Motivation Interview: Roberta Goli

During the rest of the summer, I’ll be posting interviews with writers from across the country and around the world. Hopefully, we can all inspire one another! You can see all of interviews already posted here, and if you want to participate, email me with “writer’s interview” as the subject line. I’ll keep posting as long as you guys keep sending them in.

Today’s interview is with Roberta Goli. Roberta is a contributing writer for Suite 101 and has a writing blog called The Write Words. She also writes short stories in her spare time.

Why do you think freelancers get writer’s block?

I think freelance writers suffer from writer’s block for many different reasons, and they probably vary from writer to writer. It takes more thought and creativity to write something, even just an article, then non-writers realize, and I think this puts a lot of pressure on writers, and that pressure can be stifling.

For example, I might get up in the morning raring to write, toss a few ideas around my head, or scribble some notes down, but then dismiss these ideas because they wont be ‘good enough’. Once you start thinking like that, it can be difficult to get started.

How has writer’s block affected you?

Occasionally I do get totally stumped and have nothing to write. I usually just watch T.V. for a while, read a book or something that takes me away from the computer, and often, later in the day I feel inspired to write. If not, I’ll leave it until the next day. I do feel a little guilty, but I try not to be too hard on myself if I have a day or even two where I don’t write. Sometimes, I just need the break.

What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to staying motivated to write?

The biggest distraction for me is MMORPGs. They are my addiction and I allocate days and times where I allow myself to play and only do that if I am satisfied with the amount of writing I have done that day or week. If I haven’t done much writing for the last 3 days, I wont be having any game time for the rest of the week.

Share with us your top tip for overcoming writer’s block and finding inspiration to keep working:

I quit a ‘regular job’ to write and I really love writing. I remind myself that I need to keep writing; otherwise I’ll have to go back to ‘working for the man’. I really don’t want to do that, so it’s not hard to stay motivated.

As for writers block, I step away from the computer and watch some T.V., or read a book and come back to writing later in the day. As I mentioned in question 2, I try not to be too hard on myself if I take some time out. I have my whole life to write, I don’t have to do it all this week.

Thanks, Roberta!