Motivation and Imagination

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

Sylvia Plath

I write for a living. At least that is part of my (main) job. I love it.
Many years ago, someone on Twitter asked: “If money was no object, what you you do for a living?” And back then, when I was doing something very, very different and less fullfilling, I answered: “I want to be paid to write, do reasearch, come up with new ideas.” Well, mabe I got a bit carried away and misquoted myself there.

I write for a living. And as many of you, who do that too, know, it’s not without challenges. Sometimes, I get to the office, make myself a nice cup of coffee, check my emails and then open the last file I was working on and I won’t stop writing, until I have to leave or there is nothing more to write. I get lost in the ideas I come across. The words seem to just pour out of me and I type away, not even noticing what is happening around me. I open my books and search the web to learn more and do my best to add it to my texts. My working area often is a mess, with books lying around open all over the table. Every now and then, I come across something so interesting that I share it with my colleagues, friends, family.

Then, there are other times. Where I sit at my desk and just want to scream at my computer. I know what I am supposed to write about, but I can’t. Either it’s because I can’t find enough material, or because the topic ist so utterly boring that I can’t find a way to put it into words and sentences.
And ever so often, I allow myself to distracted. And there are so many wonderful ways to be distracted. WhatsApp with Sir or a friend, talking to my colleagues, looking for nice things online, and when it’s really bad – Facebook. There is just no inspiration at all. I can’t make myself write. Not without help. What works great is stress and pressure. Knowing that I need to finish, because it needs to be done by the end of the day, REALLY motivates me. But if it’s not that pressing and I still have a few more days, I will gladly accept almost any excuse to put my writing off.

All the same is also true for my blog. I envy the bloggers who write something every day, or almost every day. And usually all of those post are interesting to read. How often have I been writing away, almost not being able to link my post before the prompt closes.

I have found ways to deal with it and help myself. When I comes to work, D/s came in pretty handy. With no fault of my own, I had lost a few files and needed to rewrite several articles again. I knew, I had to get them ready before leaving for vacation, but the frustration and the non-existing motivation were strong. So I asked for help and Sir made me write. We adjusted my rules for that time, he asked exactly what had to be done and till when and kept checking in. I will definitely get back to that. (Not to mention that I am writing this post, while I have two articles to finish – which don’t have to be finished until next Tuesday.)

As for my blog. I did the one thing that always helps me and I get excited making it. I made a list. An Excel spreadsheet with all the memes I follow and participate it. All I need to remind myself of, is to keep it updated.

When I started this blog, I often doubted whether anyone would actually cared to read my thoughts. But as the quote says, the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. So I overame that and the only thing in my way is imagination – and motivation.

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