How to Write Despite Self-Doubt and Lack of Motivation

And Writing Update #1

Sep 16, 2024

I’m not a very motivated person. In these last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed a couple of things that have helped me write despite that.

I have a lot of ideas and things that I want to work on, but when it comes down to actually doing it, I don’t really feel “motivated” to start. Part of that may be the depression talking, but it could also be because I’m not used to it yet.

I’m more of a reader than a writer. Ever since elementary school, I’ve always had a book in my hands. I used to read while walking... I don’t anymore. Now, I listen to them. The point is that I am used to reading about all sorts of amazing fantasy worlds and different magic systems, but I’m not used to creating them.

I want to write, but I’m often unsure of myself and just end up not writing or only writing a little bit. I’ve spent most of my time when I’m “writing,” developing the world I’m trying to write in and trying to get all the details right that I don’t write.

So, how can you get started writing even when you are unmotivated and unsure of yourself?

How to get started writing:

I have found two ways that have helped me overcome self-doubt and the dread of the blank pages ahead. Changing the goal and changing the location.

Changing the goal.

When I think about the stories that I want to write, I think about the epic journies and the epic fighting and magic and plot twists and all that, usually accompanied by a soundtrack in my head. It is fun to imagine, but when it comes to actually writing it out, it feels too much. How am I supposed to write all that? Can I get the plot twist right? Can I fully convey the sheer amount of epicness that’s happening in my head?... I sit in front of a blank screen... and stare.

I feel the need to write it all down, but I feel overwhelmed by it all, and I just stare at all the white space that I need to fill... and I can’t do it. What do I know of epicness? Why do I think I could write? My writing sucks. I can’t do it and even if I somehow did, no one will want to read it.

I stare into the blank page, and self-doubt fills my mind.

What I need to remember (and you as well) is that I’m not sitting down to write the entire story all at once. Heck, I’m not even writing a full chapter or scene. I’m just writing the next step. What happens next?

Write that.

Because that’s what helped me. I changed my goal from sitting down and writing out a whole chapter (around 3,000 words) to sitting down and writing out 100 words of what happens next. With that mindset, I was able to actually start writing!... Most days. There were still some days where I just couldn’t do it.

However, as more and more days passed, where I was meeting and exceeding that 100 word count goal, those days where I just couldn’t write became fewer and fewer.

By sitting down and writing those 100 words, that dread of staring at the blank white page fades, and there were many times when I actually wrote far more than just 100 words. The small goal of 100 words kickstarted the writing process and got the ball rolling. That’s all that I needed. To just get the ball rolling.

Self-doubt and other negative thoughts used to cloud my mind and prevent me from writing. I thought that I couldn’t do it.

But I could do it. I can do it.

That’s how you overcome self-doubt. You set small and achievable goals for yourself and be consistent in meeting those goals. If you do that, then you are proving to yourself that you are able to do things, and the self-doubt and negative self-talk will fade over time.

Once you are able to consistently meet, and exceed those small goals, then maybe you can raise your goals (like how I recently changed my goal to 1000 words.) But for now, small goals are perfectly fine. In a year, you’ll have written 36,500 words. That’s half a book! It might not seem like much, but after 10-plus years of trying and failing to write even the first chapter, half a book is really good, isn’t it? And that’s just if you write only the 100-word goal each day. If those 100 words get the ball rolling for you, then you might have even written twice that or more!

The important thing is that you don’t let self-doubt hold you back. Set small and achievable goals and be easy on yourself.

Changing the location.

Another useful way that I have found to help me stay focused and get writing, even when I was feeling unmotivated, was changing where I write.

I’m usually in my apartment, at my desk in my room, doing schoolwork, reading books, watching movies, and when I want to write, I get distracted by everything else that I could be doing, and I end up not writing.

So, there is a way to trick your brain into focusing on a specific task, and that is to change where you are doing the task. I once heard Jordan Peterson say that a college student once asked him “What if we don’t have another room to go to?” and Jordan said that even changing where you sit on the couch would work as well. Probably not as well, but it should work a bit. And I also heard someone say that even changing the color of the lightbulb worked for them. For others, I heard that playing a particular soundtrack for a specific task also works.

Well, to be honest, I didn’t really try doing the tricks with the lights or soundtracks. Instead, I just left my apartment altogether and started going to the local public library every morning.

I’d wake up, do my morning routine, and then leave for the library to write.

It’s free and the library has wifi, so it’s a good place to go.

By leaving my apartment, I am making it impossible for me to fall into the routines that I normally do and limiting myself to doing what I set out to do.

By leaving the apartment, I am able to put myself into “work mode” and not fall into “chill mode.”

When I started going to the library to write, I had no clue what I wanted to write, but I left with more than 2,000 words written. Maybe that’s not a lot for you, maybe it is, but it was certainly a lot for me. In the following weeks, I was able to write between 1,000 and 2,000 words, and there were only a couple of days when I wrote less than that.

It really worked for me. If you’re feeling unmotivated to write, it might also work for you.

My Writing Updates

I get distracted pretty easily, so I’m always shifting between several different stories. That is probably not the best strategy to writing, but what can you do?

The World Traveler

A story of a boy pulled into a different world… again… and again.

Currently in World 1

Worldbuilding: 100%

Outlining: 100%

First Draft: 80%

Editing: 60% (I sometimes go back and edit what I wrote)

Let There Be Light

A god decides to create a world after being in a void for who knows how long. It is a fantasy world that follows the history of several races from the god’s perspective.

Worldbuilding: 40%

Outlining: 30%

First Draft: 20%

Editing: 10%

The Outlander’s Tale

It is a LitRPG story that follows the life of a boy as he follows in his mother’s footsteps, completes quests, and goes on adventures.

Worldbuilding: 90%

Outlining: 70%

First Draft: 40%

Editing: 30%

Project Mist (Not its real title)

A rookie inquisitor, freshly graduated from the institute, meets his mentor and sets off on a mission to investigate a small town where people have been going missing. A fantasy story.

Worldbuilding: 60%

Outlining: 50%

First Draft: 4%

Editing: 0%

Project Guard (Also not its real title)

My epic fantasy story that follows 3 main P.O.V.s in a world war against demons. Epic last stands. Soul-powered rune magic. Gods vs Demons… It should be cool.

Worldbuilding: 50%

Outlining: 50%

First Draft: 0%