AUTHOR | HISTORIAN | ARTIST

fixyourwritinghabits:

(See previous posts and broken promises here and here)

Okay, let’s cut to the chase – motivation. I’d say a good most of our questions are related to it, and there’s only so many times you can direct them toward our many many tags about it. Let’s face it, the subject of motivation produces as many words as the lack of it keeps them away. There’s lots of reasons for being unmotivated. If you’re dealing with things out of your control, like depression, you shouldn’t feel bad for not writing. Even if you’re not depressed, don’t feel bad for not writing. I’m going to talk about what I call The Blahs in terms of motivation, but if this advice doesn’t work for you, don’t feel bad. Keep trying, and take care of yourself.

Why are people unmotivated to write? Like I said, there’s lots of reasons for being unmotivated. It could be nerves, it could be stress, it could be the good ol’ Blahs. For me, The Blahs are the worst. I know why I have them – work concerns, I think I’m becoming a hypochondriac, the fucking air – but there’s no magic button to get out of them. The Blahs delayed this post by a week, they’ve been keeping me from writing a story I’m really passionate about, they make me irritated at tiny things. The Blahs are here to ruin my shit, basically.

What are the Blahs, exactly? For me, I know the Blahs is some form of mental suckage that knows, no matter how hard I try to fool it, that writing is hard work that will undoubtedly have to be done over and over again. The Blahs is irritation at no instant reward, no button that will light up in my head once I complete a task, because writing is never really done.

That lack of reward, tangible or mental, turns your brain into a jerky jerk that doesn’t want to work with you. It becomes a four-year-old, constantly screaming for some sort of distraction, insisting that if you scroll through tumblr one more time, it’ll let you go back to writing peacefully. This is a lie, because your brain is a jerk.

Okay, so how do I fix the Blahs? Alright, here’s the bad news: fixing the Blahs is not only hard, it’s very personal, meaning your solutions have to be tailored to you. The Blahs are why I draft with pen and paper, because having pages afterwards to scribble on is very satisfying. But drafting on paper is not enough, because it’s easy to ignore or shove aside, no matter how many notes I leave myself not to do that. So while fixing the Blahs is hard to do, here’s some things you can work on for yourself:

• Deadlines. Deadlines with no teeth do nothing for me. Haha, arbitrary date on my calender, there’s not punishment for not finishing by now, so fuck you. Make your deadlines real. Enlist friends to keep you to task, dole out punishments and rewards for making it. If you have no outer force to keep you to task, make one. This is why NaNoWriMo works for so many people, and you can make it work for you. Get that deadline and find ways to make your jerk brain stick to it.
• Chunk Your Work. Break big projects down to little goals – the more goals you hit, the more that reward lights up in your brain. This takes some figuring out – a little goal for one person is three pages, another a paragraph – but your huge projects needs those goalposts to keep you going.
• Rewards, Baby. Your brain runs on rewards, the more instant the better. Big rewards – that paycheck at the end of the month, a finished novel – are vague concepts to your brain until you actually have them, so make your rewards more immediate. Finishing that chapter wins you your favorite snack. Editing that page earns you a cup of coffee. The rewards don’t have to be tangible – checking tumblr or playing a quick game on your phone lights up that reward part of your brain just as much other rewards. Rewards are great, but don’t let them become distractions. If they get you too off the writing page, find another reward.
• Kill Your TV Distractions, Man. If the internet is your siren song, check out blocking programs that can help your productivity. Chuck your mobile devices in a bag or other room, find music that can help you focus. Bury those shows you want to watch in a few dozen folders, consider trying new locations. Your brain wants distractions because they are instantly satisfying; don’t give them to it.
• Try Progress Trackers. A writing calender where you cross off the days you write works but keep that damn thing on hand or your jerk brain will ignore it. A writing journal of progress is the same. They’re helpful, but only if you use them, so keep them somewhere you will always find them. Put them on top of your laptop or in your bag at all times.

You’re working toward the goal of forming writing habits that won’t sway to the Blahs so easily. This takes time, and it’s not easy. Don’t be hard on yourself if you fail. All of these things I’m still struggling with, and it’s okay to do the same.

To Do: I hate writing assignments like a passion, and hey, I’m not your teacher (unless I am, in that case go do your homework >:|), but last time I mentioned making a list of your main goals, and if you want, now’s the time to break out that list, find your most important goals, and chunk them down into manageable jobs. Your goal is to create steps that you can reach, all the way from start to being done. If it’s too much, focus on it in parts – part one of your first draft, part two, etc. If you’re working on it now, great! You can still try this technique.

I’d also really recommend giving yourself deadlines with teeth, so you feel like you have to make them. If doing the dishes on a failed deadline isn’t threat enough, maybe cleaning from top to bottom is. If you need help, recruit people. You can even loop in family members (‘I really need to make this goal, can you get on me around this time?’), or be vague about what you’re doing (because shit do I hate explaining what I’m writing), but you have to make those deadlines real.

Good luck, see you on the other side of the Blahs.

ziseviolet:

Great question! First of all, I’d like to point out that wearing hanfu does not require fancy hair, makeup, or accessories – it can be worn casually as you would any other clothing.

That said, there are many ways to incorporate hanfu styles in a more “modern” flavor. You can always mix-and-match hanfu separates into your usual wardrobe. There’s also an entire offshoot of hanfu called “hanyuansu/汉元素”, which refers to designs that utilize elements from traditional hanfu. Here are some of my suggestions/inspiration for incorporating hanfu style:

1) Shortening sleeves and/or hemlines can produce a more “modern” look.

2) Layer on a Beizi/褙子 (jacket) – Beizi are extremely versatile, and come in all lengths and materials, for all seasons. (note: the pics below are “hanyuansu”; real hanfu doesn’t have modern pockets)

3) Put on a Banbi/半臂 (half-sleeve jacket) or Bijia/比甲 (sleeveless jacket) – Similar to Beizi, but with shorter/no sleeves, these can be worn like cardigans/t-shirts/vests. 1st row: banbi, 2nd row: bijia.

4) Hanfu skirts – Try wearing a hanfu skirt with your outfit. Left: Ming Dynasty-style, Right: Tang Dynasty-style.

5) Song-style pants/宋裤

– These pants were popular with women during the Song Dynasty. Try adding them to your outfit. (note: the right pic is a modified, “shorts” version)

6) Doupeng/斗篷 (cloaks/capes) make a nice accessory during the colder months, and come in various lengths and designs.

These are only just a few ways to incorporate hanfu elements; there are a lot more ideas and designs out there. I hope this helps in providing inspiration 🙂

alisayamin:

applehemmings:

mrv3000:

Imagining a story in your head:

Writing down the story:

As a writer, I can confirm this.

Thank you for the visual aid of every story I ever wrote