SeleniumI haven’t written a Motivation Monday post in a long time! I wonder what that says about my general motivation? I think it has more to do with the other writing projects that I’ve been trying to chip away at, and I went on another blitz round of “I’ll never be a successful writer, so I’d better apply to every job I can think of.” It’s a cyclical spiral that keeps coming back and eating away at all of my time; I clearly need to find a more productive way to process those feelings.
Blog related setbacks aside, it’s now a beautiful spring Monday, and the world is brimming with optimism. Maybe it’s just me that’s brimming with optimism. Either way, I’m pretty happy about things that are jump-starting my motivation this week.
Save the Cat Writes a Novel – By Jessica Brody
I started this book a little over a week ago, so I don’t have a full review. However, I can say that after I finished the first chapter, I dove into some character background writing that really helped my unstick things.
I’ve been focused on plot development ideas and on honing the outline of a story’s action, assuming that the time for fleshing out details would come after that. This book posits that understanding precisely what the hero needs and wants in life actually fuels the rest of those things. I don’t know if that’s a universal truth, per se, but coming at things from that direction helped me move past a point I couldn’t see beyond previously, so I’m very grateful for that. I’m also excited to finish the next part and go on another writing spree.
My Broken Computer
I have a pretty fancy computer, it can do complicated things very quickly and never has a problem keeping up with what I need. I broke it last week. This one wasn’t my fault, the power button just failed and needs to be replaced (nothing like the nail polish remover incident from last summer, which I will admit, was entirely my fault). The result is that my fancy computer is away, wherever the GeekSquad sends things that need repairing, and I am spending all my time on an old computer that no one would ever describe as fancy. It can do one thing; it can take down the words that I type and save the document when I’m done. I guess that’s technically two functions. Things, like going off on research tangents, or having crises of confidence and deep diving into another job search, are not possibilities right now. This poor computer would die if I tried to make it have more than one internet tab open at a time. The screen is also low enough quality that I really can’t look at it for any amount of time, so obsessive micro-editing is also not going to be happening.
What I’m trying to say is, I can only do one thing right now, and that is type words from my head out into a doc. Period. It’s incredible how much I can sit down and write when I literally can’t do anything else.
Those two motivators are complimenting each other this week, which is feeding me all kinds of energy. This week is going to be awesome. I’ve already decided.
