Staying Motivated

One of the things I have found most difficult lately is staying motivated to write every single day. My life, for a short while at least, had become a little busier when I joined a local writing group. We were meeting nearly every week to critique and discuss each other's current projects. Unfortunately we are on hiatus because the founder of our group has fallen ill. Just when I was ready to get back in the swings of things after my own tangle with not feeling well. Too bad.

My current project is taking my short story, Youthanasia, (that you can read here) and expanding it in to a novel. (Youthanasia was entered into the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights short story contest in June 2014.) I started it during NaNoWriMo in November 2014. During that time I got about halfway through Not too bad, really for my second attempt at that particular challenge. But since then I haven't gotten that much further. Say 35,000 words or so. And, no, it's not the word count that matters, but I do not have a whole a story. Yet.

And I am the ultimate procrastinator when it comes to actually finishing anything. Why? Because I never feel that anything is ever good enough (even these silly little blogs). Because I don't think that anyone will want to read my story (even though you are supposed to write for yourself). Because I feel like I am wasting my time (again, what if no one likes it?). Because after this, what do I have (even though I have plenty of ideas for future stories)? Because I am afraid of rejection (from publishers, from readers, from critics). Because I keep changing my mind (that's what editing is for). Because I need to do more research (actually I just love to read more than anything). See? I'm full of excuses not to finish.

I haven't even been participating in Flash! Fiction Fridays lately, either. It used to be because I was busy on Fridays going to my writers group. But I haven't had that excuse lately. Now I'm just being lazy. I need something to jump start my creativity again in a serious way. I started looking up short story competitions again. (I'll post a link to the ones I found at the bottom.) I need something to get me out of this rut.

I still do my words on most days. I found a site called 750 Words maybe a year and a half ago. I use it as sort of a diary. The point of the site is to use it as a "brain dump" before you start writing. To sort of get it all out so you can start your day with a clean sheet of paper. Problem is, I do my 750 words - and that's it. Then I fool around the house the rest of the day. Tinker with our budget. Read. Watch some recordings on the DVR. Do some laundry. Do a word puzzle (love Penny Dell Puzzles!). Help the kids with homework. Probably yell at one them. Cook (a fabulous) dinner. Read. Sleep. Repeat.

So stuck in rut right now. Help!

What do you do to keep yourself motivated and write everyday? Or at least stick to a schedule? Leave your tips in the comments below!

Writing contests I found for April/May (That I was interested in)

sweatpants & coffee
Seeking fiction and non-fiction stories about transformation and redemption. They like well worded works, with "lyrical turns of phrase."

haunted waters press
Seeking fiction and poetry depicting life in rural America. Think country living, Midwestern tales, Southern Gothic and Country Noir.