Tips for Staying Motivated in Writing

I begin writing for fun when I was nine years old. I loved it, and for a long time writing fiction stories was one of my favorite hobbies. Having to write for (boring) class projects however turned writing into a chore however, and I nearly stopped after college. I want to share with you some ideas that may help you if writing is your dream, even one that has been dormant for awhile.

1) First, I think it's extremely important to find at least one writing community to help you develop your ability and encourage you to write.

In a lot of ways, writing is a lot like a traditional business in that the more support you have the great your chance of becoming successful. Writing.com was the website that got me started and has a very encouraging and positive environment for new and experienced writers alike. They don't pay you in cash, but the immediate feedback and tools you get for free are incredible.

2) Find time to write daily and establish a habit.

The great thing about websites and online portfolios is you can access them at multiple locations and in small spaces of time. For example, I'm writing this article in my mother-in-law's house, and I have the ability to start a bigger project here and finish it at home tomorrow. This makes writing a great career as well, consider if you work at it long enough you can travel without a drop in income.

3) Once you feel comfortable, try your hand at writing for profit.

Good beginner sites include Hubpages (get money by signing up with affiliates such as Google Adsense), Gather, Helium, and Blogger. With other sites, just be careful to read terms and conditions of agreements very carefully--you don't want to put yourself in the position where you're doing all the work and someone else ends up owning the rights to it for a low amount of money. Stick to "non-exclusive" and "use" agreements with other sites.

More Tips:

• Persistence matters in writing. I've seen statistics that anywhere between 50-75% of Americans have a great idea for a book. Out of that however, it's a small percentage of people who actually go for it. I want to encourage you if this is a dream that you've put off to the side. It's amazing what you can do if you just get fear and procrastination out of your way!
• The only thing I feel like I should caution you about is any opportunity where you have to pay someone large amounts of money to publish and/or market your work.  Traditional publishers pay authors--not the other way around--and self-publishing is not an expensive process when you go directly through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc.  Check out any site on the Better Business Bureau first before you sign up with them.