Friday Five: Keeping the Faith

Sometimes writing is hard.  I've heard it said, I've read it, I've lived it.  It's a fact.  Anybody who has tried to write a novel can attest to the fact that sometimes writing is hard.

It's easy to get discouraged, to think what you're writing is crap, to get stuck in your plot and not know what's going to happen next, to get a rejection letter that feels like a personal sign that you're not meant to be a published author.

How do you drag yourself back to the computer and keep writing?  I'd love to hear what works for you.  For me, there's a number of ways:

1.  Find the part of your story that you love.  That when you read it you can't believe YOU wrote it because it's just THAT good.

2.  I cut out little reminders that encourage me to keep trying and paste them to my computer.  Here's one of my favorites: A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.

3.  Visit your local bookstore and find the spot on the shelf where YOUR book is going to sit.  I started doing this about two years before I sold my book. (I also treat myself to a frappaccino when I go there too. :D) I still do it, every time I go in a book store.  I visualize.  I believe.  I keep trying.

4.  Take classes on writing, read books on writing, read books you love and figure out what the author did that makes the story work so well.  I don't think we ever stop learning how to write better.

5.  Write for the love of writing.  I've had moments when I've thought about quitting.  What's the point? I'll never sell a book...blah blah blah.  But then these ideas pop into my head, stories waiting to be told.  My characters keep whispering things to me and I HAVE to write.  Because I love it.

How do you keep your faith when writing?