Motivation for Re-Writes

Got my re-writes back on my next novel. Yaayy!! Re-writes are pretty much what they sound like. An editor comments on the manuscript turned in, pointing out where plot, characterization, etc. isn't working. Asks questions about motivation. Suggests changes to make the story better.

So, why am I happy about re-writing when it sounds like they type of work we all hated in English class? Well, first of all, I really, really hate unfinished work. And part of the writing process is getting input form editors to improve the book. Until that happens the book really isn't finished. So this gives me a chance to incorporated all the needed changes and actually finish the book. And secondly, it gives me the opportunity to look at the feed back and see what is working and what isn't working. As I writer, I want to continually improve, so re-writing to make a book better always gives me a charge.

So, now I'll be adding re-writes to my schedule which brings me to what I really wanted to blog about today -- something called self-motivation. I get asked all the time, how I can motivate myself to sit down and write a book - to work creatively when there are so many other things to do: kids, household chores, university work, tutoring work, the list goes on and on. Well, aside from writing because I love it, I think I found the answer in a book by Daniel Pink called DRIVE.

I love everything Daniel Pink writes, but this book was interesting, because as a parent, I also am curious about how to create motivation in my kids. Pink suggest we need three elements to create drive. The first is autonomy. People want to decide how to do a task, when they do it, and if they want to do with someone else (teamwork) or on their own. The second is Mastery. People want to be good at what they do. Mastery requires a lot of hard work, but if someone can master a task, they will wan to do more of it, because if makes them feel successful. And lastly Purpose. If people can see a purpose in what they're doing, they'll want to do more of it.

Althought DRIVE seems to be written more for business people, it's helpful for those of us who want to motivate ourselves to accomplish pretty much anything, from writing a book to losing weight to doing laundry. I know that as long as I can do it my way, feel that I'm successful as I master it, and see the purpose - the reason I'm doing it (vision boards are great for this) then I'll find the drive or motivation to get it done.

Interesting book to pick up. Now, off to work on those re-writes.

Julia