Thirteen Ways to Boost your Writing Mojo in 2022: Part 2

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Thirteen Ways to Boost your Writing Mojo in 2022: Part 2

3 years ago

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at your screen wondering how long until your next justified coffee break, then here are 7 more random things to try the next time your writing mojo goes on vacation. Find the first 6 suggestions in part 1 of this article here.

*note: all relevant links are at the end of this article*

7. BBC Writer’s Room

Each year in January, the BBC Writer’s Room has an open call for scripts from writers in the UK looking to be ‘developed’. But there’s also a podcast with various screenwriters including Sally Wainwright, and loads of scripts that anyone can download for free from the script library, along with new posts for other screenwriting opportunities that come up through the year.

Channel 4 offers a similar annual programme and will fund travel for folks not in London, and Sky Writes has a programme (which I was picked up for in 2021) for the north of England.

Other opportunities to look out for are the BBC Upload Festival, and BBC Talentworks (in partnership with YouTube), The BFI, Screenskills, and Arts Council England have funding you can apply for, and I’ve recently applied for the ‘Develop Your Creative Potential’ grant (the next round opens on the 22nd February 2022) so I can produce one of my scripts.

Thirteen Ways to Boost your Writing Mojo in 2022 Part 2

8. Cameo

I’ve used this website to get a special Christmas message for my patrons, but also to get ideas for stories, and tips from Olympians on productivity and goal setting as a writer.

You can even use it for a pep talk for yourself or for someone else, or have them give you a ‘roasting’. There are some seriously big names on there, each for a different price point, including some screenwriters and film directors.

9. Authors AI

This is one of my favourite websites (the basic version is free), designed for fiction writers, but I’ve found that it works for scripts too.

Authors AI uses artificial intelligence (‘Marlow”) to read your manuscript and identify the highs and lows of your story arc and gives feedback about particular words you use a lot.

It’s pretty inexpensive to use and I like to get the full report. It also helps me to run each new iteration of my manuscript to make sure I’m improving it where it needs to be improved.

There are some examples of famous books, such as Dan Brown’s which you can use for comparison with your own book, so if you want your story to have similar pacing or tone then that can really help as a visual comparison in graph form.

Thirteen Ways to Boost your Writing Mojo in 2022 Part 2

10. Peloton

As writers, we spend a lot of our time sitting and this can lead to health issues and fatigue. About a month ago, after two years of shielding and struggling with my energy and writing stamina, I decided to do a one month free trial of a Peloton treadmill.

I hate running and I’m not especially sporty, but I instantly found an increase in my daily word count and a huge improvement in my mood (actually the app is free to use on your phone for a month, so you can use that to access all the classes including meditation and yoga).

Now, each time, I’m waiting for the kettle to boil or my food to heat up, I jump on the treadmill for a five-minute walk, and that gives my brain time to process and rest and to mull over new ideas. I’m also sleeping better and feel more rested.

If you are in the UK, run your own business (or have an employer) and have a disability of any sort (even just struggling with working from home right now), then it’s well worth checking out the government’s ‘Access to Work’ grant. Peloton has the ‘Comeback’ social impact scheme for folks in the USA.

I’ve used my Access to Work grant for a Peloton, a standing desk, ergonomic writing chair, and a SAD lamp with the pandemic, but if you are dyslexic, you can use the funding for dictation software, even a laptop, or a productivity coach. It was fairly easy to apply for. It’s not means-tested.

The Peloton has been a total game-changer for my writing, and my only regret is that I waited so long to get one.

11. Voice Double

This one is really just for fun, because why not, but you could use it to read your scripts back to you.

It’s another artificial intelligence tool, is free to use (up to 3 hours), and you simply read a wall of text as your voice double is created. It isn’t good enough for audiobooks or film quite yet, but I really don’t think it will be long!

Thirteen Ways to Boost your Writing Mojo in 2022 Part 2

12. NaNoWriMo

Every year in November, there is a free, worldwide event called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The aim is to write 50,000 words over the course of the month, be that your script or a novel, anything goes. There are virtual badges to collect along the way, and you can track your progress online on their website.

There are also in-person writing events in cafes and public places, and plenty of live streams on YouTube where writers come together and write. There are other, smaller-scale events through the year (April and July) called CampNaNoWriMo, and a version of the event for minors and schools called the ‘Young Writer’s Programme’.

Both websites have lots of free resources on story craft that you can download. If you are finding that your writing day feels a bit lonely or that you need a bit of accountability, then search YouTube for ‘Write-Ins’ or ‘NaNoWriMo Live Streams’ and you’ll soon find some company.

You can even earn a few pennies by live streaming your own writing sessions - yep, that’s a thing.

13. Amazon Mechanical Turk

Finally, this one is for you newbies out there who are time rich but cash poor. Or who simply get bored standing in line at the supermarket.

When I began my writing career, not that long ago, I was homeless and ended up in a B&B room with my pets, which made travel for work impossible. I needed to earn £15 a day to cover my room at the B&B, so I took writing gigs on Fiverr and Upwork, and signed up for Amazon Mechanical Turk.

It was actually quite a lot of fun and something a bit different I could do whilst waiting for the bathroom to be free or whatever. It basically involves completing ‘tasks’ (HIITS), it could be filling in a survey for a university researcher, identifying the traffic lights on those ‘I am not a robot’ verification boxes, or talking with the Alexa AI to help her communicate better. Each task took a few seconds, and I was rewarded with Amazon vouchers.

Since I was in the UK, the .com vouchers weren’t much use to me, so I used them to buy Starbucks vouchers that could be used in the UK and I then sold them to friends for real cash.

It’s not a get rich quick scheme by any means, but it enabled me to get a cheap book cover for my first published book, and basic software I could use for my writing, and when I finally moved into a house, I was able to buy a washing machine, sofa, etc with my earnings.

So rather than pick up your phone and scroll Facebook when you have a writing break or dead time on your hands at the bus stop, why not do some tasks you can get paid for instead. Save up the vouchers up and buy your pet food, or use them for something nice like that dream coffee machine as a treat next Christmas.