In today’s world, everyone is constantly looking for validation from family, friends, and strangers, constantly checking how many likes, comments and shares we got on our latest post. So how do you stay motivated to write a long book over many months when you have nothing to share with your community? Maybe it’s your first book, and you don’t even have a following yet. How do you keep writing without the external validation and the dopamine hit that comes with it? The short answer, dear happy writer, is that writing for the pure joy of it is so much more fun than writing for others’ approval.
This post is all about writing without external validation, pursuing your passion for writing even if no one else sees a single word of what you’ve written. I will share with you some playful and effective ways to stay motivated to write without any praise from others. Excited to write just for the pure joy of writing? Let’s dive in and discover how to keep our creative energy high without expecting a standing ovation from enthusiastic fans.
If you prefer the video version, check out the YouTube video below for tips on staying consistent in your writing without external validation.
Remembering why you write
When we talked about how to write when you don’t feel like it, we discussed the importance of finding your why. Knowing and remembering why you started writing in the first place is an excellent motivator to keep writing, even when you don’t feel like it. And it also works for staying motivated to write without external validation.
Recommended reading: Find Your WHY by Simon Sinek.
You might be going through a period where you simply have nothing to share, and you just need to keep focusing on your manuscript so you can publish it, and then you’ll have something to share. But in the meantime, you have to keep going.
There are two instances that may require you to keep writing without external validation.
The audience’s lack of engagement
First, as sad as this may be, you won’t always get the external validation you’re hoping for. Maybe you wrote a book you’re absolutely thrilled with, and when you published it, it didn’t get the reviews you were expecting. It just didn’t click with some readers.
What do you do then? Never write another word again?
Out of the question! You’re a happy writer! You don’t give up that easily!
When you first started writing, you didn’t write for external validation. You wrote because you had a story (or more) to share. You published it, and now it’s out there for everyone to read. Maybe some readers didn’t give you a 5-star review, but even if you check the reviews of your top 3 favorite books, you’ll see that none of them have only 5-star reviews. Not everybody likes the same things.
It’s not the end of the world!
Just keep writing and keep focusing on the readers who enjoyed your book. They want to read your next book! Focus on that. Write it for them and write it for yourself.
No updates for the audience yet
Another reason for the absence of external validation is that you’re currently going through a period where you don’t have anything to share. That’s okay! Right now, put all your energy into writing your manuscript and getting it ready for the world. But how do you do that without external validation?
Focus on your characters and remember how much fun it is to bring your characters to life.
Remember the joy of writing simply to learn more about your characters and discover more about your world. Your characters take you on countless new adventures every day. In these tough moments, focus on the pure joy of discovery and exploration. Use that excitement to write your next book.
Once it’s finished, you’ll have something amazing to share. But in the meantime, the most important thing is to keep going and trust the process!
Gamifying the writing process
Writing doesn’t have to be a serious activity, full of drama and worries. Worries about what might happen once you publish your book, or how long it will take for you to finish the book, or if people will love it will just make writing feel like a stressful work project. But if you gamify writing, you can enjoy every step you take.
Remember when you were a kid and you would be out playing for hours without even realizing how much time had passed? Why not use that in our work? Why does work have to be this stressful activity filled with worries and deadlines? The truth is, writing it doesn’t have to feel like that. So let’s turn work into play!
How to gamify writing
To advance in any game, you must complete a series of challenges or levels. We can apply the same concept to writing. Thus, instead of having an endless to-do list, we’ll have the levels of the game.
You wrote a chapter? Awesome! You get to advance to the next level! As your book grows, you keep advancing from one level to the next, just like you would in a game. So you switch your mindset from “I have to write 1,000 words today” to “I’ll move up one level today!” Isn’t that way more fun?
And here’s how to make the writing game even more fun: set yourself some rewards for when you move up a level, or when you achieve a certain number of words. Just like you would earn coins or cool gear as a video game progresses, you will get some mini-rewards with every new level or word count milestone you complete. And of course, save the big reward for when you finish the whole book. You’ve just finished the game—you deserve it!
You played the game, had fun along the way, and you finished the book! And the best part? You did it all without expecting any external validation. Just your own joy, your own inner drive, and a whole lot of fun. Now that’s definitely something you should feel proud of!
Word Count Mountain: Write to the Top!
To have even more fun with the writing game, I created this free word count mountain tracker to turn your writing journey into an exciting adventure, where you write all the way to the top of your mountain! Each milestone represents a checkpoint on your climb to the word count target for your book.
I created 4 versions of the game: one for 100k, one for 80k, one for 60k, and one where you set your own goal and milestones. You can download them using the form below.
As you reach each word count milestone, color in the path, add stickers, or mark your progress in a way that feels rewarding to you. Not only will you stay motivated by seeing your progress visually, but you’ll also turn writing into a game where each word brings you closer to the summit—your finished book!
Falling in love with your work
Yes, we all want our readers to love our books. But what’s even more important is that we love what we wrote. Are you happy with your work? Do you feel like you really gave it your best? Do you absolutely adore your characters and the wild adventures you’ve sent them on? A “yes” to these questions ensures a fun and satisfying writing journey—no external validation needed.
How do you fall in love with your own writing? Enjoy the writing process and keep a record of your best lines.
Enjoy the journey, not just the destination
Every writer dreams of that magical moment when they get to hold their published book in their hands. We all want to see all that hard work, the countless hours of coffee-fueled typing and the endless revisions pay off, and finally share our craft with the world. But you don’t have to wait until that moment to enjoy your work. You can enjoy it right now!
Remember that the joy of writing doesn’t have to come from sharing it with the world—it can come from the act of writing itself! When you love your characters, enjoy crafting the scenes, and building your imaginary worlds, the writing process itself becomes a deeply rewarding experience. You’re so immersed in that world, you don’t need anyone’s validation to feel good about your work. You feel good about it because you’re in a magical state of flow where you feel like you’re not just writing the story, but you’re actually living the adventure of your life through your characters. What could be more fun than that?
Shifting your focus from expecting praise for your work to enjoying it frees you to create with more joy, curiosity, and confidence—because you’re no longer writing to impress others, you’re writing to express your creativity.
Keep a “Wow, I wrote that!” file
Why wait for someone else to validate your art? You can do it yourself!
Have you ever taken a break from your manuscript for a few days or weeks, and when you finally read it again, you stumbled upon a sentence so unexpectedly brilliant you actually thought to yourself, “I wrote that? Wow, that’s awesome!” The pride you’re feeling in that moment comes from lots of hard work coupled with inspired creativity. And it’s the only validation you need.
But don’t just celebrate it then and move on—capture that magic and preserve it for the future! Use it to fuel your future motivation and creativity. Start a file where you collect all those snippets of your brilliant writing. Every time you surprise yourself with something amazing you’ve written, make sure you add it to your brag file. Your future self will thank you for it, especially during those tough writing days filled with self-doubt. Use it to remind yourself just how brilliant your writing can be, and you won’t need anyone else’s validation to prove it!
Your own words create magic, and they are all the validation you need!
This post was all about writing without external validation and staying motivated to write even when no one’s watching. If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy this post:
How to Write When You Don’t Feel Like Writing
Now it’s your turn. Let me know in the comments what’s one magical moment you’ve had with your writing that reminded you why you love it? I’d love to hear from you and celebrate the big writing moments with you.
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