IWSG: A Writer in Motion

Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Click here for more information about IWSG and to see a full list of participating blogs.

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I like to believe that Newton’s laws apply to writers. I like to believe that a writer in motion tends to stay in motion (unless acted on by an external force, where force equals mass times acceleration, etc).

Over the last few weeks, this writer has been in motion. My weekly word counts have been consistently high. I’m working on multiple projects simultaneously. I’m feeling extra creative and I’m trying new things with my writing.

I’m not entirely sure what set me into motion, but I have a few theories.

• Accountability Partners: Several months ago, I asked two friends to serve as accountability partners for my writing. I type up a weekly progress report, and we talk about what I need to do to either get back on schedule or stay on schedule.
• Deadlines: I’ve always struggled with self-imposed deadlines. They don’t feel real to me. But in the last few weeks, I’ve had one or two actual deadlines to contend with, which may have motivated me to stop procrastinating and go write something.
• Semi-isolationism: I have a bad habit of overbooking my weekends. This can seriously cut into writing time, so in the last few weeks I’ve been limiting my social engagements. Not so much that I become a hermit, but enough to schedule longer—much longer—writing sessions.

One of these, or perhaps a combination of all of them, might have gotten me going. Or maybe none of these things mattered; maybe my muse, in whom I’ve placed so much trust, gave me a good, hard push to get me started.

Whatever happened, I had a highly productive July. I’m now a writer in motion, and so long as no external forces try to break my momentum, I can look forward to a highly productive August.

So, fellow writers, what is it that sets you into motion?