Writing – The Answer Wall

I am currently writing a book, but I have almost no time to work on it. I want to write every day, but I study the whole day and when my free time in the evening comes, I just can’t bring myself to write. I want to relax and just “chill” as they say. Can you give me some tips to motivate and bring myself to write and not lose motivation?

Writing is hard to begin with, and when it’s pitted against all the other things we’re obligated to do it often takes a back seat. You *do* need time to recharge, so try not to pit it against that. Find a 20-30 minute time in the day you can commit to writing, even if “writing” ends up meaning sitting in a chair looking at a blank screen sometimes. You may need to pull time away from other obligations. Meanwhile, don’t expect magic. Writing is hard work, so be kind to yourself. I highly recommend Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird to put you in the right mindset: disciplined, but also able to laugh. Good luck!

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.