Eight Surefire Ways To Stay Motivated

Do you have trouble finishing your writing projects? Do you sometimes wonder what's the point? Do rejections make you want to give up all together? You're not alone. Writing isn't always fun, especially when your efforts don't seem to make a difference. But if you want to succeed, you can't stop. You must keep going even when you don't feel like it. Here are eight great ways to stay motivated:

1) Read biographies. What you're feeling or going through isn't anything new. Find out how others worked through it. Find someone whose career you admire and read about how they kept going and the strategies they used. Read articles on various authors' websites - many share how they've broken through doldrums and what helped them along the way.

2) Find a buddy. Find someone who you know will lift your spirits. Don't go for anyone 'sensible' – their rational approach may not be helpful. Instead, it may feel like bad news. Find a 'rainbow' friend, someone who can smile in the rain of doubt and discouragement. Let them help boost your ego and give you the pep talks you need.

3) List your successes. We all have daily success, no matter how small. List them. Sitting at your desk, writing a paragraph, answering a phone call, all are steps towards your writing success. Far too often we forget them too quickly. Remember a time when you achieved something you wanted. Wouldn't you like that feeling again? Then keep writing and you will achieve this and much more.

4) Treat writing as a job. Forget about being in the mood. Take the "I have to write if I want to eat" viewpoint even if it isn't true. Like any job, there are the exciting things you like doing and the mundane. Staying motivated to write when you're depressed after receiving your 20th rejection letter is hard. BUT, by continuing to do your job (write) your work (writing) will bring you the income you want. <

5) Don't critique your work. Just write. As a rule, we are our own worst enemy. You're a terrible judge when you're in a bad mood so forget about critiquing your work. Just put it down on paper, you can always go back and fix it later. At least you will have something to work with as opposed to nothing at all.

6) Use bribery. We all like pleasurable things and writing isn't always so. Come up with a way to give yourself a treat after accomplishing a task. The task can be big or small, whatever works for you. There's no right or wrong way to reward yourself. (Unless of course you treat yourself to a sugar-glazed donut for each sentence you complete!)

7) Create an audience. You can develop a newsletter or blog. Because people will be expecting something from you (either weekly, monthly or quarterly), you'll be forced to continue writing. This is an excellent way to stay motivated because you'll know that someone, somewhere, will be reading what you write.

8) Create a winner. On a wall or bulleting board, tack up the cover of the magazine you'd like to be featured in. Create a cover or use the existing cover of your book with a banner that says 'bestselling author' and dream about the success you'll have when you've finished your current project.

Staying motivated can be difficult, but not impossible. Use one or all of the above tips to help you stay motivated. A successful writing career starts one word at a time.

Football Rules

Football is a game played by many, but understood by few. At any given game, half of the barroom or stadium will erupt in cheers on the cue of fellow fans, without really knowing what just happened. This will assist those of you who have yet to learn the game, and act as a refresher course for those in the know.

The object of football is to score as many points as possible. The team that scores the most points within a given time period is the winner. That's the easy part.

Football rules can be confusing. When it's not called "football", the game is referred to as "gridiron", because that's what the playing field is called. The gridiron has markings that resemble a grill and is 120 yards long and 53-1/3 yards wide. The 120 yards are split into five sections, each 20 yards in length. Yard lines are marked every five yards and are numbered from each goal line to the middle of the field, also called the fifty-yard mark. Confused yet? Listen to this: a gridiron consists of sidelines and end lines, and has field posts near each end zone. The end zones are 10 yards wide, located just before the field post. Field posts are used to mark field goals; they are 18.5 feet apart.

That's just a description of the field. We haven't even starting on football rules. A football game is played between two teams. NFL teams typically have fifty members or more, but only eleven may be on the playing field at any one time. Because the game is so complicated, most of the fifty players will have the opportunity to play in every game. Each team member has a specialized role, either offense or defense. Players wear systematically numbered uniforms. Every football team also has special teams.

It's hard to specify the duration of a football game, because coaches and players can be called on penalties and fouls that will extend the time of a game. Important games, like the Super Bowl, can take hours to complete. Every call must be made because there is so much riding on a game of this caliber.

Football rules dictate that each team tries to advance on the field and gain as many yards at a single time as possible. The closer the advancing team is to the goal line, the harder the opposing team must play to stop a touchdown. When defensive players tackle and get the advancing runner to the ground, the play is done and the ball is dead.

The point of football is to get touchdowns and field goals, because that is what gets the points. The team with the most points takes all the glory. If it's a championship game, the winning team will take the title as well.

Get points and win the game. If those are the basic football rules, maybe it isn't so confusing after all.