Motivation is a weird thing. It comes and it goes, sometimes predictably, and sometimes unpredictably. It is predictably unpredictable, I suppose.
The trick is to not care. I don’t write when motivation strikes me: I write whenever I have the time, whenever I have the energy, and whenever I can. Motivation helps me write when it aligns, but whether it is there or not… I write.
And I kind of think that is the way it has to be. We can’t sit around waiting for lightning to strike. You can’t sit and stare at the screen until the perfect sentence forms, or the perfect line of dialogue. You just write the best you can, and then you edit the best you can, and then you pay for the best professional editor you can. And at the end of all that, you get something that hopefully you can be proud of.
That’s kinda the trick, I think.
Now, I will wait for motivation for other things. Motivation to practice guitar or to paint or to bake, sure. Those are things I enjoy but nothing is hinging on it more than personal fulfillment. But motivation for work? Nice when it’s there, but the writing has got to get done no matter what.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!