Picture this…
You sit down to write your novel. You crack your knuckles, open that blank document, and then your brain immediately starts its greatest hits collection of self doubt.
“This is going to take three months. Maybe six. Maybe a year. Then you need to find an agent. Good luck with that.
I heard nobody’s publishing new authors anymore. And what if someone beats you to market with their aquatic vampire romance? Your writing is C+ at best. Are these even sentences? Where are your pants? Why can’t you feel your legs?”
Then you melt into a puddle of existential despair and start googling “how to become a barista” because at least coffee has immediate, measurable results.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the problem…
Writing a novel is like walking across an endless desert. You only see the destination when you’re practically there. The rest of the time, you’re wandering around wondering if you’re going in circles while your brain whispers sweet lies about how you should probably give up and binge Netflix instead.
Your brain isn’t trying to sabotage you.
It’s just designed for immediate gratification. It wants rewards now, not in eighteen months when your book might possibly maybe get published.
This is where our pal dopamine comes in to give us a little slap in to the right direction. Dopamine gets released when we complete stuff. It’s why those stupid Xbox achievements work.
That little “ding” when you unlock “Zombie Slayer Level 1” gives your brain a tiny hit of satisfaction. Video games figured this out decades ago. They don’t make you wait until the final boss to feel accomplished. Mini boss here, new weapon there, constant tiny victories keeping you hooked.
Writing a novel? Zero immediate rewards. Just months of staring at words wondering if they’re any good.
So we need to hack our brains.
Set up your own achievement system. When you hit 1,000 words, you get a cookie. 5,000 words gets you that fancy coffee you’ve been eyeing. 10,000 words earns you a day off to do absolutely nothing productive.
And keep escalating. 25,000 words gets you a new book. 50,000 words gets you dinner at that restaurant you’ve been saving for special occasions. Finish the first draft and you buy yourself something ridiculous…
Maybe another houseplant you’ll probably kill, a gadget you don’t need, whatever makes your dopamine receptors do a little happy dance.
Get other people involved too. Phone a friend tell them about the win. “Hit 20k words today” celebrate like it’s the super bowl or whatever.
Storytelling is legitimately awesome work. You’re turning nothing in to something. Building worlds and characters and insane conflicts is not an easy feat. And you’re making it real.
That deserves celebration. Not just when you’re holding the finished book, every single step along the way.
Your brain needs proof that this writing thing is worth the effort. Give it that proof in small, frequent doses instead of asking it to wait years for validation.
Because the alternative is watching your manuscript gather dust while you convince yourself you’re “not really a writer anyway.”
Fuck that. Bribe your brain into submission and write the damn thing.
And if you’re not writing a novel. Apply this to your ad copy, your paintings, cartoons or even the tracks of music you’re making.
I’ve found this is the quickest way to bully you brain in to making you productive and doing the things you need to do.
Stephen Walker.