Writing is a wonderful thing, but sometimes very difficult to do. It is often very easy not to “make the time” to write and no one will motivate you. You have to motivate yourself. Here are three techniques to help you write.

Technique 1: Modify Your Internal Dialogue

The main reason why a person does not write is the internal dialogue that is executed when trying to write. It usually takes the form of unreasonable questions like “What should I write? Or What if my writing doesn’t make any sense? Or What if my dream of writing is just plain silly?” These questions become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you hear yourself asking these questions, you should immediately interrupt this pattern by replacing it with new questions like, “What kinds of fun things will happen in my fictional world today or what challenges will my main character overcome today?” This shifts your focus from the world you are writing about. This is extremely effective because it erases the doubtful thoughts you are having and starts a line of thinking about writing.

Technique 2: The carrot

There are common tools that are used to motivate people in many ways and there is no reason why you cannot use these tools on yourself. I keep a pint of my favorite ice cream in the freezer with a note: “Did you write?” It’s as simple as that. If I don’t write, I don’t get the reward. You can set a word or page count goal and then set a reward for achieving it. And when writing it is also very important to establish a timeline! You have to say something like, “If I write a page every day this week, I’m going out to dinner on Saturday to celebrate.” And make sure you stand your ground. Without writing and without ice cream.

Technique 3: The stick

As fun as it sounds, this is a technique that really works on two different levels. Assign an unpleasant task like cleaning the bathroom or organizing the garage. If you don’t achieve your writing goal, this will be your penalty. I have used this technique and it is really effective. And the interesting thing about how this technique works for me is that while doing my assigned task, I think of new ideas, settings, and plots for my writing. For me, simple tasks that take a few hours seem to clear my mind and free me to think. So even if I lose the challenge, I still win.

Writing is an extraordinarily rewarding activity. However, it can sometimes be very difficult to do. It’s just writing words on paper and you’ve been doing it since you were four years old. So don’t worry about anything and just write. The only way to get good at it, as with anything else, is to actually do it.