish motivations actually –
Identity (without anyone else's permission)
Sanity (or insanity on some days)
Satisfaction (priceless)
Hope (without this one…well…)
Magaly Guerrero says
At first, the satisfaction of finishing a particular piece and reading it. Today, the hope that one day a nice bunch of people get to read what I write and share the feeling.
Erasmus says
@Candice: I understand you totally. I write because I really enjoy it and not because I have to – not even with deadlines. I write, it happens and sometimes I get published, that's great, but it's never a reason to stop loving what I do.
Madeleine says
The guilt.
Jeffrey says
I figure it is one of two things. Either writing keeps me sane or writing is a result of my insanity. I have trouble deciding which sometimes…
Gerri says
* Thinking about my sons keeps me going. Although they're much older now I don't want them to see me giving up on my dreams.
David F. Weisman says
Other then writing, I haven't really done much worth remembering. So I have to make that worth remembering.
Pat says
I write because it's the only thing I do that uses all of me. It takes everything I've got and I never, ever get bored of it. Tired yes, bored no. And I've scrolled the posts and haven't noticed anything about reading, but can I mention that writing makes me a better reader. I read with such appreciation and understanding that I feel enriched by the excellent novels I've consumed.
Nicole says
The first one was to see if I could do it.
The second one to see if I could do it better.
And so on….
I battle with myself, my imagination, my expectations are high.
Seadhlinn says
I am very concept-oriented, so I end up writing until I have said what I need to say (if that makes any sense?). That urgency of needing to communicate an idea though story is what keeps me writing. The revision part for me is more about getting to the core purpose of the story, and making the work clear and enjoyable for other people.
Terrance Foxxe says
I want to be one of the best. I have nothing better to do, and want to be one of the best. I enjoy what I do, and want to be one of the best. Take your pick. One thing I'm sure of, I'll make it, and be counted as one of the best. I work too hard not to have that happen.
clairegillian says
It's like the urge to procreate. If you're fertile enough, you get this baby that you think is God's gift to the world yet you can't help but have this nagging thought. Is my baby one that only it's mother, me, could love or am I nurturing the next Gerber / e-Trade / Brook Shields / AFV baby star?
And yet no matter what, you love that little piece of you.
Naya says
I just love to write. It's like an addiction for me. I've honestly never run into a situation where I felt like giving up. It doesn't matter to me if I don't sell thousands or even hundreds of books. I couldn't imagine living my life and not writing. It's just who I am.
I've stopped writing before when life gets hectic and I can't seem to find the time… and all it did was depress me. All I could think about what writing. When I started again, everything went right in my world again.
holly says
what keeps me going is when you write the novel so far, and then you realize how the main character or characters are a different part of you, and then you say "what would i do?" in a certain situation.
Paul and Karen says
My characters pester me and talk to me in my sleep. I don't get any rest until I let them speak… When they break into daytime, then I know I've really neglected them.
Kristina says
Because it's fun and I love it! My favorite parts are the characters. I even dream about them. It rocks.
Mary Malcolm says
As sad as it is, I'm not good at anything else. I'm not happy with anything else. I've worked at probably fifteen or sixteen different jobs, and I'm only 32. I'd studied to go to medical school, which I loved, but didn't make me feel completely fulfilled.
I sat down to write my first novel and it was as if peace flowed over me. My fingers started hitting the keys and everything made sense. I suddenly felt happier than I'd ever felt at anything in my life.
So. I write because I am a writer. And apparently, somewhere in my mind, I've always known I wasn't meant for something else. I write because this is what I love. Regardless of any money I might make, or how sane it might seem to others, I am happiest when I write.
C Riede says
I'm afraid of what will happen if I stop.