Friday Feedback: What Motivates You? (and Happy New Year!). A Post for Wendy.

Author photo courtesy Rick Kopstein,
turned into sepia tone courtesy of PicMonkey
So, about a week ago, I got this note from Teachers Write! camper, library media specialist, and writer, Wendy Watts Scalfaro, in my message box:

"Hi, Gae. I'm wondering what the schedule is like for Friday Feedback (if there is one)? I'm working on some writing goals, and would like to have Friday Feedback as one of my motivators for getting some writing done."

Maybe as Wendy typed out that note to me, she felt some trepidation: Is it okay to ask? Am I bugging her? Am I putting myself on the spot?
It brought me HUGE joy to see that note there in my message box.

I've talked about before how, as writers (or at least as a midlist writer), we do what we do, whether blogging or writing novels, so often in a vacuum, without a clue as to what (if any) effect we might have on our readers. Hearing directly that something we did matters, connects with someone on a meaningful level, or better yet inspires them in some small way, is such icing on the cake, you don't know.  
Wendy's note, together with the New Year, and an unexpected note from author Kate Messner  (which I will share in a moment), came for me at a most needed time. 

I have been waist-deep -- make that neck-deep -- slogging through a proverbial SLUMP. 
Distracted. Unfocused. Unproductive. 
I badly needed MOTIVATION.
Suddenly, those three things coupled together, brought it to me. Motivation. Knowing that someone was actually waiting for my words, wanting them, and appreciating them, for me, is the most amazing motivator in the world.
So, when Wendy asked me to get my ass in gear (yes, she did), I decided to blog on what motivates me, and others, most. I decided to ask many of my awesome writer friends, plus Wendy, to share what motivates them. For some it is deadlines, for others, fear, for still others, an encouraging word from a friend. Hope some of it might motivate you to get writing again. 

Wendy, this Friday Feedback is for you!

p.s. I don't know why Blogger has decided to put some of the below in white highlight and not others. Don't know how to fix it. Sorry for the glare. 

Happy New Year! Get cracking! Make some noise! Toss confetti!

WHAT MOTIVATES US MOST?
Gae: I am a big fan of New Year's resolutions, a fresh start, promises typed across a blank slate. For me, the New Year is always that shining beacon, a point at which I can reset, and start again. I needed it badly this year. Maybe self-doubt had crept in, or maybe it's the dog's fault and I can keep blaming him, but both the New Year and the very unexpected note from admired author friend, Kate Messner, who, unbeknownst to me, had just finished an Advance Reader Copy of THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, set my heart ablaze with hope and motivation again. The whole note is below with Kate's permission, but the part that motivated me the most was this:
"It's funny - people ask me all the time if I miss teaching, and usually, I'm okay...  I love what I do now and get to do so many writing workshops with the kids when I travel.  But your book made me wish for a minute that I still had a 7th grade classroom  so I could book-talk it and put it in kids' hands."
         

How could I not be inspired to get back to writing after that? 

I asked Wendy** if she might share what it is about Friday Feedback that was serving to motivate her too:

Wendy : I am motivated by That Wee Bit Heap in general, and Friday Feedback specifically, because you provide a no holds barred critique of participants’ writing, and because you're a real person with every day challenges (writing and personal) that I can relate to.
Challenges, indeed! ;) And, hooray!!

Here's what motivates some other awesome authors who were kind enough to participate:
Kate: The most honest answer I can give you isn’t all that sparkly. Usually, the thing that motivates me is just the writing – looking forward to it and feeling gratitude that I get to do this as my job. On the tougher days, when things aren’t going well, I’m very motivated by my deadlines and my desire to KEEP this as my full-time job. I understand and appreciate that being able to do this is a gift and a privilege, and I don’t take that lightly, so just that is usually plenty of motivation for me to settle down to work.
-- Kate Messner, WAKE UP MISSING (2013)

Caroline: This may sound silly, but writing down daily totals in my calendar (sometimes a word count, sometimes hours spent working) really is satisfying. I like seeing everything all lined up. I also have two friends I'm in regular contact with over email. We touch base throughout the week to check in on our writing. Various pep-talks ensue. My biggest motivation, though, is always a deadline!

-- Caroline Starr Rose, BLUE BIRDS (winter 2015)www.carolinestarrrose.com


Nova Ren: There are many gaping moments when I find myself stuck during the writing of a novel, so to give myself the push of motivation, I return to my favorite piece of the manuscript, the spot that keeps the fire going, the spark. I stop what I'm doing and reread those paragraphs to myself, sometimes aloud, sometimes in my head, as many times as it takes until I remember why I need to write this and why I won't—can't—give up until it's done.
— Nova Ren Suma, 17 & GONE (Dutton, 2013) www.novaren.com


Cat : This sounds strange, but I'm motivated by being busy. I love the occasional slow day, but in general, I like to keep my schedule pretty packed. When I'm doing activities like driving kids, exercising, or cleaning, I'm always thinking about my WIP: hashing things out, fitting the pieces together. Then, with a finite amount of time for the actual act of putting fingertips to keyboard, I'm forced to get serious and just...write. 
-- Cat Patrick, THE ORIGINALS, JUST LIKE FATE (Cat Patrick & Suzanne Young)www.catpatrick.com. 

