Sometimes as writers, it’s tough to push through on the book we are writing to make it to the finish line on a book we’re writing.

This has definitely been true for me.

When I started taking my writing seriously in 2010 – 2011, I was writing more consistently, but still struggled to finish even a short book.

This is something I’m facing now as I’m in the last stretch of finishing Book 2 in this series of books to help writers, Finish Your Book. I think that’s why I wanted to write about how to push through to the end when you are rounding that last corner and you can see “The End” just beyond the next hill.

If you have unfinished books either hidden on your computer’s hard drive or gathering dust in a notebook somewhere, I hope as you read the rest of this blogpost you’ll find some useful tips to help you finish your book.

5 Tips to Help You Develop Finishing Energy For Writing Your Book

Writing and finishing a book isn’t easy.

Sometimes it’s tough just to start a book, never mind finish one. There’s so much resistance that shows up along the way.

We fear being judged or criticized for our words. We worry we don’t have the ‘know how’ to actually write the book. We scared of not being able to find the time for writing the story of our heart.

Basically, we get bogged down somewhere in the middle of writing our book. Sometimes when we can feel rushed to get the book done, but we don’t want to hurry through it and do poor job of it. We want to finish this story well.

So how do we find the passion and energy needed to finish at a steady pace without losing focus or sacrificing quality in our writing?

Here are 5 Lessons Learned that I hope help you to break through the writing doldrums, and push through to the finish line with a book that you’re excited to share with the world.

1.Setup Mini-Habits for your writing: This means taking your writing project as a whole, and dividing it into smaller pieces. I’ve done this with mind-mapping which helps me see where the book is going and then from there I create an outline. Create simple, tiny habits into your day. Make them so simple that when you look at what you need to do, you can say this is so easy, I can do this no problem. 

2.Get Rid of Distractions: Choose to set up your writing so that you have a time-block. Maybe it’s only a 10 minute writing time. That’s okay, just tell yourself that I won’t do anything else during this time but write. If you need to turn off the Internet, close your door to the room where you write or go somewhere where you won’t be interrupted, just do it so you can focus on your writing. Create the space you need to write. I set the timer on my iPad for 25 minutes and then I pay myself twenty-five cents that I put into a jar for each writing time-block I finish. Later on, when the jar is full, I get to go on a date with my hubby. It’s great incentive!

3.Encourage Yourself Through Affirmations and Visualization: Tell yourself who you want to be, what you want to accomplish and how you’re going to do it, everyday. Then sit quietly for 5 minutes and use your imagination to see what you really want and picture yourself doing the actions needed to reach your goal. In this podcast interview with 6 Figure nonfiction author, Steve Scott, he shares about how he develops a morning routine to help him get focused and develop passion for his writing dreams.

4.Connect with other writers and support who will encourage you through it: Many times we need help when we’re struggling to get something done and writing is no different. If you need help, do ask for help from other writer friends or read an inspiring blogpost and leave a comment. Most of the time, someone else will respond and hopefully you’ll find help in that way. Also, if you have family that supports your writing, talking through some of your thoughts on what you’re facing that day in your writing, helps give you clarity and also inspires them to do what they can, to help you get through the messy middle.

5.Continue to fill Your Creative Well: Sometimes when we’re slogging away in the messy middle of our book, we might feel uninspired to keep going. This could possibly mean that you need to fill your creative well. Bring back the wonder, the mystery and the curiosity into what got you excited about writing this book in the first place. Maybe the characters inspired you in fiction, or maybe you are excited to write something you’ve never tried before. I encourage you to get back in your memory banks, to your original passion for your book. I often think about what inspired my book ideas and then go to Pinterest or Instagram and look at images that are related to the book I’m writing. This helps me re-ignite my passion for the book. If you want more ideas, I share a few tips on how writers can fill their creative well here.

Don’t give up. Don’t quit on yourself and don’t quit on your story. You can write this book and finish it!  Right now, I’m in the middle of doing the same thing, and I’ve discovered that by simply writing this post has encouraged me to get back to the writing. 🙂

 

How do you find the finishing energy you need to finish your book?  Please do leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts. We can learn from each other!