When I say mind I’m talking about your writing mindset. What attitude do you have around writing? Do you see the activity as fun? A Challenge? Therapeutic? Or maybe you see writing a book as a lifetime goal or something to scratch off the bucket list.
Writing is an ongoing passion for me but sometimes even I have bad days and it’s a challenge to keep a positive mindset when obstacles like writers’ block, fear, and other random negative thoughts come up. It’s when I doubt myself the most that I feel the most vulnerable.
Whatever mindset you bring while you’re writing does have an effect on it. It’s about the confidence you bring and if you believe your words can do their job. With a positive mindset you can push through challenges like fear and doubt, which will help you tremendously on your writing journey. It can even help carry you throughout your writing journey.
Want to level up your mindset around writing? Check out my tips below:
1. Affirmations
I love the topic of affirmations and they have helped create a positive difference in my life. It has boosted my confidence over time and has helped me in all areas of my life that I want to focus on in and outside of writing.
If you’re not familiar with affirmations I would describe it as positive, powerful statements about yourself that are true, or you would like to become true. For example, a couple of my favorite affirmations I say everyday are “I make $10,000 a month through my writing business” and “I bring joy to each day of my life”. The first one isn’t true yet but I’m working towards it, but the second one is definitely true now because it’s my choice everyday to make.
Try writing down a list of what you desire to have in your life, could be about writing or otherwise, and repeat them out loud every day. These will sink into your unconscious mind overtime, and you’re see the results in your life!
2. Patience
The one thing that you will need for your writing mindset is patience. There will be frustration, there will be writer’s block and rewrites. There will be lost work (the horror!).
This is where patience comes in. It’s when we must take a deep breath, take a step back, and just give ourselves time to recover, recoup, and gather ourselves again. Writing can be a challenge for sure but just like having kids, or working towards a degree, it’ll all pay off one day if we just have patience.
Which also ties into my next point…
3. Endurance
Endurance will keep you going even when you want to stop. However, endurance is one of the areas I struggle with because after a while I experience fatigue and I want to take a break after experiencing burn out.
One of the things I like to do to build up my endurance is practice by working in 15-minute increments. It helps to build up the habit of writing and it doesn’t overwhelm me by requiring a large amount of time in one sitting. It reminds me of working out. You do a few sets of weights at a time, take a break, and start again.
So, write for a while, take a break and write again. You may notice you’ll be able to increase the time you’re writing after a while of doing this.
4. Tough Skin
It may or may not be a surprise to you that this made the list but having tough skin is all part of the game when it comes to being a writer. There are going to be bad reviews, bad writing days, and just days when things just don’t go your way.
You’re going to need tough skin to carry you through those time and I think the first thing you can do is remember not to take every comment someone says personally. Oh trust me, it may seem personal, they may even use your name or come after your past work, but trust me it’s not. Try to separate yourself from your writing and remember that every reader has a different style and prefers different things so it’s not always going to be a 100% match every time.
How do you deal with negative reviews? I never respond to negative reviews or comments because it may come off as unprofessional. Also, it’s not good to give something negative some attention even though the temptation to respond and defend yourself could be pretty strong. Just take a deep breath and realize that their problem is not your problem.
5. Can-Do Attitude
Having a can-do attitude is believing in yourself even if no one else does. This is important because self-doubt will come but it’s a little different from having tough skin. That’s because it’s not about someone coming against you. It’s about you going against yourself. Sometimes our biggest enemies are ourselves and we can get in our own way. I do this unconsciously all the time, but the more I am aware of this the quicker I can stop myself and lead my head into more positive trains of thought.
Believe in yourself that you can do it. Believe that you can write that great novel or short story or whatever it is your heart desires. There are so many things going on in the world today and already so many obstacles that you don’t want to make it worse by doubting yourself when you can be your own biggest cheerleader.
6. Openness
What do I mean when I say openness? Good question. What I’m talking about is being open to sudden changes that may or may not come up during your writing journey. This could be suddenly having to change your whole chapter or book POV. It means being able to pivot at any moment and being ok with it.
We know that everything is not always going to go as planned. Life in general is always changing, but I think we forget that our writing life is included in this and changes as well. Be open to new ideas, changes, and the possibilities of something different because it may end up being great.
What keeps you in a good writing mindset? Please share in a comment below!
I hope this article helps you on your writing journey even in a small way. Happy writing!
-Shaquanda