Tania: At first, I'll get an idea and I'll be convinced that this time, I've got a chance at writing something possibly terrific. That's huge motivation. I spend some time getting the idea down on the page, encountering a few problems but still excited, still chasing the idea. Later, with chapters out of place and characters dangling and the plot taking turns for the worse, the motivation becomes one of simple survival. Will I ever get out of this book alive? There's satisfaction in managing to fix problems and get the thing working but I'm basically I'm in damage control mode.  After a certain point, I just want to finish the thing. That's what keeps me going. Because inevitably, well before I've finished, a new idea is tugging at my mind. A new idea! An idea to end all other ideas....And so it goes on.

-- Tania Unsworth, THE ONE SAFE PLACE (Orion, UK, Jan 2014, AYR, April 2014)twitter: @TaniaUnsworth1


Alissa: What motivates me to write, is the fact that I'm lucky enough to have some time to do it. I can remember a time when between jobs and other commitments, finding time to write was a struggle. So, when I have the time to write, I don't want to squander it - even if what I end up writing is stuff that will end up getting tossed when it comes time for revisions.
-- Alissa Grosso, SHALLOW POND  alissagrosso.com

Terry : Recently, trying not to lose a word sprint #30mdare for fear of getting a crazy avatar chosen by the winner. Fear works for me as a motivator. 
— Terry Lynn Johnson ICE DOGS www.terrylynnjohnson.com


Matt: What motivates me to write -- and what especially motivated me to finish my latest MG novel, is the belief that someone out there is going through something pretty rotten, and that books have the power to help through humor, compassion, and realism.  The best compliment I've gotten from readers is that my book made them better or stronger or a bit lighter.


Matt Blackstone, SORRY YOU'RE LOST (January 21, 2015)www.mattblackstonebooks.com

Carole: Writing is a lonely business, and years pass between the spark of an idea and words reaching readers. What keeps me motivated is the fellowship of other writers, perhaps thousands of miles away but together in spirit. Knowing that other writers are also facing a blank screen every day, tossing most of what they do write, waiting to hear from agents or editors, inspires me to write on. Love you guys!

-- Carole Estby Dagg, THE YEAR WE WERE FAMOUS
www.CaroleEstbyDagg.com

A my:  I schedule weekly or monthly deadlines with critique partners. Knowing I need finished chapters to exchange always keeps me writing even when I’d rather not. 


Amy Fellner Dominy, A MATTER OF HEART (Spring 2015) www.amydominy.com

Megan: I have two big things I turn to for motivators when I'm stuck, and they go hand in hand: A good walk with a brilliant soundtrack on my iPod, mostly of the indie variety. Meaningful music, nature, and peoplewatching always light a fire under my muse's ass and get me back to work.

-- Megan Bostic, DISSECTED http://www.meganbosticauthor.com/

So, with all that said, it's a New Year, and it's Friday Feedback time. YOU KNOW THE RULES! 
I'm putting my "Brave is as brave does" motto to the test today, by posting a REALLY ROUGH, may not even stay, new opening to the manuscript I'm working on. I'm not telling you much about it. But have at it. Does it hook you? What works? What doesn't? Then post your own excerpt for feedback if you want. And, include a sentence about what motivates you!
xox gae
The boy, Kyle, stares at me where I sit on the bed in his T-shirt and a pair of his plaid pajama pants, both way too big. He’s average height, taller than me, solid, with reddish blond hair. He doesn’t look familiar. The apartment I’m in (where the man brought me) is nice. Comfortable, but not fancy. Brooklyn Heights, he said. A borough of New York City.It’s not the boy’s room I’m in, but his sister’s. It’s pink and sparkly and makes me need to squirm. I’m Goldilocks in The Three Bears. I shift on the bed, and try not to see the boy band poster on the wall: headache yellow with three long-haired boys that look too much like girls. “Hanson, mmmbop” it reads across their heads.“What?” I say, finally, because the boy – Kyle -- is making me feel stranger than I already feel. Everything’s a fog. I don’t want to talk. I don’t know what I should say. I look away, but things – images, voices, names – swim in, just off the periphery of my brain. Eye floaters I blink at to keep them at bay.I look back at the boy – Kyle -- instead. Focus on him.
If I’m not careful, they’ll come back to me.

** Wendy Watts Scalfaro is part-time writer with the best full-time job in the world. As a high school librarian, she is constantly surrounded by great books that serve to entertain, inspire, and motivate her to write. Her current Work-in-Progress is a historical MG/YA novel based on her grandmother’s adolescent years spent in a Catholic orphanage.
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